Artist in Focus: Nike Nando

FerNANDO Moore, born in Washington, DC in the summer of 1988, can recall a long list of unfortunate events that followed him throughout his childhood, not limited to losing his mother at age 6 and not knowing his father. Fortunately, they didn’t steer him in a direction that would prevent him from discovering his gift and evolving.

In grade school Nando got into a lot of trouble with teachers for writing short rhymes to impress girls in his classes. In middle school his passion for music became more recognizable and began to flourish. Classmates encouraged him to pursue music further, and he did just that. Atthe High School level the obstacles continued to surface and, eventually, Nando dropped out – but ultimately earned a GED sometime later.

In 2006, noted producer Judah – whose resume lists work with artists such as Wale, Tabi Bonney, Pastor Troy and several others – took Nando under his wing. From Judah, he learned many of the ins and outs of the business and how to become and remain successful. Soon after, Nando released his debut mixtape “The Carry Out”, which he both recorded and mixed in his basement. The highlight of that body of work was its month-long feature on AllHipHop.com. With the many reviews but limited label offers, Nando was inspired to truly master his craft.

In 2007, he released his sophomore effort with a mixtape titled “S.N.E.S.” (‘Sep Nando, Everyone Sucks). This tape was filled with the emotions and frustrations of a young artist seeking recognition, and more importantly – respect. The S.N.E.S. tape had a much broader appeal than the previous tape. Its release introduced a new level of success for Nando with over 1,000 downloads, as well as features on countless major music blogs.

Nando saw that success as a chance to expand his horizons and began performed at several shows in New York City that year. His current release, the “Super Nike Nando” mixtape, features an instant hit single “Super Nike Nando” and other tracks that prove Nando’s growth as an artist. With nationwide show dates, downloads, and blog features, a recurring question on peoples’ minds is, “What’s Nando going to do next?”

His upcoming release “The Carry Out 2″ is slated for release on September 11th (tweet and search #TheCarryOut2 on twitter for up to the minute info and audio snippets!) Listen and download Nando’s latest single from The Carry Out 2 called “LadyBugs” below.

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Download: Limelinx

For more information on Nike Nando, visit him at www.whynotnando.com and follow him on twitter @nikenando.