NOTION MAGAZINE NEW MUSIC AWARDS NOMINATION FOR BEST NEW JAZZ/ FUNK/ SOUL

Ni Maxine has been nominated for the Notion New Music Awards in the 'Best New Jazz/ Funk/ Soul' category alongside Ife Ogunjobi, Sienna Spiro, Sekou and Poppy Daniels.

This nomination was a complete surprise when it came in, and it made me feel really proud of the (baby) steps I am taking in my career, with two new singles out and two more to come, to complete my debut EP 'Mother's Arms'. This music really feels like me, a sound which feels right, and an attempt to start to tell my story, for the first time, really. I'll always remember the process of making this record fondly, despire all of the challenges that we were up against and I just can't wait for a new set of circumstances for the next record...

So far, the music has been well-received with some radio play and editorial playlisting as well as few articles, online and in print, which has been really cool. After winning 'Breakthrough Act of The Year' at The Jazz FM Awards 2025, this feels really big. Sometimes in the jazz scene, it can feel like you hit a ceiling, because there are only so many people in the industry who'd even consider a vocalist who didn't study at a conservatoire to be 'jazz' (I have been told that I should and study jazz at a conservatoire if I want to make it as a 'jazz singer'), so yeah, this means a lot, especially coming from an institution that exists outside of the 'jazz' scene. It feels like a big deal to be up there with artists who are signed to major labels.

Musically, I am really inspired by jazz vocalists from Ella to Billie to Nina to Betty Carter, in terms of how they use their voices, in an almost instrument-like fashion, to tell stories for radical social change. That's how I see my music. I'm a 'soft-radical'. In my songs, I talk about things that are a bit taboo, in a gentle way, to keep the topics accessible for an intergenerational crowd so that the music hopefully becomes a catalyst for important conversations to happen, which can change perspectives and change the world...

Speaking of 'jazz', I struggle a little bit with the label, it's quite marmite, and my music seems to fall into the 'soul' category when it comes to playlists, which is really interesting... I would say that my music is rooted in jazz but 'soaked in soul' (in the words of Amy), and I want to make 'jazz' and the lifestyle it comes with accessible to young people. I think it's a cool lifestyle... I'm talking about going to watch live jazz in local spaces (which is often free entry), buying old records in charity shops, mocktails in a vinyl listening bar, all instead of staying up all night at a rave, listening to music that requires drugs in order for it to be a 'good night'. I wish I'd found all of this earlier. I want to highlight it as an alternative lifestyle to the 'rite of passage' lifestyle that so many of us are peer-pressured into and curate those alternative spaces that I didn't see growing up.

On another note, I do also love the context of the jazz club, a (hopefully) comfortable setting which invites people to slow down and embrace a live music experience which might make them laugh or cry, or do both. That's what you can expect from my debut EP 'Mother's Arms' wherever you listen to it, when it's out (Wednesday 4th March 2026); space, permission to feel, not knowing, but being good and knowing that you can figure it out.

I'll be going on tour in Spring 2026, so keep an eye out for the dates (Liverpool is already on sale here).

Back to the nomination...

The awards celebrate breakthrough artists across seven categories – Best New Pop, Best New Rap / Hip-Hop, Best New Alternative, Best New Afrobeats / Amapiano, Best New Electronic, Best New R&B, and Best New Jazz / Funk / Soul – with one overall Best New Artist crowned later this season. Eligibility remains purposely tight: no studio albums, fewer than three years pursuing music full-time, clear signs of momentum, and a trajectory still on the rise. It’s a framework built to spotlight the artists in the most exciting moment of their development: the moment of becoming.

Where traditional award shows often celebrate artists after they’ve already broken through, the NOTION New Music Awards exist to champion the future at the exact moment it’s forming. These nominees represent the new wave: artists taking risks, pushing genres forward and redefining the sound of what’s next.

Thank you to everyone who is listening to and sharing my music, to everyone who was part of the decision to nominate me for this award, to all of the judges for considering me and my music, and to every single person who makes my career possible. I genuinely can't believe that I am blessed enough to call this my life.