Grammy winners

Nova Wav creates a beat that inspires young, Black artists

By Cilicia Anderson

Outlook writer

At first Brittany “Chi” Coney thought she’d met the singer that she’d always wanted to develop when she was introduced to Tallahassee’s Denisia “Blu June” Andrews.

They communicated long distance for awhile and soon realized that they had the chemistry that could turn out the kind of work that connects them with some the industry’s best. Today they are known as Nova Wav and it seems the sky is the limit.

They’ve written and produced work for a list of mainstream artists that includes Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige and DJ Khaled. 

Along the way, they’ve won a Grammy and were named among Billboards’ 2018 R&B/Hip-Hop 100 Power Players.

Coney and Andrews crossed paths about 10 years ago. Coney’s distinctive drum beat was the attraction. Andrews was working with an independent artist when the beat got her attention.

“One of the guys played a beat for me and I asked, ‘Who made this beat? This beat is dope.’ He said a girl made it. She lives in Atlanta and she’s actually looking for a female artist to develop,” Andrews said. “So I reached out to her to find out more and she loved what I was doing. 

“We started sending each other tracks via the internet and maybe two years after I met her, I ended up moving to Atlanta where she was and that’s where we cultivated our sound and really got to know each other. We became a team.”

They eventually discovered that in addition to their passion for music, they have a strong belief in a higher power.

Andrews recalled singing in church as a young girl growing up in Tallahassee. That inspired her to start singing as a possible career.

“Even as a little girl I’ve always loved music and playing with words,” Andrews said. “I grew up writing poetry and I’ve always just had a love for words. You know; putting words together and telling stories. I grew up singing in church and I just kind of made both worlds collide.”

Coney, a Plant City, Fla., native, started her journey learning to play instruments at a young age. Her instruments of choice was her grandfather’s piano and the saxophone she played in her school’s band.

Drumming seemed more second-nature, though.

“I was always the one that was drumming on the lunchroom table,” she said. “I was a real big fan of Timbaland back in the day so I would copy his drum patterns and I was just super interested in it.”

With encouragement from a local producer who attended her high school, she began creating her own beats on a digital audio workstation called Fruity Loops (now FL Studio) and it’s been a wrap ever since. She continued to create beats while in college at Savannah State University and later when she transferred to Georgia State University.

Since taking on the name Nova Wav, they’ve intertwine their skills and create top hits including “thank u, next” by Ariana Grande, “Everything is Love” by The Carters, and “Black Parade” by Beyoncé.

“Beyoncé is such a visionary and to connect with another queen and have the same goals, the same mindset, and the same mantras that we just want to express for our Black people, it’s been amazing,” Coney said. “Just to connect with her on that level has been an experience like no other because she’s on a mission and we preach God, we preach an uplifted mindset, we literally just try and put that into all our songs really. Then when you find and connect with the cream of the crop, they are the most genuine and humble people.”

The duo has come to find out that the life-changing experiences they’ve had is just one side of the coin. They’re finding out that their race and gender can bring on some negativity, they said.

“People just believe that you’re not good or you can’t do it and they underestimate you, especially when it comes to production because not a lot of women have just come in and dominate that area,” Coney said. “I think the challenge I really faced with that was believing that I wasn’t good enough and not realizing that, first, I needed growth and secondly, people didn’t see people like us, they didn’t see women coming in, so it was an unfamiliar thing for them to try to open the door for us.”

They push on anyway, overcoming obstacles and maintaining a confidence in each other that has helped them grow in the industry. At the same time, they’ve made it their goal to open doors for other Black women.

They know the significance of that, too.

“It’s been great because you have a shoulder to lean on, somebody to always bounce ideas off of and the industry can be a super lonely place,” Andrews said. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world so to have somebody that’s always there, that you know has your back 24/7, it takes a lot of the load off of you. It’s been really dope, especially being women and knocking down these barriers and really showing up at the right time with each other and for each other it’s been a blessing.”