Nova Wav is the Grammy-winning producing duo behind eight of the tracks on Beyoncé’s “Act I: Renaissance” album, including “Cuff It” and “Alien Superstar.” They’ve worked with artists including Rihanna, DJ Khaled, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj. Their talent is undeniable, but the pair credit several leaps of faith for their success in the music industry.
“We moved to L.A. for three months in 2014, [which required] us just uprooting [ourselves] and just believing in ourselves. Six days later, we got a call to come in the studio because somebody canceled on Hit-Boy. So thank God we had the power and inspiration to just go and make that move,” said Denisia “Blu June” Andrews during TheWrap’s TheGrill conference.
Andrews and her partner Brittany “Chi” Coney are part of TheWrap’s 2022 Innovators List and took the stage at the conference to discuss their journey to working with Beyoncé, as well as how they’re moving forward using the momentum from co-producing one of the biggest albums of the year.
There’s no doubt that there’s more trailblazing on the horizon for the pair, as they continue to make waves in a male-dominated industry.
“Starting out with us, people just didn’t see the vision, and people still don’t,” Andrews said, adding that working together has given them “somebody to hold your hand with this process, understanding you as a woman [and] the struggles we face every day, it’s extremely important.”
During the panel, the women also discussed their creative process, explaining that they’re “not married to anything.”
“It’s like, ‘OK, if you need us to make 50,000 changes, we’ll make 60,000,” Andrews said. As for if the song or artist isn’t working for them? Well, they aren’t afraid to walk away.
“I think we came to a certain point in our careers, I feel like maybe around 24 or 25, where we were like – if you look at it, you can see what we’re about,” Coney said. “We’re about God, and we’re about empowerment in general, but mostly for women because we’ve been marginalized.”
She added: “We’re super happy. We used to stress out about it, and now we’re like, ‘Good things find us. Miracles find us.’”
You can watch the full panel above or here.
