As Above So Below

EST Media

From Grammy nods to industry accolades, Nikita Chauhan is a force to be reckoned with. Based out of the UK, but managing influential artists across the world, from India and West Africa, back to London, Nikita has navigated the doubt, rejection, and constant need to maintain vision, with unwavering determination and a deep-rooted faith that she inherited from her grandparents. This is a story about success, and learning to cultivate the resilience needed to be a boss. But it’s more than that: it’s a story of legacy, one that finds the softer, often hidden strands that weave through the DNA of the people we admire most.  Discover the inspiring story behind this young mogul in As Above, So Below.  Director Almass Badat  Producers Michael Adeyeye Keshia Hannam  Editor Sabrina Sinaga Almass Badat  Sound Nadia Chopra Miguel Rodriguez Puente  Translation Harjot Singh Nikita Kaur Chauhan  Editor-in-Chief Keshia Hannam  Head of Production Stephanie Tangkilisan  Producer Joy Jihyun Jeong  Post Production Coordinator Skolastika Lupitawina  Assistant Editor Rendy Abi  Color Nadya Shabrina  Sound Ezound Studios  Original Theme Song & Music by GuiltyBeatz - The Crescent  GuiltyBeatz - Komorebi GuiltyBeatz - Hilao  Additional Music by DJ Sudi - On A Trip ft. Raaginder DJ Sudi - Spiritual  Master Minded - Samsarah Danihadani - Wandering Heart Yehezkel Raz - Flight of the Inner Bird - Slowed and Reverbed  Featuring Camillo Doregos Granddad - Harbans Singh Chauhan Grandmum - Surjit Kaur Chauhan GuiltyBeatz Olumide Ayeni Pheelz Tomi Thomas  Wale Davies  Additional Material Boiler Room Daryl Mansu  Days & Nites Deeds Studio Getty Images Nana Misa  Special Thanks  Aamir Badat Adele Cross Anthony Egwu Arjan Kooner Arty Furtado Balraj Dhanda  Bonita Darkoh Charanpal Chauhan Claire Danny Hayer Daryl Mansu DJ Edu DJ Limelight DJ Semtex Dorcas Yvette Eash Takhar Ella Chauhan Fatima Omar Godwin Tom Guru Arjan Dev Ji Gurdwara Guv Singh Haruki Heather Davies-Mahoney Jasbinder Chauhan Jashima Wadhera JPL Junaed Badat Kasope Owoaje Kelly Toor Kiranpal Chauhan Manjit Chauhan Martin Smith MFM Music Mobola Musu Badat Nana Misa Nia Hope Nike Odeleye Oyinade PDNY Pedro Carvalho  Prince Andor Priya Minhas Rajinder Atwal Ranjit Dhanda Raveena, Arun & Karina Roderick Ejuetami Rosie Chauhan Sade Lynch Safirah Irani Sarah Li Sarah Lorenzten Sarah Osei Shani Dhanda Sim Hothi  Sinat Giwa Sureeta Nayyar  Tomi Thomas Toor Family TranslateNC  Wale Kalejaiye

Transcript

00:00You can only feel what you want to feel, but there have been times where my morale has

00:19been lowered.

00:30In an early stage of my career, it used to eat me up, like really eat me up.

00:52It made me question myself.

01:00It made me feel like I didn't belong, like I didn't have a place to go to, like I didn't

01:07have a place to go to school, like I didn't have a place to go to college, like I didn't

01:13have a place to go to work, like I didn't have a place to go to college, like I didn't

01:18have a place to go to college.

01:20I didn't have a place to go to college.

01:23I didn't have a place to go to school, like I didn't have a place to go to college, like

01:45I didn't have a place to go to work, like I didn't have a place to go to college, like

01:46I didn't have a place to go to school, like I didn't have a place to go to college.

01:47It's February 2024, and Nikita's just got back from Ghana, Nigeria.

02:14I'm just about to go and have a chat with her.

02:19It's a brisk, cold day, and I'm really looking forward to touching base with her over the

02:24time of us filming.

02:27I feel like I've gotten to understand her a little bit more.

02:31I feel...

