Nia Ivy on Her Nicki Minaj Impression, TikTok Fame and Hollywood Aspirations

Nia Ivy is making a name for herself one celebrity impression at a time. Gibson Johns interviews the TikTok star about her viral impressions of Nicki Minaj and other celebrities like Britney Spears, Kim Kardashian and Halsey, the response she's gotten from Nicki and her fellow fans and how much work goes into her videos. They also discuss her background, how she got into being an online creator and her lofty career goals.

Video Transcript

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GIBSON JOHNS: Hi, guys. Welcome back to "We Should Talk," an interview series from "In the Know." I'm your host, Gibson Johns. And, today, on the podcast, we have Nia Ivy, who has been dominating my FYP on TikTok over the past several months. She has gone viral a ton of times for her insanely good Nicki Minaj impression. You know, it's like-- it's literally amazing. And she does other celebrities, too. She does Britney. She does Kim, Halsey, Camila Cabello.

But Nicki has really been the one that's helped her blow up. I mean, I think she's gone from, like, maybe, like, around 100,000 followers to over 500,000. She is really that girl right now. And every time I-- one of her videos pops up onto my feed, like, it just brings a smile to my face. I laugh every time. And so I reached out to her, seeing if she would do an interview, just so I could find out more about her and what has gone into all this work. She's so talented, but I was so curious. Like, does she practice this? Has Nicki Minaj acknowledged any of this? Do the Barbz-- famously protective Nicki Minaj fans, what do they think about it?

So she was really down. We had a great interview. I loved hearing more about her, and her aspirations, and, sort of, her plans for her career. She's only 19, but she is just so talented. And, again, like, if you look away from [LAUGHS] her videos and you just listen to her impersonating Nicki Minaj, you'd think it was Nicki. Like, it's really that good. And she can dip in and out of it. I had her do the impression a couple times in this interview. I had her do an impression of Nicki responding to her impression of her. And it was fantastic. And it's about midway through this interview.

But, anyway, Nia is fantastic. She has such high aspirations for herself. She has the drive. She's moving to LA soon to take things to the next level for herself. And I'm just really happy for her. I was so excited to get some time with her. And, again, if you were not following her, do so. 'Cause I promise you that every time one of her videos pops up, it will bring a smile to your face. You will laugh. You will be so impressed with her talent. And, yeah, I just love her. So keep listening for my interview with Nia Ivy. Follow her on TikTok. And please rate, review, and subscribe to "We Should Talk" on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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All right. Nia Ivy, you are one of my favorite people to follow right now. You're Nicki Minaj impression deserves awards. Thanks for doing this interview today. How are you?

NIA IVY: I am doing amazing. Thank you so much for your beautiful accolades. I truly appreciate it. This is-- it's like my dream job. So I'm so excited.

GIBSON JOHNS: OK, good. Yeah, OK. So let's just start. Just in case-- I told you you're dominating my FYP. You have been for months now. But just in case you're not dominating everybody's FYP, give us a little taste of what we're working with, in terms of the Nicki impression, just to give people an idea.

NIA IVY: Yes, (IMITATING NICKI MINAJ) I was doing the Nicki impression for about three years. And once COVID hit, I really started getting into TikTok, and dominating with the Barbz, and listening to her music, here and there, starting to learn more about her and PapaBear. So once people started hearing the impression, it kind of took my career in a different direction. And now I'm super famous for impressions.

GIBSON JOHNS: Oh, it's so good. I could listen to you do that all day.

NIA IVY: [LAUGHS]

GIBSON JOHNS: No, it's so good. And, you know, I wanna get into that and your account taking off. But I do wanna know a little bit more, just about you. So, outside of TikTok, like, what city are you in? Do you have a full-time gig, like, that you're doing, outside of all of this/ Give me a little bit of a rundown of who Nia is.

NIA IVY: I am a little girl who grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, a very city. Everybody knows everybody. It's not a lot of huge, like, influencers. It's not big for the entertainment industry, at all. So I started filming videos on my parents' laptops and phones at about nine years old. I started uploading on YouTube at 10. And then TikTok-- I was on Musical.ly. And then I started doing TikTok, just because I needed a creative outlet when I was very depressed, around 2019, 2020.

GIBSON JOHNS: OK.

NIA IVY: And I didn't know how to, like, get into therapy and everything or tell my parents about it. Now they know. And so now I'm in therapy and things like that.

GIBSON JOHNS: We love.

