Mackenzie Nicole’s New Album and Ted Talk Illustrate her Journey through Mental Breakdown and Recovery
January 5, 2020
As a self-proclaimed “opera singer, assigned to a rap label, trying to start a pop division,” Kansas City singer/songwriter Mackenzie Nicole has a lot going on. At the impressive age of 20, she has just announced the upcoming release of her second album “Mystic,” a unique and creative expression of her personal struggles experienced during the overwhelming success of her first album “The Edge.”
Mystic is set to be released on Valentine’s Day 2020 by Strange Main, the pop division of Kansas City-based record label Strange Music. The Valentine’s Day release date is ironic as the album addresses transcending the turbulence of romantic love to find peace in internal self-acceptance.
“This album is autobiographical and documents a crucial period of my life,” explains Mackenzie. “When the time came to begin creating the album, and I knew I needed to chronicle my odyssey of mental health and wellness. Thus, Mystic was born.”
With the help of Strange Music producer Michael “Seven” Summers (Tech N9ne, Mac Lethal, Krizz Kaliko), Mackenzie has crafted a fresh musical experience with Mystic that is evocative and unique. “The writing, the production, the meaning of the album, is nothing like the first album,” affirms Summers. “It’s a great evolution.”
“I am trying to bring substance and edge back into pop music,” said Mackenzie after the release of her first album aptly titled “The Edge.” She has accomplished this task even more successfully with Mystic, the premiere work of her full artistic freedom and creative control as a lyricist and vocal performer. Slow melodies, distorted guitar tracks, and ethereal vocals effectively support the thought-provoking lyrics addressing the relatable struggles of self-doubt and inner pain. Laid over deep basslines and peppered with vocal contributions from male hip-hop artists, Mystic has a chill, urban feel.
Mystic is “a concept album in 3 chapters,” explains Mackenzie. “1. Rabbit hole – dark chapter, 2. Pergatory – transitional chapter, 3. Oxygen – light chapter, the 3 stages of mental health and recovery. It is a story of what I have been going through for the last year. It is the proudest I have ever been in my entire life. It is an amazing album.”
The melancholy song “Five Months, Four Days” gives us a glimpse of the dark chapter of Mackenzie’s journey. Using a slow hip hop beat and back-up vocals, the lyrics address the high expectations of new love fading back into disappointing reality, and the struggle to convince yourself to give up the dream and move on for your good.
The sleepy song “The House Above the World” gives us a view into the transitional chapter of Mackenzie’s mental health journey. Using a slow distorted guitar track, ethereal vocals and a bit of an deep bass, it illustrates rising above the turbulence of your troubled thoughts to a level of consciousness where you can feel safe in your own inner self and guiding spirits.
The positive song “Goodbye” shows us the light chapter of Mackenzie’s journey back to recovery. The upbeat vocal harmonies and catchy drum track illuminate the message of leaving self-harming ways behind to choose a healthier self-loving path.”
Mackenzie first hinted at her mental health struggles through her standalone single Complications released in 2019. This light pop song features the lyrics “I love complications, I love boys who never love me back, I love complications, I don’t know why I am such a masochist.” Mackenzie explains these lyrics by saying “I make the worst decisions possible, then punish myself constantly. Given the choice between wrong and right, I’ll always choose wrong in the most self-sabotaging way.”
Mackenzie eventually suffered a mental breakdown and fell into thoughts of suicide, but she was able to return stronger than before through a combination of therapy and self-actualization. “In therapy, I learned how to break my own bad habits and ultimately save myself,” expresses Mackenzie. “That is the tale of Mystic and what the album means to me. I wanted to make this music because it’s a story I needed to tell.”
Mackenzie plans to use her platform to help break the stigma of mental illness and open the discussion of recovery. She will be telling her story as a featured Ted talk speaker at the TEDx University of Nevada 2020 conference on February 29, 2020, in Reno, NV. And her new album Mystic will be accompanied by a visual video series that kicks off in January leading up to a short film release written by Mackenzie.
“I’m not the only person who’s been through this,” emphasizes Mackenzie. “I hope people walk away with a greater understanding of themselves and others. If I’d had a piece of art like [Mystic] to connect with, maybe it would’ve opened my eyes sooner, and I might’ve gotten help sooner. Maybe I can help others avoid making some of the mistakes I did.”
Mystic’s cover art has a story to tell as well. Interestingly, it consists of Illuminati imagery; Mackenzie is featured with an eye pendant around her neck which is centered in a triangle shape created by the curtain behind her, creating the all-seeing eye in a pyramid symbol. A pentagram is affixed to the crystal ball directly in front of her, and next to it rest a snake, a skull and an owl feather. This imagery likely reflects the self-hatred that she was struggling to overcome, and the dangerous path she almost took through occult mysticism.
“Everything malfunctioned,” explains Mackenzie, as she recalls her downward spiral. Hoping to clear her head, she drove around her native Kansas City but found herself lost. The road serendipitously brought her to a street with an old psychic shack. Mackenzie parked and decided to go in, but the door happened to be locked. Mackenzie ponders, “after I realized the door wouldn’t open, I thought to myself, ‘What would’ve happened to me if I got to go in?”
Mystic is now available for preorder at http://smarturl.it/MYSTICpreorder.
Tickets to see MacKenzie speak at the TEDx University of Nevada 2020 conference can be purchased at https://tedxuniversityofnevada.org/events/tedxuniversityofnevada-2020/.
Experience a preview of Mackenzie’s video to “The House Above the World” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9EQd1ASp68&list=PLtDyOTknGL_vag3IRUx1J7mBvRKlkUCQs.
Watch Unrated Magazine’s in depth interview with Mackenzie at https://www.unratedmag.com/unrated-magazine-talks-to-kc-pop-star-mackenzie-nicole-at-strange-music-inc/.
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