This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KU chapter.
If you don’t know who this blond bombshell is yet, you surely will! Niykee Heaton is a 19 year old musician, singer, and songwriter from Chicago.
Niykee started out singing covers of her favorite hip hop songs on YouTube. As she gained popularity, she started posting some of her own music, and now has just begun really breaking out into the music business. She first performed live with Snoop Dog, has had several meet and greets, and has already released her first EP, Bad Intentions. Look for it on iTunes, when it was released back in September it reached #6 on the iTunes charts. (Check her out on YouTube!)
Aside from her undeniable musical talent, what makes Niykee so great is that she doesn’t try to sell herself as an exaggerated character. She has said multiple times that authenticity is very important to her. She believes this is what helps her to connect with her fans. She has no problem admitting that she loves Taco Bell, and gives her Instagram a very personal feel by uploading pictures almost every day featuring her dog, her manager, whatever she is up to, and whatever she is wearing that day- even if it looks a bit scandalous.
In looking at the pictures she posts, it is obvious that Niykee Heaton is very comfortable in her own skin. She is undeniably gorgeous, but she does not have the typical size 00 model figure. She embraces her curves and has no shame. In one interview with Global Grind TV, Niykee explained that her mother, who was from South Africa, was a total hippie when she was growing up. Because of this, she says, “we were always barefoot, and naked, and free. I thought that was completely normal”. Because there was never any body shame within her family, she grew up wearing next to nothing, and not thinking much of it because it was comfortable. In posting revealing pictures, she has stated that she is not trying to create a “thirst trap”. She doesn’t view it as her trying to be sexy, that is just who she is, and what she was wearing that whole day.
Her authenticity combined with her self-confidence-both in her abilities and her body-makes Niykee Heaton a great role model for Colliegettes. Although she posts a lot of photos on her Instagram that may be questionable, her justification that these photos really represent her personal style gives her an aura of empowerment. She takes ownership of her body and dresses for herself, not for men. Sometimes she looks sexy, sometimes she’s just in sweat pants, but she is always true to Niykee.
All Photos were taken from Niykee Heaton’s Instagram