Nicole Richie Says It Was 'Intimidating' Working with Husband Joel Madden on Quibi's Nikki Fre$h

Nicole Richie keeps it fresh in her new Quibi show.

Playing trap artist/earth mother Nikki Fre$h on Nikki Fre$h, Richie, 38, wants to make catchy songs that tackle serious topics.

"I don't see a reason why there can't be dance-worthy music about things that are important, like being at one with the universe and connecting to nature," she tells PEOPLE in this week's issue. "I wanted to write about music that I felt like I could relate to."

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The series tackles the importance of saving the bees, committing to clean water and eating ugly produce.

"I'm not discussing anything that I personally don't partake in," Richie says. "I do wear crystals. I love them. I grow my own fruits and vegetables. I do love bees and I have bees. So it's all things that are active parts of my life."

Nicole Richie and Jared Goldstein on Nikki Fre$h

The reality star also brought in other important elements of her life: her dad Lionel Richie, her husband Joel Madden and her brother-in-law Benji Madden. The series opens with Nikki and her assistant (Jared Goldstein) pitching her "parent trap" music concept to the Madden brothers, a scene inspired by Richie's real-life conversation with her husband and his brother.

"I wanted to do a comedy album and I wanted Joel and Ben to help me," the Making the Cut judge says. "I had spoken to Joel and Ben lightly about it for a few years. I knew that in order to make it real, I had to set a meeting, go into their office and have a real sit-down with them when they were in work mode. So that's what I did. They were lovely, but they were like, 'Oh, okay.'"

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Richie admits she had to "convince" Joel, 41, to appear on Nikki Fre$h because "being on TV is not his favorite thing."

"It was fun and exciting and intimidating and frustrating in moments," she says of working with her spouse. "I was in the studio for the first time and it was time for me to start rapping. He was in the room and I was like, 'I need you to close your eyes.' After that, it ended up being so much fun. I loved going to the studio with him."

Joel (left) and Benji Madden on Nikki Fre$h. The Madden brothers on Nikki Fre$h

Now, "Joel and I have been throwing out possibly doing one or two more songs if we can before the album comes out," Richie says. The mother of two plans to release a record as Nikki this fall and says fans can expect music "about connecting to nature and being at one with the universe."

While her father doesn't approve of her "parent trap" genre on the show, Richie says the four-time Grammy winner "loves the music" in real life.

"He probably wants to be on a song, but I won't let him," she says. "I have to see if his vocals match what I'm doing on my album."

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Ultimately, Richie wants her songs "to be playing in Europe at all of the big nightclubs." Her former Simple Life costar Paris Hilton happens to be a DJ, but Richie says the two haven't kept in touch "since the quarantine."

Still, "I'd be open to any DJ playing my song," Richie says. "I want people sweating until six in the morning, dancing so hard and listening to my songs."

Nikki Fre$h is out now on Quibi.