02:35I care about her.

02:37I care about Nikita more than I could have anticipated in this process, and I'm looking

02:43forward to catching up with her.

02:44It's going to be wicked.

02:45Hi.

02:46Hi.

02:47How are you?

02:48Good.

02:49You all right?

02:50Yeah, I'm just depressed.

03:09I'm Nikita Chahan, and I manage Guilty Boots, DJ Semtex, Show Them Camp, and Twitch Forever.

03:16This proves that Nikita's an illegal citizen.

03:20Today, we're in Accra, Ghana, at Black City Studios.

03:29You're either the talent or you're behind the talent.

03:50I definitely know I'm behind the talent.

03:51I'm not meant to be the person on the mic.

03:57The talent I work with, or the people, forget the word talent, the people and the humans

04:01I work with, I'm so fortunate because they're so brilliant, they're so great at what they

04:06do, and I have to believe in them.

04:10And because I believe in them, it makes everything else so much easier, because I'm not trying

04:14to sell something I don't believe in.

04:16You put Nikita in your room, she's knocking down that door.

04:18She's getting you what you want, regardless of anybody.

04:20Like, you put a wall in front of her, she breaks it down quickly.

04:23When you realize there's someone so great, and then you find 10 other people who believe

04:27it as well, you just know that you can go anywhere.

04:31How do I feel when I'm unstoppable?

04:33I always say it's like an adrenaline rush.

04:35You just feel like, it doesn't matter, like, there's no door that can stop me.

04:39There's no no that can stop me.

04:41You just keep going.

04:42You just keep going.

04:43There's just a buzz.

04:44There's an energy.

04:45It's like a high.

04:46Happy birthday.

04:47Happy birthday, Nikita!

04:49Happy birthday, my love.

04:50Nikita, Nikita!

04:51Happy birthday, my love.

04:52I love it, they're laughing.

04:53They're singing and begging.

04:55Happy birthday, Nikita!

04:57Come on!

04:58So then, what do those days when you're not feeling unstoppable feel like?

05:03There's days when I'm not feeling unstoppable.

05:06What do you mean?

05:07Like, low?

05:08Like, there's days when I'm not feeling unstoppable, and maybe even getting out of bed is just

05:15such a chore.

05:17It's a game.

05:18The game is between you and your mind.

05:21I even find it hard to kind of say because it's just, I try not to dwell on it.

05:26All I know is I feel it.

05:28And it's just, it takes a little bit longer.

05:45I think one thing that I hold dear to me about Sikhism teachings is that, like, my granddad

05:52said, and my poor says, that I stuck with me, and my grandmom says, which is things

05:57like, let go of fear, ego, hate, all these things.

06:03We come into this world with nothing.

06:05We leave with nothing.

06:07No one person is above God.

06:09One time I was asked a question, which was, how does it feel to represent this music genre?

06:15And I said, I don't represent the music genre.

06:18What I do is work with the people who represent the music.

06:22What do you think?

06:23There's a freedom between us that, like, not everyone gets.

06:29He goes so hard, like, above and beyond or something like that.

06:33I'm not even, like, the greatest, but he really believes, he really believes in me.

06:39There's also an understanding of, like, I understand how you work.

06:44You understand how I work.

06:46I understand you as a person.

06:48You understand me as a person.

06:50And it's a privilege to have you, that you understand, that you're actually patient with me.

06:58You don't get that a lot.

07:00I don't look at myself as, I'm Nikita, who's Punjabi,

07:07who's working within African music, hip-hop music, trying to do this.

07:11I'm just like, oh, I work with great talent.

07:13How do I amplify them?

07:15That's their voices.

07:16That's their stories.

07:21Do you remember when we went to the Diwali party and then they were doing the door,

07:25the big drum, the door to, like, Rema?

07:28That was great.

07:29Because I've seen a couple of videos where, like, Exaltation is singing.

07:33I'm like, that is so sick.

07:35And, like, I think I've seen some videos on my phone.

07:37I'm like, this is so dope.

07:39But the chords that they use and what they are singing on it is,

07:42I was like, OK, I want to try that.

