Surrey’s Hidden Gems: Singer/Songwriter Nylez K

“God is so good, sometimes he’s gotta break us in order to break the creativity out of us”, a quote by Eric Thomas, and the words that singer/songwriter Nylez K, from Surrey, British Columbia, lives by. Every month, I will be highlighting some amazing, talented artists rising out of the Surrey area. Moving here last year, I noticed a bit of a disconnect with musicians in Surrey. There are all these amazing artists, however, most have never met, nor heard of each other, when they literally live five houses down. What I want to do, is showcase different artists, especially those who are the hidden gems of this city, and broadcast their story, and of course, their music. The first artist I want to highlight, is Neil Pranjivan, who goes by the name “Nylez K”. From R&B , Pop, to Hip Hop, he can cover it all. I had a chance to talk to him over the past few days about his music, and what he has coming next.

What got you into music?

My parents, my dad was a singer and my mom was a dancer, music was always around me at very young age, I even had a small electric keyboard to play on so I could practice playing melodies on the piano.

What are you listening to right now?

I listen to many different artists, really depends on what kind of mood I’m in, sometimes I’ll listen to Drake, Travis Scott, The Weeknd, but then I’ll have some days where I’ll like to listen to Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Bob Marley, 2pac, Notorious BIG, Usher, 112, Ginuwine. There’s a long spectrum of artists that I listen to you could say.

Do you see this as a Full Time Career?

If your heart is in the right place and your passionate about your craft, yes I can see this as a Full-Time career.

What obstacles have you faced, being South Asian, when you decided you wanted to be an artist?

The only obstacle I faced before deciding I wanted to be an artist was believing in myself and being positive that this was what I wanted to do. Me being South Asian had nothing to do with my decisions, sure most of my success came from singing Bollywood songs at many South Asian events but, I wanted to show the community that there is chance and it is possible to be an artist in this present day.

What advice would you give to other upcoming musicians?

Don’t give up on yourself, if you don’t think you are where you need to be, make a dramatic change in your life, don’t be afraid to take fear head on. Never lose hope. Always practice your craft until you feel it’s perfect. Be yourself.

What is something nobody knows about you?

I always thought about being a comedian. I love to make people laugh.

Favorite genres?

R&B, Hip-Hip, Rap, Trap, Jazz, Soul, Classical.

How does your music tie in with the city you live in?

Near the end of 2014 I started a movement called The VFA Movement. It stood for Vancity From Afar. I always thought for some time that Vancouver artists weren’t getting as much love as they should have been at that time. I was looking at the bigger picture where we could all unite as one and take the industry by storm. It was the name of my first project which I dropped mid 2015, then dropped a PT.2 in 2016. There maybe a PT.3 coming up but that’s for you guys to find out.

What do you want to add to the Vancouver/Lower Mainland music scene?

I want to add more variety and opportunity. I want there to be more output for new artistry to emerge. I want more love and togetherness in this industry if we really want to put Vancouver next to other cities like Los Angeles, Toronto, New York etc.

Any up coming releases?

I have got many things coming up for the next couple months which I’m happy to announce, I’ve got a single release that is bound to happen in the following weeks. The song is called “Remind Me” produced by Me, my very good friend DJ Hark, and Skinny Local, who is actually the director of the music video. After this release I’ll be doing a debut performance at Rifflandia in Victoria, BC alongside with DJ Hark which will be the first music festival I’ll get to be a part of and I am more then ecstatic to have been given this opportunity! After this is done I’ll be coming out with singles for the rest of the year, every week until January of 2019 so you could say there is a lot of Nylez K coming your way!

Be sure to check out Nylez K’s music, and if you’re in Victoria, he will be performing at Rifflandia!

Nylez K Links: