21 – Niko Stephen / Musician, Love, UC Berkeley, Soul Vision

Niko Stephen is a Filipino American / Pilipinx producer, DJ, and singer who has grown up in Union City, California. As a musician, he has a background playing brass and bass instruments, with a solid background in Jazz and competitive marching band. He is an alumni of UC Berkeley, having graduated in 2017 with a degree in Public Health, and was active in on-campus organizations such as PASS (Pilipinx Academic Student Services). He’s a member of the music collective Soul Vision, and is currently active as musician in the bay area—producing, performing, and DJing music. In this episode, we talk about range of topics from music fundamentals to our thoughts on love and masculinity. We go over Niko’s reflections about being a man of color in America, along with lessons learned from his time in student organizations. Throughout the session, Niko also drops mad musical skills, performing three songs (he produced all the instrumentals) and freestyling over one his beats in the end. Come listen, tell us what you think, and be inspired to get your music game up.