Nina Sky Debuts New Material at S.O.B.'s
New York City’s infamous music venue S.O.B.’s was buzzing Wednesday night with fans eager to witness the sights and sounds of Nina Sky. While the release of their long-awaited sophomore album, Starting Today, is soon to come, the Queens-bred duo of Nicole and Natalie unveiled new tunes and versions of old ones in a concert event. Nola Darling, another duo, comprised of singing femcees, set the tone for the evening with their own energetic performance.
Once the twin sisters took to the stage in retro attire—Natalie wearing MC Hammer-inspired pants while Nicole donned a black-studded jacket—it would only be an indication of their new collection of songs. Opening up their set with “On Some Bull…” and jumping into the Rick Ross-assisted “Flippin’ That,” Nina Sky then set into introspection, performing a remixed version of “Faded Memories,” an old cut from their self-titled debut album, which was left nearly unrecognizable due to fledging guitars and harmonies.
One of the night’s showstoppers was the title track, “Starting Today,” which finds the versatile songstresses singing the line, “Starting today, I’m saying goodbye to the old me,” over a grandiose pop beat that can only be reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.”
Ending what seemed to be the unveiling of a project that took five years to make, Nicole and Natalie sped things up with the evening’s second defining moment—their performance of “DJ Made Me Do It.” On this soulful track, the twins explain their running makeup to their man and declare innocence to the DJ’s good music. After one night with them, it should be renamed “Nina Sky Made Me Do It.”
Words by Robbi RamÃrez. Photos by Nakeya Brown.