Introducing NIKI, the 20-year old Indonesian R&B artist who today shares her new wanna take this downtown? EP out now via 88rising/12 Tone. Sumptuously produced, with cutting turns-of-phrase salting her rich, sweet vocal delivery, the four-track effort precedes a forthcoming full-length from NIKI, who recently moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her 88rising family. Listen to it HERE.

wanna take this downtown? provides a reprieve from a brooding period in NIKI’s life following the tragic sickness and death of her mother from cancer. After recording the collection of introspective songs that will be on her full-length later this year, Moonchild, NIKI yearned for solace in the effervescent but powerful R&B that had become her signature. “This EP came out of nowhere. It was born out of this dark time in my life but it kind of flipped around and saved me, honestly,” she says. “I know that sounds dramatic but it really did.”

Like many Gen Z kids who grew up on the internet, Jakarta-born, LA-based NIKI’s influences are wide-ranging and genre-busting. Her R&B-oriented debut EP Zephyr (2018) was just the icing on the cake of what was a huge 2018 for the singer, who shot into global consciousness after joining the stereotype-smashing 88rising collective and racking up 113 millions online streaming plays.

Since then, NIKI has achieved global recognition as “the internet’s favourite R&B princess” (Noisey) and earned critical acclaim from the likes of Highsnobiety, Pitchfork, Nylon, and Clash, among many others. She continues to slam the door on the conventions of teen pop stardom—writing, recording, and producing her music on her own, with her remarkable versatility and genre-bending artistry, galvanising fans across the globe. In the same year, NIKI went on tour this past summer supporting pop superstar Halsey on her Asia tour, followed by the 88rising Head in the Clouds Festival and North America Tour. NIKI closed out the year as one of Complex’s ‘Best New Artists of 2018‘.

The wanna take this downtown? EP is out now via 88 Rising/12 Tone, buy/stream it here.

WANNA TAKE THIS DOWNTOWN? EP TRACKLISTING
1. lowkey
2. urs
3. move!
4. odds

Stay connected with NIKI:
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