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Heavy gold bling, women in bikinis, cars that cost more than most Americans make in a year: all are iconic images in the world of American hip-hop. You won’t find these accoutrements in the lifestyle of Columbia rapper NicDanger. Nicholas “NicDanger” Rodriguez is the antithesis of a high-rolling rapper. The 23-year-old Columbia hip-hop artist is on a mission to break into the music industry, but his dreams don’t swirl around Maseratis and yachts. While Lil Wayne raps about being “Mr. Make-It-Rain-on-Them-Hoes,” Rodriguez’s lyrics criticize those who glorify such ideas. His song “I’m A Rebel” declares: “You do it for the women, for the drugs, for the fame / Hip-hop, I do it ’cause I love it, ’cause I live it, and I give love to above.” Later in the song, he adds: “I’m a rich king, rich in my own way / You rich only when paid.” Marco “BlackGrits” Patterson, a producer at Bluehouse Studio in Jefferson City who has worked with Rodriguez to record some of his songs, says he respects Rodriguez for writing honest lyrics. “You have guys who rap and all they talk about is money, and yet that’s not the lifestyle they live,” Patterson says. Rodriguez doesn’t rap about getting drunk in the club, either. In fact, he doesn’t drink or smoke. “I just don’t see the point,” he says. Instead, his songs deal with subjects he knows well: ambition, pounding the pavement and proving the doubters wrong. While Rodriguez is unfailingly friendly, quick to break into a warm smile, his music reveals the frustration — even bitterness — that goes along with being an up-and-coming artist. 58 inside columbia february 2014
I t’s not just Rodriguez’s rhymes that set him apart from the glam rappers on the radio. Although he’s still developing his own sound, his music seems closer to alternative or underground rap. For Heezers Palace Studios owner and music producer Tim Hanson, Rodriguez’s style calls to mind independent artists such as Tech N9ne and Hopsin. “Nic is a really unique artist in that he doesn’t necessarily fit in the same basket as every other rapper I work with,” says Hanson, who’s helped Rodriguez lay down some studio tracks. “His music is definitely very raw and very straightforward. He doesn’t have to put a lot of glitter on it.” Rodriguez cites a diverse group of artists as his musical influences: Buddy Holly, Immortal Technique, Puddle of Mudd, Arrested Development, Frankie Valli, Chaka Khan, Tech N9ne, Michael Jackson and countless others. In honor of the rapper’s Latino roots — his father is from Venezuela — Rodriguez also listens to bachata and salsa artists such as legendary Cuban singer Celia Cruz. Another crucial influence: Rodriguez’s supportive family, including his parents, Mary and Miguel Rodriguez, two younger sisters and an assortment of aunts, uncles and cousins — many of whom are also involved in the arts. Although Mary and Miguel divorced when their son was young, they’ve always worked together to put him first. Mary jokes that she sometimes has to remind Miguel that she’s the one who delivered their son into this world, but the talk takes a serious turn when she says a lot of families aren’t lucky enough to include an involved father. “It kind of shows in Nicholas,” she says. “I think that helped a lot, in addition to his own drive and determination. I guess it was just a good recipe for success.” Poetry inspires Rodriguez. The seeds of his rap career were planted with fourth-grade poetry assignments at Rock Bridge Elementary School. Rodriguez would write in his composition notebook, and when the teacher said time was up, he found he wanted to keep going. So he began writing poetry at home, too, and that interest in poetry eventually translated to music. Many notebooks later, after graduating from Hickman High School, Rodriguez took a call center job alongside his mother. “I looked over at him, and he was sitting there on the phone writing,” she says with a laugh. R odriguez says his background in break-dancing — a talent that landed him in a previous issue of Inside Columbia — figures into his musical style as well. “You can dance with your voice, too,” he says. And dance he does: Rodriguez uses what Hanson refers to as “lyrical trickery.” He ramps up or slows down the speed of his delivery to fit the content of each song, and his style can have an aggressive edge. He selects beats and writes hooks that feel true to him instead of just following the latest hiphop trends. “He’s not a real commercial guy, and I don’t think he wants to be,” Hanson says. “He doesn’t want everybody to like his music. He doesn’t want people to dislike him, but he kind of gets a spark under him when he gets comments on his videos.” As Rodriguez puts it: “I stand for being yourself. Some people might not like it, some people might not agree, but at the end of the day, people appreciate it.” Hanson is quick to point out that the lack of a commercial sound doesn’t mean Rodriguez won’t make it in the music industry. “There are lots of artists who have been successful, independent, internally driven,” he says. “You don’t hear Tech N9ne on the radio. You don’t hear Krizz Kaliko or Stevie Stone on Top 40 radio. But their fan base is so tuned in that they sell records and they sell out tours and they make a lot of money.” And while NicDanger might not sound like the artists who dominate Top 40 radio stations, he’s armed with a powerful weapon: an unimpeachable work ethic. “It’s like Daniel-san in ‘Karate Kid,’ ” Hanson says. “He’s going to do the crane kick until he’s the master of the crane kick. That’s how Nic approaches being an artist.” Indeed, Rodriguez never seems to rest. He meets up for an interview just TOP: When he was just a child, Nicholas Rodriguez told his family he wanted to become famous. BOTTOM: Rodriguez’s family members are his biggest fans. days after returning from Memphis, where he shot a music video for “Blast Away,” a song from his upcoming mixtape “Poetic & Ignorant.” He’s booked to perform at The Blue Fugue late that night, and the next morning he’ll record some music at Bluehouse Studio. After that, he’ll head to the set of another music video. Between fielding questions, Rodriguez pauses to jot down ideas in the same notebook that appears in his “Blast Away” video. february 2014 inside columbia 59
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