Reminiscent of the nostalgic 90s when R&B/Hip Hop music was as versatile as its artists, Nubia Emmon reminds us of that groundbreaking and exhilarating time period. She brings a cool laid back swag, an energetic spontaneity, and her own unique artistry to the music scene.
She can move easily between performing danceable club tracks to a slow ballad such as “At Last” by Etta James. As unassuming as she is, Nubia will you tell you she is your everyday home girl, but make no mistake about it, this R&B Singer/Rapper Nubia Emmon is the total package. From the “Capital of Live Music” – Austin, Texas she comes from a musical family including multi-platinum producer Salih Williams who was responsible for a slew of hits including Still Tippin' (Mike Jones), Draped Up (Bun B), My 64 (Mike Jones), Sittin' Sideways (Paul Wall) among other hits, her Uncle Tomar of Tomar & the FCs and her father Karriem Williams who is her manager.
"I like to tell stories with my music," she says. “I was born in the 90s and I love the music of that era when R&B was dating Hip Hop,” she laughingly says. "I want to show how you can merge R&B and Rap music in telling stories about love and just life in general."
Realizing what it takes: sacrifice and hard work, whether she is working in the studio, at shows, in the community or with other artists, Nubia's dream is to become a world class performer. Her fans seem to believe this too as she has been voted #1 by Austin listeners (Best Radio R&B Artist, Best Female Radio Song and Best Female R&B Live). Not restricted to Texas, she’s also placed first in various showcases in New York and Atlanta as well as performing through out Texas, Mississippi, Chicago, Illinois, and Phoenix, Arizona. Nubia is adamant about supporting other artists and has performed in duets and with live bands, including her uncle’s band, “Tomar & the FCs”. She has done countless collaborations which included Austin producer DDi, and Def Jam's former recording artist, Lil Niqo, who jumped on her track 'Dancing Machine'. Further exercising her versatility as an artist, Nubia had a cameo role in the movie “The Holy Spoof” starring Rapper Paul Wall, Ms. Mykie and Dough Beezy, and she has graced the covers of fashion and cultural publications.
On a personal tip, Nubia says she has experiences like a lot of young people which makes it easy to sing about issues that young people go through. She grew up in a working class home, experienced the turmoil of her parent’s divorce, relocating, losing friends, gaining friends, new schools, dealing with her parent’s remarrying, a painful break up, her Mom's battle with breast cancer, and finally graduating and charting her course as an artist under the guidance and watchful eye of her father, a former A&R who is also her manager. “This is why a lot of my earlier songs are about relationships—they had such an impact on my life during a trying time.” As fate would have it, the unexpected, unpredicted and unforeseen happened: her Mom was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in 2011 and passed on November 21, 2013---less than 2 years after the cancer was discovered. It was devastating. Nubia tweeted, “my Mother taught me everything except how to live without her.”
With the help of her team, Nubia Emmon is using her talent in music to give back to the community through participating in events that focuses on breast cancer awareness and motivating youth towards success. One of her signature projects is the “Pretty Girls that Rock the Mic” benefit concert. The purpose is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer awareness/research and to showcase the talent and diversity among female artists in Texas. The first show was a smashing success and led to an ongoing relationship with the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer/Austin Affiliate. Nubia and her team have consistently promoted involvement in the annual Komen/Austin Race for the Cure of which Nubia has kicked off the event since 2012 by singing the National Anthem as well as participating and racing with her team. This year, look for news about the next Pretty Girls that Rock the Mic for Breast Cancer Awareness on November 4, 2023 at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin.
Nubia Emmon—who also aspires to be a philanthropist has goals of joining the ranks of other great artists who have been trail blazers. But keeping it all in perspective, she says, “the music business is very fast paced. If you don’t keep up and stay up, you can quickly become irrelevant. Still, I try to always stay focused on what’s important because in the end I want to be remembered as someone who actually made a difference and never compromised who I am for fame or money.”