Nikki Jean Shares Short Film GET FREE

Today, singer-songwriter Nikki Jean follows her Rhymesayers Entertainment debut project, Beautiful Prison, with a self-directed short film celebrating women of color: Get Free. The film features a dozen other artists and entrepreneurs including Goldie Patrick, Veronica Zacharias, Ama Law, Tashira Halyard, April Manuel, Ebony Westbrook, Onrae Watkins, Kacey Williams, Zewditu Jewel, Anika Hobbs, and more. As this project continues to develop, Nikki Jean hopes to use her platform to share the stories of other inspired women.

"The opportunity to make something that inspired me, inspired by people whose work and energy I eagerly desire to amplify, was irresistible. This piece is a result of my own journey, my celebration of others on the path, and my desire for us all to get free."

- Nikki Jean

Nikki Jean continues to be a tenacious advocate for empowerment in conjunction with her celebrated music career. In the self-directed music video for the standout track, "Driver," Nikki Jean pays a visit to her alma mater, Howard University, and surrounds herself with women whose creativity and contributions to society inspire her immensely. It was this video, which began as an attempt to celebrate strength and unity that evolved into the Get Free short film. Last month, Nikki Jean premiered Get Free as part of a speech at IDEA-GEN, a global UN summit focused on empowering women and girls.

Born and raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nikki Jean studied theatre before moving to Philadelphia and joining the band Nouveau Riche as lead singer. She gained major recognition for her contributions to Lupe Fiasco's "Hip Hop Saved My Life" from the Grammy-nominated album, The Cool, before going on tour with Kanye West (Glow IN THE DARK Tour, 2008) and Mayer Hawthorne (A Strange Arrangement Tour, 2009). Nikki Jean co-wrote songs with Bob Dylan, Burt Bacharach, Lamont Dozier, Carly Simon and more, for her 2011 Pennies in a Jar LP, before releasing 2013's X-Mas EP and 2014's Champagne Water EP. She also appeared on Brother Ali's A Bite Marked Heart (2012) and Lupe Fiasco's Tetsuo & Youth (2015), for which she performed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.

Last year, in addition to appearing on a whopping six tracks from Lupe Fiasco's Drogas WaveLP, Nikki Jean also released a string of her own new singles, including "People & Planes", "Mr Clean", and "Pink Lemonade", all of which appear on her Rhymesayers Entertainment debut, Beautiful Prison.