07:48So, like, moments like that, what you see with, like,

07:52Siddhu Muswala and Burnable and stuff,

07:54Siddhu Muswala and Burnable and stuff,

07:56like, such amazing moments that are happening.

07:59And I feel like, you know, it's just the most organic thing to do next.

08:11Wow.

08:17But I think if you're making stuff like this that sounds so good,

08:21why not get it to people who would want to do something on it

08:24and build it out?

08:25Do you know what I mean?

08:26But this is fire.

08:27This is so good.

08:33First thing is, like, you're humans first.

08:35But then I also think, like, when you look at cultures,

08:37like, Doritos is Nigerian and Punjabi.

08:39Like, if you go, like, the first time I went to Nigeria,

08:42the first thing I said, I was like,

08:43well, it kind of reminds me of India.

08:45And it does, the traffic, the noises, the smells.

08:47What do I respect in African culture

08:49that I also see in South Asian culture?

08:53Family.

08:54The love for family.

08:56Like, to me, any good relationship,

08:59working, professional, personal, has to be,

09:02I would say, I think it's like,

09:03trust, communication, and transparency.

09:05All right, yeah.

09:06This is just another layer to everything we're building.

09:10Yay!

09:12How Doritos and I met is we were co-managing Mr Easy.

09:16Since then, we've both gone and set up our own companies,

09:18have our own rosters.

09:19But our paths always cross,

09:21and we work on projects separately,

09:23and then we come together on moments.

09:24And I know, like, it's amazing to see,

09:27because, I don't know,

09:28it's, like, great to be able to pick up the phone

09:30and be like, hey, what do you think of this?

09:32And you know what I mean?

09:33And then do moments like tonight.

09:34Yeah, she never texts you, she just calls you up.

09:37Yeah, I hate texting.

09:38Every single hour, every single minute,

09:40she just keeps calling.

09:41And you know what?

09:42We get things done that way.

09:43Get it done that way, yeah.

09:44That's it.

09:46The pressure.

09:47Pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure.

09:49It's getting worse.

09:50Pressure is getting worse.

09:51Pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure.

09:53And I guess for me, like, as well,

09:55like, Nigerians, like, we're travellers.

09:57Like, we're nomads.

09:58Like, you guys as well.

09:59Like, we always travel.

10:00We find home anywhere in the world.

10:02Like, whether you go to North America,

10:03you go to Africa,

10:04you find both tribes,

10:06like, both cultures living,

10:08like, having fun,

10:09leaving the same people,

10:10like, going out,

10:11doing business together

10:12and stuff like that.

10:13So, for me, like,

10:14that synergy,

10:15like, that love,

10:16that bond basically

10:17that we take around the world,

10:18the energy we share

10:19around different people,

10:20like, that's very important

10:21and that's what, like,

10:22for me, I take away

10:23from this culture, yeah.

10:32So, you know, Babaji,

10:33like, you've told me this story.

10:35When you first came,

10:36you had to cut your hair, right?

10:38I had to,

10:39because there's no job.

10:41The thing is,

10:42there's no way out.

10:43If I went back,

10:44I would be disgraced.

10:45Oh.

10:46Yeah, I think land,

10:47you know.

10:48What did I do?

10:49I went back

10:50and asked for money.

10:51So, you're with,

10:52in what you call,

10:53either,

10:55you know,

10:56that sort of thing.

10:57The charge then,

10:58there was an Indian lad.

11:00And those people,

11:02all of,

11:0399% of them,

11:04they couldn't speak

11:05a word of English.

11:07And it so happened

11:08that he was using

11:09a very foul language.

11:10Every sentence

11:11ending with F

11:12and B

11:13and everything.

11:14I don't swear

11:16and I don't want

11:17anyone swearing at me.

11:18You do that

11:19and I'll smash you.

11:21So, they said

11:22this thing will put him

11:23in a job

11:24that he'll run away.

11:25They put me

11:26on a hard job.

11:28I was carrying

11:29about 60 bags

11:30of potatoes

11:31and my shoulders

11:33were raw

11:34with all those

11:35carrying them.

