Growing up in Edison, New Jersey, photographer Nilladriz, 19, was just a quick train ride away from New York City, a common stop for rappers on: tour, press runs, or just in town for in studio collaborations. It’s for this reason that he’s been able to get up-close and personal with names like Tekashi 6ix9ine, Pnb Rock, Smokepurpp, Famous Dex, and Trippie Redd in such a short time.
Nilladriz got his nickname back in high school from his basketball teammates. In an interview with Elevator Magazine he stated “It began as Vanilla Drizzle and then soon later it became just Nilladriz.” The young creator got his start under international recording artist Reggie Mills working as his personal photographer. But before he got his opportunity in the Hip-Hop industry he worked at Little Caesars Pizza in order to purchase his first camera. Nilla fostered his skill behind the camera through creating content for his local highschool sports teams and local micro influencers. It wasn’t until August 2018 where he would direct his first music video, “Port Richmond” for Staten Island rapper Squidnice. In a matter of months it accumulated over 200,000 views via his self-titled channel “Nilladriz.” These numbers would ultimately give him the necessary buzz to network and direct for other artists in the future to come.
Nowadays videography and photography have become supersaturated. New faces pop-up and fade away daily. But Nilladriz has proven him and his work is here to stay. In just a matter of one year he’s managed to propel and make a name for himself in such an elusive industry. Being relatively young, Nilladriz has already worked with some of Hip-Hop’s biggest names all before turning 20 years old. In an interview with CutxSewn Magazine, Nilla briefly mentioned his goal of eventually directing award winning films. If he continues to grow at this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a big screen credit in the near future.
