Name: Chloe Nixon

Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico

Topics: Artis, Music, Social Justice, Singer, Youth

Quote: “I want to use music to express my views on life, my opinions to change the world.”

My name is Chloe Nixon. I’m 13 years old, I’m African-American. I was originally born and raised here in Albuquerque. I’ve been here my whole life. I like it a lot. I think it’s a very beautiful place. I think I’m very lucky to live here. I live on the Westside by the Tony Hillerman Middle School.

Actually, music was my introduction to theater. I started singing ever since I could talk and I got into voice lessons. I started singing around the city and my mom saw a Facebook post for an audition for a play. I didn’t really want to do it but my dad really encouraged me to do it and so I did it and it was probably the best thing I did in my life, because I really love theater. It was “The Wiz.” It was a lot of fun. It was my first time acting on stage, and it was my first time singing theater songs. I really got into Broadway music and stuff. It was a lot of fun. We did a lot of activities. It wasn’t just acting and rehearsal and get your lines right. We met a lot of people and went to a lot of places.

When I was little and watching TV, I used to watch people’s concerts and see people singing. I would always go to New York, and whenever I went there, they would always have some gig to do and they were really musical around me and that really inspired me. My grandfather played the guitar and he sang, and that’s what inspired me, and I’m thankful for them.

My dad was born in Miami, Florida and he grew up in Belen. My mom is from South Dakota, and so everyone on my mom’s side is from South Dakota. Then my mom came here because of a friend and the rest of her family came here because of her. So yeah it’s really cool that I can live here because [we] really weren’t expecting that, to live here.

Well, I remember when I was little and I was in New York my aunt had a talent show and my grandfather was playing the guitar for her, and I knew the song and everything and I just thought it was so cool and I remember saying I want to do that.

I’m really into archaeology and anthropology. I’m into theater and acting a lot. And then drama at my school, that was actually… I wasn’t expecting to get drama, it’s just the elective I chose. They stopped doing it so they put me in drama. That was actually pretty cool of them to do that because drama is pretty fun. I like all kinds of music. I listen from jazz [to] hip-hop to classical. I sing opera a little bit. I have sung opera since I was in 5^th grade, so I’ve always kind of liked classical. And I just like all types of music. I look up to John Legend and Ed Shier.

I just… I can’t really imagine myself anywhere big. I can’t, I don’t. There’s not really anywhere I want to get with music. I just want to produce music and spread the joy of music and make music for myself and other people, and it goes where it goes.

My play group that I’m in… they do plays around African-American things; they did Root Revival. They did plays around African-American authors. They are doing Root Revival II and it was a play about how music today all came from Africa, and so I think being an African-American in a place like Albuquerque brought me to discover more about my background.

I was my school’s national anthem singer. I sang the national anthem for the sports games a lot. I’ve always been with Black Lives Matter. I have always figured we need to change something in the country. I feel kids my age tend to be a little closed-minded about that, so I saw what Kaepernick did. He inspired me a lot, because he really opened my eyes to some things at my age and I wanted some kids at my school to do the same. So, I decided when I sing a national anthem for a volleyball game I would kneel to show that I support Kaepernick and [that] this country needs to change something and this country doesn’t treat Black people the way they should be treated. So, I’m with Kaepernick. I will stand once this country what the national anthem and the pledge of allegiance represent. Once this country lives up to the standards that it has set for it, I will stand because I believe this country needs liberty and justice for all which we still don’t have and that’s why I say the pledge of allegiance every day. By pledging allegiance to the flag, I believe we still need liberty and justice and by kneeling for the national anthem, I’m saying, “Hey, let’s make this country what it can be, let’s make this country what our soldiers fought for.”

At school, I got a lot of positive feedback and a lot of negative feedback. I was expecting that. I knew that I could not do something like that and not. It was a very controversial subject so I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that without negative criticism. And I knew I couldn’t be scared of that, so I got negative comments on Facebook and a lot of positive comments. At school, no one really said anything to me, which I wasn’t too surprised when I actually think about it because I believe that people have the right to do whatever they want and I feel like my school understands that. There were some kids out there that had their opinion and some kids that were proud. And it’s controversial [but] I do think it raised awareness from a kid’s point of view in America today.

I made my point and everything, I was scheduled to sing it the next week, but it was the news. A lot of people on the news was kind of eating it up and I know they like controversial subjects and the volleyball game for that week was a breast cancer fundraiser and I wanted to give it more attention to that [sic], for the Breast Cancer Society to respect them and not make it be about Chloe. I want to use music to express my views on life, my opinions to change the world, however I can change the world. Just follow my heart with music. I say that music always lets me express myself in ways I can’t record words, so I really relate to that.

I have met a lot of friends through doing music. I have a lot of friends that share the same interest as me. I perform at coffee shops. I perform at big events. I have performed at the Black Expo and the State Fair. I have performed with Zavier (Thompson) on his new album. I sing on his album and I backed him up with some of the raps he did, so it’s been a lot of fun. I’m working on my first album.

Defiantly putting feeling into it, and my theater, since we did a play about music coming from Africa was exposed more music types [sic]. Because it shows how music coming from Africa relates to music today. So, I really fell in love with jazz doing that play, and so I wrote a song that was very jazzy, so it just exposed me to different types of music.

This city is very loving and it’s a lot of fun. [There are] lots of places to perform, believe it or not. Here, there’s a lot of cool events to do.

I have a lot to do to occupy my time with. I always like to hang out with people, do good socially around the community. I have always wanted to live in New York. I think it would be a lot better for my music career.

A big part in my life right now… I’m working a lot on an audition in Carnegie Hall in New York. That’s what I’m revolving a lot of my life around. I take voice lessons twice a week, and I take guitar lessons, and I’m taking a break from piano lessons, but in the future will continue with my piano lessons.

I have looked at Juilliard, Berkley and Spelman, those are all good majors for music. Good thing about Stoneman is I can major in Music and minor in Anthropology. I feel I try to empower women of color, especially in this society today. I try to be independent and friendly with everyone, and try to [be] friends with everyone. I perform a lot of places, and collaborate. Singing at school is a lot of fun. I have met a lot of influential people here in music. There’s a big community here in Albuquerque.

Do whatever expresses yourself, put in hard work. Don’t give up and don’t let no one tell you you can’t do it. If you want it bad enough, you’ll make it. Thank you, guys. Thank you.