11:37So,

11:38I was carrying them.

11:40What do you think

11:41I spent

11:4277,000 miles here

11:43to work as a labourer?

11:49I feel like

11:50my story is very

11:51insignificant

11:52in comparison to his.

11:54He came to a whole

11:55other country,

11:56changed his whole life

11:57upside down.

11:59Had to change

12:00who he is,

12:01what he stood for.

12:02When I say who he is,

12:03cut his hair,

12:04get a job,

12:05give up so much.

12:06Whereas I only

12:07give up a little.

12:08But you realise

12:09yeah,

12:10it takes certain sacrifices.

12:11Now, those sacrifices

12:12could be personal

12:13relationships,

12:14could be time

12:15you spend with people,

12:16certain things

12:17we all have to give

12:18those sacrifices.

12:19This bed

12:20is our shelter

12:21so that

12:23you don't do

12:24any dirty work.

12:25You don't steal

12:27or cheat.

12:29These are the things

12:30that we are told

12:31in our religion.

12:36As long as

12:37myself I know

12:38I'm not being

12:39disrespectful,

12:40I'm not doing

12:41anything to

12:43put anyone

12:44in a situation

12:45that is questionable

12:46and I know

12:47my moral compass,

12:48I know why I'm doing what I'm doing,

12:50then I know I'm doing it for the right reasons.

12:58I always say you can go to the Godbara

13:00and they have like the Lungar Hall

13:02which is where you go and you can eat

13:04and that's open to everyone.

13:06Where else in the world can you have that?

13:08So I think from being Sikh I've learnt

13:10to be like open and welcoming

13:12and open-minded

13:14because it's instilled in like

13:16the place we go to worship

13:18anybody is welcome.

13:20When you're born you respect your grandparents

13:22like you're told, like it's instilled with you

13:24any elder, auntie, uncle

13:26you respect them.

13:28But as I get, as I've grown

13:30my respect has grown

13:32because it's not something that

13:34oh we have to, it's

13:36I do because

13:38of all the sacrifices they've made

13:40and I feel as though

13:42a lot of my moral compass

13:44and who I am

13:46is because of my grandparents.

13:50I also feel like

13:52I have so much

13:54respect for them because

13:58no matter like what age

14:00they are, where they are, what they've done

14:02they've always made sure their home is

14:04open for me, my parents, my

14:06aunts, my uncles, my cousins

14:08it's the one constant

14:10in my life.

14:12So yeah, like

14:14I just feel like I have admiration and I just

14:16hope, I just hope like

14:18everything they

14:20they did and they sacrificed

14:22like

14:24I've been able to at least make them a little

14:26proud because

14:28they did sacrifice a lot.

14:36Yeah.

14:38Yeah.

14:40Sometimes

14:42now there are challenges as well

14:44like I'm not going to say yeah it's all easy

14:46because if it was easy everyone would do it.

14:48I remember

14:50one time

14:52when I, like early

14:54days of working with some of my

14:56clients, when I was

14:58talking to like publishers or labels

15:00or people, trying to get

15:02them to believe

15:04was so disheartening because

15:06they didn't believe

15:08and you'll do calls

15:10and you'll, you know, you're pitching

15:12and you're pitching and they didn't get it

15:14and then

15:16it was how do you

15:18how do you keep going? How many doors do you

15:20keep knocking on? But the challenge

15:22was getting to the point where you realise

15:24it's not about working with those people who don't

15:26believe, it's about finding the people that are ready

15:28to believe or ready to be

15:30a part of that.

15:32It's really rare to find people

15:34that you align with, that you

15:36can trust and that you can do business

15:38with and then to have someone that you can

15:40then also call a friend and family at the same

15:42time is so rare and that's what I look

15:44at Dragos as.

15:46So if there's anyone watching right now

15:48and you feel as though

15:50what I want to do is out of bounds

15:52it's not even reachable

15:54first of all you have to really

15:56quit that lens

15:58you have to move your lens

16:00into how am I going to take the

16:02first step

16:04you have to be prepared to take

16:06a million no's before you get the

16:08yes and you have to have

16:10some other form of

16:12resilience which you've not even found

16:14yet because there's times where I'm like

16:16how did I keep going?

