Motherhood, Black joy, spirituality, nature — they all have place in Taboo, her newest EP. Niambi is no stranger to the studio or the stage; in fact, you probably know her already as one half of duo Oshun. But now, the singer and songwriter is taking a leap of faith and going solo, working on her own voice, melodies, and lyrics. But she isn’t alone: she’s side by side with Proda, her producer as well as the father of her child.
Speaking with Niambi is soothing but also reassuring. She’s a strong artist with a clear vision of what she wants to achieve and how she wants to achieve it, but she also conjures that ancient knowledge of those who’re truly connected with their surroundings and heritage. In Taboo, she explores issues like motherhood, societal expectations, and the celebration and movement of one’s body. Today we speak with her about her creative process, the project My Mother’s House, and feeling herself.
Taboo is a project where you give yourself permission to say what you need to say and take up more space. Can you talk more about how that mindset developed during the process of creating this record, especially after transitioning from your time with Oshun to embarking on this solo journey?
Since I was creating and performing with Oshun for so long, and with the cultural and political themes that were integral to our artistry, there was some sort of pressure to present as a one-dimensional, spiritual person and really reflect and embody those themes of healing, femininity, and elevation. Those themes are still fundamental with who I am today, but I’m really embracing my multidimensionality with Taboo. I have learned that the thoughts and feelings translated on the EP don’t take away from my spiritual journey or make me any less of a priest or mother. And also, bitches ain’t shit sometimes!
You’ve mentioned how Taboo is a reflection of your new phase as both an artist and a mother. How did your experience of motherhood shape the themes and sound of the EP? Were there any specific moments or emotions that you wanted to express through your music in this new role?
So, I feel like my experience of motherhood is translated in two ways. One is lyrically with the themes on the project. How I talk about having my baby on my back and breastfeeding on the plane. Motherhood is so embedded in what I’m writing, rapping and singing about because it is just a part of life! And second is sonically. Taboo feels like the most heavy and hard-hitting music I’ve made so far.
Of course there is balance in it with tracks like Ain’t Shit, which is a bit more sultry and R&B, but the overall attitude on the project is a bit more gangster, if you will? Funnily enough, I feel like that is an embodiment of motherhood. The mama bear like, fuck with my child and see what happens! And that is animated a bit more with the braggadocious nature of being a rapper, as well. In terms of specific emotions I wanted to express, it really is just don’t play with me or my child!
Of course there is balance in it with tracks like Ain’t Shit, which is a bit more sultry and R&B, but the overall attitude on the project is a bit more gangster, if you will? Funnily enough, I feel like that is an embodiment of motherhood. The mama bear like, fuck with my child and see what happens! And that is animated a bit more with the braggadocious nature of being a rapper, as well. In terms of specific emotions I wanted to express, it really is just don’t play with me or my child!
From your upbringing in a family immersed in music and culture to your time at NYU’s Clive Davis Institute, you’ve had a rich and varied musical background. How do you feel these influences, especially the mix of Pan-African and Western traditions, show up in the way you approach your music now as a solo artist?
I’m really giving myself permission, now more than ever, to really integrate all the different parts of myself. One of the fundamental parts, and actually what helped me get into NYU, which I fought so hard for, was my rock band in high school. We were writing and performing our own music, which was the first time I was getting on stage. I was so shy and timid! But I’m so glad I had that experience then so by college I knew that performing and making music was what I wanted to do.
And once I moved to New York and we started Oshun, I was in a bit of a neo-soul bubble so my alternative/rock side wasn’t as prevalent in that era. Not that I’m a full ‘rock’ artist now, but you can feel it and the breadth of my influences that I’ve swirled up that are all me. It’s not solely one thing! And I’m a lot more comfortable with that now.
And once I moved to New York and we started Oshun, I was in a bit of a neo-soul bubble so my alternative/rock side wasn’t as prevalent in that era. Not that I’m a full ‘rock’ artist now, but you can feel it and the breadth of my influences that I’ve swirled up that are all me. It’s not solely one thing! And I’m a lot more comfortable with that now.
Your visual world incorporates images from your home and the natural landscapes in Puerto Rico and upstate New York. How have these landscapes influenced your musical work?
For one thing, the landscapes have really given me space to think, feel and hear myself. To get out of the gogogo of the city and be still for a moment to observe myself, thoughts, feelings and create from that space. As an artist, the creative process is multifold. You have to allow yourself to go out in the world to experience things and then grant yourself that space of isolation to process before creating art from those experiences. Having space and refuge outside of the city has been amazing for me.
And also as a new mom, I feel like I created a softer landing for myself. My post-partum experience has been a lot softer and slower than if I was in the city. I’ve given myself the space for recovery, both in the childbirth itself along with my day-to-day healing as it is a constant practice. This environment and landscape has really given me the space to put myself back together in a more holistic way so I can continue to create art for longer in my life.
And also as a new mom, I feel like I created a softer landing for myself. My post-partum experience has been a lot softer and slower than if I was in the city. I’ve given myself the space for recovery, both in the childbirth itself along with my day-to-day healing as it is a constant practice. This environment and landscape has really given me the space to put myself back together in a more holistic way so I can continue to create art for longer in my life.
“As an artist, the creative process is multifold. You have to allow yourself to go out in the world to experience things and then grant yourself that space of isolation to process before creating art.”
Having spent years creating as part of Oshun, how has your process evolved now that you’re working solo? Do you find yourself approaching collaboration and production in a different way, or do you maintain some of the same instincts you honed during your time with Oshun?
I’ve definitely built on the processes established with my time in Oshun. My biggest collaborator is my producer, Proda, who is also my partner and the father of my child! Proda was also integral in Oshun, but our lives intertwine in more ways than one now. Since he and I are locked in in so many ways, especially in raising a toddler, our teambuilding is really A-1, which spills into our creative process together. It’s fluid! We drop the baby off at school at 7:30 am, check out beats Proda made the night before, I get in my writing bag, and we have a hit record by 10:30am!
In terms of other collaborations, I actually have a song on the EP about that – No New Friends. The track about how it can feel uncomfortable to open yourself up to new spaces and people. I can be a bit more shy in the studio… I don’t share something until it feels ready to me. I also felt a bit like I had something to prove coming into this solo project, so I was a bit apprehensive to let anyone in the room at first. But I worked through that and eventually let some people in while creating Taboo. It was a learning curve, but I would love to collaborate more in the future!
Also, if I feel the inspiration now, I follow it. My time is a lot more divided these days, so I want to take advantage if I have an idea. I want to capture that moment.
In terms of other collaborations, I actually have a song on the EP about that – No New Friends. The track about how it can feel uncomfortable to open yourself up to new spaces and people. I can be a bit more shy in the studio… I don’t share something until it feels ready to me. I also felt a bit like I had something to prove coming into this solo project, so I was a bit apprehensive to let anyone in the room at first. But I worked through that and eventually let some people in while creating Taboo. It was a learning curve, but I would love to collaborate more in the future!
Also, if I feel the inspiration now, I follow it. My time is a lot more divided these days, so I want to take advantage if I have an idea. I want to capture that moment.
You founded My Mother’s House, which centres around honouring ancestral practices. How do the teachings and spiritual practices that you champion there inform the music you create? Do you see your art and your spiritual practices as two intertwined elements of your self-expression?
Yes, I do! My Mother’s House centres ancestral practices, especially ifa orisa spirituality, which is the foundation of my priesthood, and is the cultural spiritual practice based out of present day Nigeria. It is really an extension of our work as Oshun. In terms of how it relates to my new music, it was something I really had to sit with in this transition. Before it felt like more of a direct line between the two, and now, my work isn’t showing those principles, but more so ‘this is what I’m doing with the principles’ and ‘this is how I’m navigating things.’
The way that it all integrates is I’m still recognising my music and art as an offering. Which gets me really excited for the live show as I’ll be bringing in images and practices from My Mother’s House into the concert setting! Overall, me putting a name to my journey is how my music and spiritual practices really intertwine. Ain’t Shit is a perfect example of that – it’s taboo and in your face and saying shit others may feel like they can’t. Healing is not on you, it’s in you. So my music is me authentically journeying through life and this shit is hard and beautiful and fun and scary and everything in between! Here’s how I’m going through it, how about you?
The way that it all integrates is I’m still recognising my music and art as an offering. Which gets me really excited for the live show as I’ll be bringing in images and practices from My Mother’s House into the concert setting! Overall, me putting a name to my journey is how my music and spiritual practices really intertwine. Ain’t Shit is a perfect example of that – it’s taboo and in your face and saying shit others may feel like they can’t. Healing is not on you, it’s in you. So my music is me authentically journeying through life and this shit is hard and beautiful and fun and scary and everything in between! Here’s how I’m going through it, how about you?
Rocksteady stands out as a playful, high-energy track compared to some of the other more introspective songs on the EP. What was it like to tap into that more carefree, celebratory energy while working on Taboo, and how does it represent your evolving sense of freedom?