NIA IVY: And I'm [AUDIO OUT]. Yeah. But my therapy was making videos and making myself laugh in times where it was hard to laugh and hard to smile. So I think watching celebrity documentaries really got my adrenaline back going, and my love for pop music and rap, all over again. And it was just, kind of, easy to start impersonating people that I looked up to. So that's why I do a lot of celebrity impersonations. Because, (IMITATING NICKI MINAJ) On the inside, I am a celebrity. And I do hide from the paparazzi every day, when I leave out of my apartment. (NORMAL VOICE) So that's how it all started for me, and my love for it came about, and my love continues to stay for it.

GIBSON JOHNS: Hmm. That's interesting, that the celebrity documentaries are, sort of, what pulled you out of some of that. And I feel like-- were there a couple that really, kind of, connected with you? 'Cause there are-- I mean, like, I think some of the best ones are the ones where the artists really let us into some of those, kind of, darker moments in their life or some of their darker thoughts. And those are the ones, where they really open up, I think, that really kind of connect with people.

NIA IVY: Yes. I think, for me, "Nicki Minaj, My Time Again," [LAUGHS] of course, it was the very-- well, that was the second one. Her first one, she talked about her parents, and coming from Trinidad, and coming over here, and it wasn't anything she expected. It was almost like a let-down, finally being in New York. And she thought it was gonna be like a castle. And I could totally relate. When I was younger, me and my family, we struggled a little bit. And, at points, we were staying in hotels and stuff.

And I remember getting our first apartment. And I was so blessed. And I just was like this-- it felt like it was supposed to be a castle. And that was around the age of nine, when I started filming and everything. 'Cause I said, well, I want this to be something else, but more. And we were in a dark spot. So that was one of the documentaries that, really, I saw dark times like mine and I could totally relate. And I think Jennifer Lopez's "Halftime" documentary for the Super Bowl, that was the adrenaline side of that entertainment lifestyle that I became addicted to. I loved it.

And even Britney Spears, I loved that rehearsal, and things going wrong, and trying to get it the same day of, with the stages and the outfits. I loved everything about it. [LAUGHS]

GIBSON JOHNS: Totally. So you find the whole, kind of, industrial complex around pop stars to be really, kind of, fascinating and connecting to you.

NIA IVY: Absolutely.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah, so you've been uploading for a while to the internet. But what was the moment that you started really connecting with people or when your account started to really take off? What was that-- what was the, moment that it hinged?

NIA IVY: I think the moment that everything took off was when I made my first Netflix mockumentary.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah.

NIA IVY: And I think that was, like, last year. And it was right after I-- no, almost two years ago, wow, wow, after I graduated high school. And I was gonna go to college. And I told my dad, I said, uh, actually, I don't think I wanna go. And we had just done a tour. And I said, I just wanna do-- I wanna, like, make the internet my job. And he said, OK. So, within seven days after I, like, told my parents I wasn't going anymore, I made that first Netflix documentary. Because they had-- JLo had just did the Super Bowl. And that was my first video to do a million views in 24 hours.

And I remember gaining, like, 40,000 followers in two weeks. And I said, oh, this is, like, legit. Like, people like this stuff. Like, this is real. And before that video, I had about 780 followers. So it was-- that was huge for me. [LAUGHS]

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah, no, totally. It's like-- and for it to happen so quickly, too, is indicative of, like, OK, if this can happen in two weeks, what can I do in two years? And now we've--

NIA IVY: Yes!

GIBSON JOHNS: Now we've seen what you've been able to do in two years.

NIA IVY: [LAUGHS]

GIBSON JOHNS: So what does your family think of this career that you've chosen and like and the path-- and also what you've built because you've built this for yourself?

NIA IVY: Yeah.

GIBSON JOHNS: You committed to it.

NIA IVY: Oh. Thank you so much. You are so sweet. My parents they absolutely love it. My dad he loves it. I get to do what I want to do as a job. He says, when I was younger, I wish I could have done that, like just went for things when I had the initial thought. Like how I did when I said, no, I don't want to do this. I don't want to go to college. I'm going to make a video. And we're going to see if it blows up. And praise be to God, it did within a week.

But my dad would always tell me, like you are what I wanted to be. You're what your mom wanted to be. We were around your age 17, 18, 19, trying to like, hey, go for our dreams. But growing up in St. Louis and not having a lot of money, it's like, no, you go-- you go work. You go get a regular job and you go work. So my parents are like so proud of me. And I know some people will be like, I don't want-- parents shouldn't live through their kids.

And it's not like they're living through me, but their younger selves. Like their inner child is healed watching their child do what they wish they could have. So they just like tell me, go, go, go. And my siblings, they love it. I mean, we go out and we get recognized. And they're like security for me now because a lot of people do come up and hug, and ask for pictures. So they eat it up when they can. And other times, they're like, you're so annoying.

