Rapper Andre Nickatina made his way to the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA on Nov. 30 amongst a sold-out crowd. The Bay Area legend, with his red hat and crisp white tee representing the Fillmore district of San Francisco, didn’t waste any time running to the stage chucking a water bottle at the crowd and getting them all wet.
With 25 years in the game and many hits under his belt, Nickatina is a well-known household name in northern California. With a lot of respect to Bay Area legend Mac Dre who was killed 14 years ago, Nickatina told everyone to point their fingers to the sky and say “rest in peace Mac Dre, we love you.”
Flowing to many of his hits like "Ayo for Yayo" and "Dice for Life" a large number of spectators knew the words to every song. The majority of people who attended the House of Blues were from Northern California so they felt right at home as soon as Nickatina hit the stage. "Jungle" and "Killa Whal" are two songs his fans knew all the lyrics too. The recent resurrection of his 75 girls label, his new album titled Pisces and the North American tour, Nickatina is still adding fuel to the fire and proving to his fans that he has plans to keep on going for many years to come.
It all started back in 2009, my brothers and I decided to move back to South Central, Los Angeles from the Inland Empire. Both my brothers attended music and film school in Hollywood. At the time I was working construction in Las Vegas for nearly one year, but I always knew I had a passion for photography, but didn’t know what or where to start shooting.
As soon as I finished working in Las Vegas, I saved up enough money to buy a Canon camera. A friend of mine who was a night club promoter at the time asked me to be a roaming photographer at his venue. I had little to no experience shooting anything or anyone, but I felt confident and plus I was a people person, so I knew both of those qualities would help me succeed in being a photographer. I was a club photographer for almost a year until I started meeting people and networking. Then eventually I met a club photographer who owned his own business shooting venues all over Southern California.
For the next five years, I was shooting many nightclubs in LA, OC, IE and the Valley, eventually booking my own gigs. I even shot at the RIO in Las Vegas on the weekends when I worked out there for three months. Additionally, I booked a local night club working Tuesday nights as a roaming photographer for almost three years. At the same time, I was shooting Tuesday nights at a radio station working for rapper Dub-C. So after working at the radio station, I would leave to shoot at the club at night…
But I always felt like I needed to do more and take it to the next level. I felt like I couldn’t possibly shoot night clubs forever. I eventually linked up with my brother who had been writing for Music Connection. And thus, I began shooting local concerts all over Los Angeles and nearby counties. I felt like this was my calling. Not only do I like shooting musicians I listen to, but occasionally, I get to meet them and network with people in the business as well. I love doing what I do, but I do not put all my eggs in one basket.
Aside from shooting clubs and concerts, I have organized photo shoots with models. I have shot many events including birthday parties, weddings, Quinceaneras and more. I feel as a photographer, I cannot stick to just one preference. I feel like I have to do it all and “NO” can’t be the answer. I believe my path may be difficult, but eventually, it will pay off.
