For most parents, the thought of picking a favorite child out of a group of siblings is a nearly impossible task.
The same can be said for musicians and their music, according to Atlanta rapper Alex Tonico.
“It’s hard to name a favorite. They’re all songs that I’m proud to have done,” Tonico said. “Depending on my mood or what I have going on in my personal life, the song that I enjoy the most constantly changes.”
At 23, Tonico, who performs under the stage name “Nicodagoat,” is already a veteran of the Atlanta music scene, performing and producing content in the city for over the past six years.
His sixth digital album, “Slow Jamz, Volume II,” debuted earlier this year on Apple Music, showcasing Tonico’s ability to combine his personal experiences of heartbreak, loss and overcoming adversities with an array of unique musical compositions.
While the road to success has proven to be as unpredictable as one of Tonico’s fast-paced musical beats, the path to artistic enrichment and finding the “truth” within his music has never been more clear.
‘It’s fun to dream’
Primarily raised in Georgia, Tonico grew up listening to Atlanta-based artists such as Outkast and T.I. and quickly developed a love for hip-hop music.
Throughout his teenage years, Tonico regularly wrote lyrics at home and rapped with friends in between classes while attending Midtown High School.
Despite his love for music, the rapper was hesitant to pursue a professional career, uncertain what feedback he would receive from his family, friends and other potential listeners.
“I actually dropped my first song online while I was still in high school and deleted it about three hours later,” Tonico said. “I knew I had the passion for it but was still nervous about putting my work out just because the music I was working on was so raw. I wasn’t ready to take that leap of faith yet.”
Determined to stay in the “music capital of the South” after graduating from Midtown High, Tonico enrolled at Georgia State University with aspirations to become a sports journalist while pursuing music as a hobby.
However, during the beginning of his freshman semester, it quickly became apparent that his love of creating songs took center stage.
“I got to school, and my degree program was just not working out the way that I had planned,” Tonico said. “I started realizing how good I was at music and how much it helped me to express my thoughts. Why not put everything I had into it and see what I could get out of it.”
For the following four semesters, Tonico began spending his days attending classes on campus and his nights writing, recording and mixing his own music in his dormitory. While cathartic for the artist, the sessions came with various creative trials and tribulations.
“I probably made over 100 songs on that campus that will never touch the Earth,” said Tonico. “Sometimes you have to go through a period of just inventing, testing out your skills to determine what you like and don’t like.”
The result of his labor was “Free My Spirit,” a debut extended play compromised of 10 original songs and released on Apple Music in 2019.
Although Tonico looks back at the freshmen attempt as “not very developed or cohesive” compared to his current work, it quickly showcased his talent and abilities to his peers.
Life imitating art
“Spirit” and the positive reception from its listeners quickly motivated Tonico to create music for his next project, “Family Matters,” released the following year.
For Tonico, the album was an opportunity to pay tribute to the family and friends who supported his aspirations.
“Family has always been important to me,” said Tonico. “Not just my mother and father, but also my friends. My motivation is to provide for them and help to create generational wealth. I want to make sure that everyone eats.”
Tonico credits his family ties, personal relationships and life experiences with contributing to the evolution of his musical style and songwriting, for better or worse.
“Being able to produce my music and create is like therapy, and that notepad is my couch,” he said. “Heartbreak, moments of self-doubt, going through hard times all help to influence the music. Heartbreak, for example, makes it easier to feel some type of way and gives you something to write. You can use anything you go through and place it in the music.”
Translating life experiences into lyrics has migrated into Tonico’s latest musical project, “Slow Jamz Volume II,” a successor album to one of the rapper’s earlier projects of the same name.
A compilation of songs focusing on topics from romance to gaining self-assurance and motivation, Tonico credits the album with allowing him to showcase his evolving sound and creative decisions as an artist.
“Everything I put out now is more focused on detail and crafting a more specific sound, to even the smallest aspects,” Tonico said. “I’m much more focused on the quality of the music. I’ll never be one of these artists who can drop a certain amount of songs a bunch of times per year. I would rather sit out, take my time with the work and allow life to give me something to rap about.”
With “Slow Jamz Volume II,” Tonico hopes that listeners can find things from their own lives to relate to with each song they stream.
“I want people to be able to listen to one of my songs five years from now and still have it be relevant to what someone is going through,” he said.
“I want people to listen to it and be like ‘I’ve been through this’ or ‘I was in a relationship just like that.’ My goal is to make people feel something in their chest and their heart when they are listening to something that I put out,” he added.
‘Metro Atlanta love letter’
While Tonico tries to maintain a “universal” approach in music, devoid of any specific region or area sound, he credits the city of Atlanta with helping to craft many of the inspirations and ideas for his songs.
“The culture of Atlanta mainly inspires my music more than the rappers themselves,” Tonico said. “All of the lingo, the people. If you go to any other part of the country, you can see the clear difference in how people talk, dress and show their money off. It’s something very unique.”
Although Tonico admires many of the rap legends who have found success in Atlanta, including Young Thug, Lil Wayne and Lil Keed, he no longer sees many similarities musically with the artists.
“When I was first starting out, I sort of wanted to see if I could sound off like Young Thug or Gunna because those were the Atlanta greats everyone was listening to,” Tonico said. “But now, the more that I’ve created content. I feel like I no longer make music just because it is popular or there is a chance it will fit into what everybody else is doing.”
He believes that despite the quality behind his music, he does risk not being as well known as his colleagues for not fitting into a more ‘mainstream’ category with the type of work he develops.
“All the music that you here now, that goes viral on TikTok or social media, is all about being catchy or repetitive,” Tonico said. “It’s the popular lane, but that’s not my lane.”
Despite not receiving as many views as other artists in the present, Tonico, who has recently lent his talents to songwriting for television and film, hopes to continue to rise in his musical talents and fanbase in the future.
While he claims that he will never measure his success by money or accolades, his main desire will always be to leave an eternal mark on the entertainment industry with his music.
“I want to be the greatest to ever do it, regardless of if I ever have 10,000 number one hits or win 100 Grammys,” he said.
“I would love to have the accolades to back up my career, I won’t lie, but those things will never define my career. I’m fine not appealing to the masses. As long as I have respect from my peers for my artistry, my talent, and the loyalty of my listeners, I couldn’t think of anything greater to be proud of,” he added.
After taking a moment of reflection, he does offer one final observation.
“What do you think Kanye’s reaction would be when I start breaking some of his records?”
