Earnest And Heartfelt Nia Smith Arrives With Her Debut Single ‘Give Up The Fear’

20-year-old British Musician Nia Smith purses an earnest dream on her debut single ‘Give Up The Fear’ as she takes inspiration from the life around her.

Produced by Grammy-award-winning producer Jimmy Napes, an uplifting piano melody runs throughout upbeat and free-flowing like water. It enhances the drama, and also the film score-like tone to it making Nia feel as if she’s staring in her personal motion picture.

Nia sounds mature with a soulful deliverance that does not give away her age, you feel the heaviness and the self-inflicting pressure lift off of her shoulders as she comes to the realisation that sometimes expectations can do more harm than good.

“[it’s] about finding that inner-child again… you know how when you’re a kid you don’t overthink or second-guess creativity? I would watch my little brother paint when he wants to paint, draw when he wants to draw, while I second-guess what I want to do”, Nia explains.

The accompanying stunning black and white visual is directed by British Director LOOSE (aka Lucy Hickling) and places Nia venturing around Brixton in the quiet of the night riding around on bikes with children but also casting a thoughtful figure as she walks down the Highstreet and Windrush square.

And even if this is technically her debut, singing is deeply familiar to the South Londoner. Since 14 she has been writing songs and singing, learning multiple instruments and even going on to attend the Brit School and ELAM.

“I would steal his iPod and learn the lyrics,” she recalls, thinking about how she would listen to her dad’s record collection that included Aretha Franklin, Lauryn Hill, Adele and Amy Winehouse. 

In the past few years she has supported Mahalia at her Manchester show, Tems at London’s iconic Koko and also sold out her first ever solo show at BeauBeaus - “I was always hustling to try to get on stage,” she grins.

In a happy space where she cultivates her innate musical ability, there’s something exciting about Nia and what’s to come and the heartfelt stories she finally finds herself ready to.

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