Nikka Costa

Feisty funkateer Nikka Costa has many unusual curios in her collection: an unfinished sophomore album she was working on as a precocious preteen with her father—legendary producer/arranger Don Costa—when he passed away in ‘83; a personalized letter of consolation on his passing from her godfather, none other than Frank Sinatra; and—oh yes—a finished, completely different version of her latest hip-shaking set for Virgin, Can’tneverdidnothin’. “…A record that was supposed to come out last October, which I felt didn’t fully represent me,” claims Costa. “So I changed it all.”

The new version sports Bootsy-groovy tracks like “Till I Get To You” and “Swing It Around,” plus a touching eulogy for Dad, “Fatherless Child.” Costa plays keyboards and croons with soulful aplomb, alongside her hubby/guitarist/co-producer Justin Stanley and top-notch guests Ahmir ‘?uestlove’ Thompson, Lenny Kravitz and David Campbell.

But the older model? In her trademark hip-hugging flares, stiletto-heeled boots, flowing scarf and glitter makeup, Costa curls up like a shrimp in her hotel chair and shivers. In her hippie-cool parlance, record company execs are “people in my head. And they were in my head all the time, saying ‘You can’t scream like that,’ or ‘We need something that’s more like this A, B, C or D person, because it’ll get played on the radio.’ So I ended up making a record that was watered down, a lot more poppy—they wanted me to be like their Britney or something.”

Can’tneverdidnothin’ version one was watermarked, already pressed for advances and ready to be mailed to press last year. “So I had to take drastic measures,” sighs Costa. She booked herself into the smallest clubs she could find, to rediscover her true craft. She told the label she wanted to track one more song, and instead re-recorded the entire disc.

“And after that, I turned in an album that was quite, quite different,” says the thrush, who kept the same title, an old catchphrase of her Mom’s. “And I think they like it. But I don’t really know—I don’t really care. Hopefully, just being true to myself will win out in the end.” Or at least provide some great new musical mementos for her collection.

To read Paste's review of Can’tneverdidnothin’click here.