Biography
Nia Smith, a Brixton native whose soul-rooted approach to singing and songwriting draws from Lauryn Hill, Amy Winehouse, and Chronixx, issued her first Polydor release, the organic Give Up the Fear EP, in 2024.
Growing up in South London, she began teaching herself guitar during her early teens and, after growing impatient with covers, turned to creating original material. Formal studies in musical theatre at the BRIT School and in music at East London Arts & Music followed, alongside constant efforts to hone her stage presence in any available setting. Early in the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, a TikTok clip of her performing Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” spread widely online. Though she had already been recording, her commercial breakthrough arrived only in 2024 under the major-label Polydor imprint. That May she unveiled the resolute ballad “Give Up the Fear,” co-written with Violet Skies and Ed Thomas; the latter produced the track alongside Jimmy Napes, whose prior Grammy-winning contributions include work with Sam Smith. Three months later, after appearing at SZA’s BST Hyde Park festival, Smith returned with the reggae-inflected “Personal,” available both as a solo recording and as a duet with Popcaan, one of her preferred deejays. A third track, the downcast “Little Red Car,” preceded the full five-song Give Up the Fear EP that collected these singles.
Growing up in South London, she began teaching herself guitar during her early teens and, after growing impatient with covers, turned to creating original material. Formal studies in musical theatre at the BRIT School and in music at East London Arts & Music followed, alongside constant efforts to hone her stage presence in any available setting. Early in the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020, a TikTok clip of her performing Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain” spread widely online. Though she had already been recording, her commercial breakthrough arrived only in 2024 under the major-label Polydor imprint. That May she unveiled the resolute ballad “Give Up the Fear,” co-written with Violet Skies and Ed Thomas; the latter produced the track alongside Jimmy Napes, whose prior Grammy-winning contributions include work with Sam Smith. Three months later, after appearing at SZA’s BST Hyde Park festival, Smith returned with the reggae-inflected “Personal,” available both as a solo recording and as a duet with Popcaan, one of her preferred deejays. A third track, the downcast “Little Red Car,” preceded the full five-song Give Up the Fear EP that collected these singles.
Singles
