Rising New Jersey Artist “Nicco Bandz” Talks Deadlocs, Life After Virality, & Plans For 2020
by Jack Dylan Cohen
From a humble, working-class upbringing in Detroit, Michigan, viral-sensation of “Deadlocs Kid” fame Nicco Bandz has begun his get back efforts with a new management team in 2019. Having already toured the United States with Skinnyfromthe9, Nicco has been given more insight into the music industry than most receive in a lifetime.
Relocating back-and-forth between Michigan and New Jersey, Nicco was forced into a position to provide for his family, monetarily, during his adolescence. Through grit and determination, Nicco monetized his Instagram, SoundCloud, and self by taking on performance opportunities, paid features, and promotional posting online on his viral accounts in exchange for clout. This “clout culture” tendency of artists to pay “bigger” artists for reposts is a common practice among SoundCloud frequenters. Even a passer-by could not ignore the massive impact that “Nicco Bandz” foreshadowed as he went viral for his fight video, posted virally through Instagram and Twitter (now over 3 MILLION views!), along with his original song, “Deadlocs” — available to stream on all platforms under Niko’s alias, “Nicco Bandz”.
From what was once a popular Adam22 video clip from Twitter, the curiosity and imminent infamy that came as a result of Niko’s early virality caused him to age a decade, in terms of his rapid artist development. Fresh off a performance at Powerhouse 105.1, Niko enjoyed celebrity treatment among today’s melodic, trap-icons like Lil Tecca. Adam was so enthralled with the attention No Jumper received for its coverage on Niko that he went ahead and extended the “Deadlocs Kid” beyond his manifestation of a Twitter meme into a live, internet phenomenon. In the video below, Adam disambiguates the entire sequence of events leading up Niko’s apparent knockout on camera. Unphased, he spends a solid ~20 minutes covering the sensational content and forecasts his prediction for Nicco Bandz and his niche of modern rap.
Niko’s personal reaction when I interviewed him about how his life had changed after the song’s rise to fame went along these lines…
“My song (“Deadlocs”) really opened the window of opportunity for me to showcase my talent as an entertainer. I have no regrets, and that’s word to my f***in’ Deadlocs b*tch.” — Nicco Bandz
Dignified by his unique brand of slapstick, interrogative, instigative content, Nicco Bandz has high aspirations and predictions to become a millionaire by the time its 2020. He reflects his time touring with Skinnyfromthe9, performing his song on stage, and becoming a household Adam22 name are just the beginning for this man’s young career. Journeying his way through cyberspace, Nicco attempts to break racial barriers with his music as a Caucasian-Mixed rapper (let it be known for the record that Nicco Bandz is actually 25% African-American). In a world where emo-rap may be reaching its doom, Nicco Bandz hopes to diversify his discography with melodic, earworm anthemics, catchily captivating his next monthly Spotify listener or SoundCloud supporter.
For more on Nicco, you can check out his new SoundCloud here.
As Nicco and five-thousand plus Los Angeles citizens await the return of his old Instagram (deleted @ ~27k), you can stay up to date with his doings on his new Instagram, here.
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