Nikki & Rich are Nikki Leonti, born in August 20 1981 the California-born pastor’s daughter grew up singing in church, and Rich Velonskis a.k.a (Rich Skillz), a Queens, NY-born former DJ and established hip-hop/R&B producer who got his start spinning in New York City clubs as a teenager. These two seemingly opposite characters first met in 2007. Nikki was based in Nashville working as a background singer for Carrie Underwood and Rich was in Los Angeles producing tracks for Eve, Robin Thicke, Mario, and Ludacris, under his moniker Rich Skillz., Rich was looking for a strong vocalist and lyricist to collaborate with and take his tracks to the next level and he found the perfect match in Nikki.
The two began working together in December 2008, writing and recording up in Rich’s Hollywood Hills home studio. The result is a sparkling collection of exuberant doo-wop pop-soul—a sound that, thanks to Nikki’s sassy, high-stepping vocal quality, captures all the fun and vitality of classic ’60s girl groups but is made thoroughly modern by Rich’s hard-hitting, radio-ready beats and keyboard textures. Imagine The Chiffons’ Judy Craig or The Marvelettes’ Gladys Horton backed by OutKast and you’re not far off.
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