Hailing from the South Side of Chicago, the rapper NOM, began his creative journey his freshman year of high school, writing poetry, then by his senior year of high school, he had officially made his first song. Influenced by artists in his hometown such as Smino, Ravyn Lenae as well as mainstream influences such as Eminem, J. Cole, and Kendrick Lamar, NOM turned his experiences from his home life and environment life into soulful bars that anyone can relate to. He dropped his first project, Creativity, on SoundCloud in 2018, just one year after making his first song, NOM is making music to show people who he really is. “music [and art] is the only way for people to truly portray themselves and convey what they are really trying to say”. That being said, his 2020 project, Sidenote is a look into all of the things that came together to shape him into becoming a rapper. “This project was a face to face conversation with myself”. One thing that sets NOM apart from other artists in his own words is, “Nothing in particular except I am just 100% genuinely myself, and that is the reason why no one can portray my stories like I can”. He also wants listeners to take away the mindset of practicing everyday to get better than the next guy, when they listen to his music, “don’t settle when you don’t have to settle”, and that is not something he preaches, NOM left his home to start a new journey in Phoenix, AZ. “I felt like there was finally nothing holding me back from leaving Chicago”.