Yeah, it was a process but Rocksteady is really about giving myself that permission to have fun and dance. Something they say to you to do in preparation of labour and giving birth is to move. So that song really captures that permission to be in your body! It’s also about joy — it’s so important! Especially, Black joy – it’s revolutionary!
Rocksteady is also an homage to my partner and really shows the balance of the EP and in turn, my real life. Between that ‘everybody ain’t shit’ energy and the tender side. I love my man – he holds it down! This song shows him that love and recognises the good and how beautiful it is to live this life.
Rocksteady is also an homage to my partner and really shows the balance of the EP and in turn, my real life. Between that ‘everybody ain’t shit’ energy and the tender side. I love my man – he holds it down! This song shows him that love and recognises the good and how beautiful it is to live this life.
The title Taboo suggests a nuanced exploration of societal rules and personal boundaries. Are there any taboos or societal expectations – whether related to your role as a mother, a woman, or an artist – that you feel this album directly challenges or addresses?
Hmm, one of the taboos was to be small, not take up space, which I think was more of an internationalised taboo. Also about being in a duo and sharing the spotlight, which I think can also be internalised about being small or not showing up as your full self. That feels a bit more personal than societal, which I’m continually breaking through with this EP.
Another one of the main taboos, I think, is the wild woman and all the societal taboos around womanhood. The cover of the EP, for example, is me naked with my braids covering my body, which is me appreciating the wild woman in her element, in nature. Also the taboo that Black women owe anybody anything outside of themselves and after you become a mother, things stop.
Self-care is another taboo I’m going against. Caring for yourself is healing and revolutionary and helps you be there for your child and family. I’m also embracing some taboos, as well. The idea of being a housewife can be a taboo. In the imagery of Soccer Mom, I’m pulling from that traditional housewife imagery where I’m ironing and have the pin-up bangs, but what I’m wearing is the post-partum brace, which is literally an indigenous practice to put my organs back together after pregnancy!
The list of taboos really goes on and on! There’s so much to unpack. I feel like as time goes on, my future self will uncover more and more in what I’ve written.
Another one of the main taboos, I think, is the wild woman and all the societal taboos around womanhood. The cover of the EP, for example, is me naked with my braids covering my body, which is me appreciating the wild woman in her element, in nature. Also the taboo that Black women owe anybody anything outside of themselves and after you become a mother, things stop.
Self-care is another taboo I’m going against. Caring for yourself is healing and revolutionary and helps you be there for your child and family. I’m also embracing some taboos, as well. The idea of being a housewife can be a taboo. In the imagery of Soccer Mom, I’m pulling from that traditional housewife imagery where I’m ironing and have the pin-up bangs, but what I’m wearing is the post-partum brace, which is literally an indigenous practice to put my organs back together after pregnancy!
The list of taboos really goes on and on! There’s so much to unpack. I feel like as time goes on, my future self will uncover more and more in what I’ve written.
Having performed at major festivals like Glastonbury and Afropunk with Oshun, how do you envision your live performances evolving now that you’re stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist? What can audiences expect from your solo shows, both musically and emotionally?
I’m so excited for my EP release show at Cafe Erzulie in Brooklyn! The show is still expanding, but it is giving performance art. It’s an intimate space, but we are going to transform it for my performance. People who have been there twenty times aren’t going to experience it the way they will with us. It isn’t totally different than how things were with Oshun, since that is a part of me, there’s still overlap. But my solo shows are an opportunity for me to go bigger and explore some more ideas. I’ll have that pan-African influence, dancers, cultural roots, the hip-hop, bringing the rainforest vibes with me! You’ll see all of that. My live performances will bring listeners into my world.
They’ll also be ceremonial. I come from a line of women who host or emcee, which my father would always say is the ‘master of ceremony’ — the person who sets the tone, establishes the purpose, doulas people through the experience. I plan to bring that concept back into the performance space.
They’ll also be ceremonial. I come from a line of women who host or emcee, which my father would always say is the ‘master of ceremony’ — the person who sets the tone, establishes the purpose, doulas people through the experience. I plan to bring that concept back into the performance space.
Your music has often been deeply rooted in both your personal journey and your broader cultural identity. As you reflect on your growth as an artist and spiritual leader, what do you hope people take away from Taboo?
I hope that people take away from Taboo that their journey is their own. Nobody can take that from you. Also, that you can be your biggest supporter and biggest enemy. And to trust yourself! Be fearless! Embrace the changes, because who you are today might not be who you are tomorrow.
