N.E.R.D. was also from - not too far from where I was from

Hear the words of Kali Uchis, who spoke of her origins and her inspirations: “N.E.R.D. was also from—not too far from where I was from growing up. For a lot of people who make music, that was a huge influence in teen years.” At first, this seems but a memory of sound and geography, yet within it lies a greater truth: that the voices closest to us, the artists who emerge from the same soil as we do, often shape us more profoundly than distant legends. For in them we see not only music, but the proof that greatness can grow from the very streets we walk.

When she recalls N.E.R.D., the group forged by Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley, she is not merely naming musicians, but pointing to a beacon that illuminated the path for her generation. Their boldness, their blending of rock, hip-hop, and soul, their refusal to be confined by genre, spoke directly to the restless hearts of youth. In the teen years, when identity wavers and the soul hungers for direction, their art was more than entertainment—it was a compass, showing that boundaries exist to be crossed, that originality is not only possible, but necessary.

This is the origin of her words: the shared homeland, the nearness of genius, the knowledge that such voices came from “not too far” away. For the young, proximity to greatness is like water to parched soil. When you see someone from your town, your region, your circumstance, rise to heights undreamed of, it whispers to you: you, too, can ascend. Their songs, then, are not distant echoes but intimate calls. Kali Uchis names this truth: the power of influence magnified by closeness, by kinship of place.

History gives us many echoes of this phenomenon. Consider the Renaissance in Florence, where young artists looked not to Rome or distant lands for inspiration, but to their neighbors: Brunelleschi, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo. Each, by achieving greatness, proved to the others that such heights were possible. A single city became the forge of genius, because influence was not remote but near. In the same way, the nearness of N.E.R.D. became a seedbed of courage for young artists like Kali, who saw in their success the possibility of her own.

There is also something deeply human in her words. The teen years are not only about creation but about absorption, about taking in influences that will forever shape the adult self. To fill the ears and soul with voices that defy convention is to train oneself to dream beyond limits. Uchis shows us that the art we consume in youth is never trivial; it is the clay out of which our own voices are molded. If we listen to conformity, we may grow rigid. If we listen to boldness, we may grow daring.

The lesson for us is powerful: surround yourself with influences that call you higher. Do not dismiss the power of what you take in during your youth, for it will stay with you long after the years have passed. Seek out those who came from “not too far” from you, those who prove that your background is not a chain but a foundation. Honor their example, but do not merely imitate—let their boldness awaken your own.

And so, let Kali Uchis’ words be a teaching: greatness is often born not from faraway stars, but from the lights burning near your own doorstep. Let the music, the art, the voices of your region stir you, for they remind you that greatness is not elsewhere—it is within reach. Practically, seek mentors, support local artists, cherish the stories of your own community. For in them you may find, as Kali did, the strength to say: if they could shape the world with their sound, so too can I with mine.

Thus, remember: the nearness of inspiration is itself a divine gift. Listen closely, honor it, and let it guide you. For the voices that shaped your teen years are not just echoes of the past—they are the foundations upon which you may build the song of your future.