16:18What made me keep going?

16:20So I think it's just about being

16:22relentless, respectable

16:24and resilient at the same

16:26time. I've had to

16:28become mentally stronger to deal with it

16:30and even when I get those little moments where I'm like

16:32oh my gosh oh no this has been said

16:34I have the right people around

16:36me that I confide in that I

16:38will speak to who will

16:40remind me or guide

16:42me to make sure that doesn't

16:44take me back to that place I would have been

16:46if this was like six years ago.

16:52I feel really proud

16:54I feel very emotional

16:56I feel like you don't realise that your DNA

16:58is so strong

17:00because it makes you who you are.

17:02If that's

17:04something he's instilled

17:06with him thank god because

17:08what am I going to do? Give up?

17:10Oh there was a no there

17:12no you keep

17:14going you can't give up like

17:16otherwise I should have stayed

17:18in my nine to five.

17:22I don't think we're ever going to get to a point where we're going to be like yeah we've done

17:24everything because we add on more things

17:26who would have thought

17:28all these accomplishments

17:30award winning

17:32you're out here

17:34DJing

17:36at really big festivals

17:38going to the Grammys

17:40having a Sony Music Publishing Camp

17:42in Ghana and you being the DJ there

17:44as one of the best

17:46things about working with you

17:48and working as a team is that

17:50people say the sky is the limit

17:52it's like no beyond the sky is the limit

17:54there's no limit to this

17:56because no limit

17:58okay so we've done

18:00things in this part of the world

18:02we've done things in this part of the world now how do we go to this part

18:04of the world? It's like a global

18:06perspective and I think you can only have that when you

18:08come from a community that is so

18:10open minded so embracing

18:12and has gone out and

18:14been in different parts of the world

18:16I'm South Asian and I work within

18:18the African music space I think that says everything

18:20I think

18:24we're going to see collaborations

18:26like I said earlier

18:28not just musically but

18:30on top down

18:32from like the execs

18:34from the people behind the scenes

18:36to the people in front of the scenes

18:38Grammy wins more plaques

18:40more everything more hits

18:42I think everything is about growth and I think

18:44if anything it's about growing with the right people

18:46and like we talk about work

18:48but I think also it's great to see

18:50like people like I said

18:52I'll use that word trenches but people that you've built

18:54from ground zero with to be happy

18:56to be enjoyed and to be building and

18:58growing and be successful

19:00How do we build community?

19:02How do we build community?

19:04Which is amazing

19:06I feel like that's a good way to end it right?

19:08I feel like that's a good way to end it right?

19:10Actually this is how I feel right now

19:12Actually this is how I feel right now

19:14That was solid

19:16That was solid

19:18You know I'm rocking with the SDC

19:20Show them cap

19:22We're here with DJ Line Life

19:24and BBC Asia Network

19:26and Bee's Art Party Cossacks

19:28as intro

19:30Go to the intro

19:50Let me set you free, y'all, let me set you free

19:54Say, give you what you want, I'll give you what you want

19:58Yeah, give you all you need, give you everything you need

20:02Let me take you far, so far away

20:06Let me set you free, y'all, let me set you free

20:12You want to know the reason I met you? My soul to my teeth, I draw

20:16You're my moon, you're my sun, I'm your heart, I'm your rock, you're my rock, where you from?

20:20They say time heals all wounds, one day I'm gonna live and I'm high real soon

20:24Baby, I'm the one, we gon' fly real soon, play with the girls with the high heels

20:28My girl, so many moves, fire up, so many moves

20:32I got that, I got the moves, if y'all care, don't spread the news

20:36She look good, look at the moves, she cook good, I got the moves

20:40You're incredible, I got the moves, give you what you want

20:44Yeah, give you what you need

20:48Yeah, give you all you need

20:52Let me set you free, y'all, let me set you free

20:56I said let me set you free, one more, say give you what you want

21:00Yeah, give you all you need

21:04Everything you need, yeah, let me take you far away

21:08So far away, let me set you free

21:12Yeah, let me set you free

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