5 min read
Nick Brewer is a critically acclaimed rapper and recording artist, who has sold over 200,000 records, gained millions of streams and YouTube views, and also earned himself a top 20 hit along the way. As well as remaining involved in the music industry in both a creative and managerial capacity, he is now a patron for Anxiety UK; the biggest national anxiety charity. Nick also heads up his own organisation - Talk About It - where he works with young people, exploring the power of creative writing.
Nick has a fascinating story about going from being too anxious to attend school, to performing his songs in front of thousands of people. Nick shares about how he struggled to really know who he was through his school years. Being a quiet and shy boy who just wanted to fit in, Nick talks openly and honestly about the struggle he went through to find out who he truly was.
Nick tried to use his ability to rap at school to get people to like him, which in turn led to Nick rapping about negative things such as violence, and talking about a life that didn’t represent who he truly was. Because Nick was trying to find his identity in the wrong things, he got himself into a lot of situations that he didn’t really need to.
Nick came to the realisation that he didn’t want to go down the same path that many of his friends were going down; a life of crime and underachievement. Nick decided that he wanted to make a positive impact through his life. Even though he was not the most confident person, he did not want to let that hold him back from being who he was made to be.
He went to University to study History, and graduated with a 2:1 degree. At the same time, Nick started writing songs about his struggles, Christian faith, personal relationships and everything else he was going through. Nick also became a mentor, working with challenging students across inner city London boroughs, and seeing huge improvement among them. Nick got signed to Island Records in 2014, but still has a huge passion for young people, and uses his story and music to inspire and encourage.