NIKI

NIKI, born Nicole Zefanya on 24th January 1999 in Jakarta, Indonesia, is a singer-songwriter and one of the flagship acts of the Asian-American label 88rising. Raised in a musical household, she began performing at church alongside her mother and started uploading original songs and covers to YouTube under her real name before adopting the NIKI moniker. Her sound blends R&B, pop, and rap influences drawn from artists like Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Mariah Carey, and Alicia Keys, resulting in warm, rhythmically fluid vocals over lush, atmospheric production.

NIKI signed to 88rising after her 2017 single «See U Never», and released her debut EP Zephyr in 2018, followed by wanna take this downtown? in 2019. Her debut studio album, MOONCHILD, arrived in 2020 and cemented her as one of the most distinctive voices in the label’s roster, known for tracks such as «lowkey», «Anaheim», and «High School in Jakarta».

Her songwriting often explores intimacy, nostalgia, and coming-of-age themes, delivered with a conversational, diary-like intimacy. NIKI has built a devoted global fanbase through her introspective lyricism and genre-blending style, positioning her as a key figure bridging Southeast Asian pop sensibilities with contemporary Western R&B.