GIBSON JOHNS: But that's really special to hear about your parents. I get-- I get what you're saying. And I feel like that is-- it's proof that you are choosing the right path for yourself. It's proof that like they gave you the space to grow into yourself in the right way. And like, that's just really special to know that like everyone's on board. And you tried this and it's working. It's all kind of work-- it's all going there.

And I guess like, so obviously, the mockumentaries-- the mockumentary-- the trailers that you do, those blew up. But those didn't really have like the vocal impressions yet, at least for the ones that I've seen. When did you-- I guess, when did you-- first, when did you know that you were good at that? When did you know that you were good at vocally impersonating somebody? Because obviously, you had the mannerisms down because you were doing these hilarious mockumentary trailers. But like the actual vocals.

NIA IVY: The vocals. I think I never really thought I was super good at it. Until all my mom ended up like telling me one day when Nikki was hosting the VMAs, this year actually. She just was like, can you post a Nikki video? Because I would only do the voice for my mom. So I had posted one in like a while on my TikTok. It had been a year and a half maybe. So I said, girl, no. Child, anyways. I'm, no. I just did not want to do it. And she said, please. So I said, OK. Fine. And the one I made in my room, I think that's the one that took off like 15 million views. I remember I had 10 million views in a day.

GIBSON JOHNS: Oh, my god.

NIA IVY: To me, that was insane. So then I tried to do like my Britney Spears one. I really do like Pepsi. I really do. I started trying to implement that. And then like the Kardashian. Sometimes it's like really hard to like try to like nail it, but I started trying to post those as well as the Nicki ones. So then other people could go, oh, she does more than just that. So that was like that first big vocal video, just when she did the VMAs this year. It was because of my mom. So--

GIBSON JOHNS: Right. No, I know. There we go again. Again, the parents are supporting, we love to see it.

NIA IVY: They are supporting.

GIBSON JOHNS: No. But, OK. So it really was sort of-- because I remember, it was sort of the end of the summer. I guess when VMAs are, which is like in August. And you had, obviously, gone viral before them. But at that point, it went from like-- I don't know. Like probably around 100,000 or something to like now, you're at 500,000 followers on TikTok. And it's-- I feel like every time you do a Nicki something, or honestly, a celebrity anything, it blows up to some capacity. You know. I guess like was it initially like just the general public? Was it Nicki fans reacting? Fellow barbs reacting? Like what was in that first reaction that was like, in addition to the popularity of it like, OK, this is hitting. This is hitting in a real way.

NIA IVY: When I knew it was hitting in a real way, you know, Stan Twitter is huge. So when I-- I wasn't on Twitter. I made a Twitter account in February of this year and I got off. So I-- people were DMing me Twitter links saying, hey, Barb Twitter got hold of your video. And I said, oh, this can go one way or another way because some people can look at it as homage. And all the people can look at it, I'm just like mocking her. So I said, I hope they don't think I'm mocking her. Clicked the link and it had a million views on Twitter. And then somebody else posted and it had three million views. So then all together, by the end, within 48 hours on Twitter, I think had around 6 million views. So when I saw Stan Twitter got hold of it, because Stan Stan Twitter is powerful, that's when I knew, OK, the people, the ones that get it, they're getting it and they're liking it. So I can do another one. And then my DMs were flooded with celebrities and people I looked up to following me and just telling me I was doing amazing, and that they loved me. And it's good to have a fresh face is what a lot of people were saying. I was like new. I'm like the new kid on the block.

GIBSON JOHNS: Love that. Who were some of those people that were in your DMs that first time?

NIA IVY: Oh. This artist. She goes by the name of Baby Tay, Bretman Rock, Christine Quinn from Selling Sunset, Summer Walker, Lil Mama, Keke Palmer.

GIBSON JOHNS: Wow.

NIA IVY: I had an interview with TMZ. It was-- they wanted me to come up to the studio. I wasn't even in LA. I said, oh, my gosh. Like it took off in a matter of seconds. And I said, hold on, everybody. I'm just one little girl. I'm a human being. It was like so amazing.

GIBSON JOHNS: That's major. So major.

NIA IVY: Yes, it was major.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. Do you-- and obviously, I feel like I vaguely remember Nicki commenting or liking, or acknowledging in some capacity. What was the first acknowledgment and sort of has there been any correspondence with Nicki over your impression of her?

NIA IVY: Yes. The first time, she acknowledged it. It was a like and a comment. I thought it was fake. I was at my dad's house. I was getting ready to move into my new apartment. And I reloaded my TikTok and it said Nicki Minaj liked your video. And for Nicki to like something, if you know, if you're a Barb, then that means she likes it. She's not going to like something that she's-- you're making fun of her. And people have started commenting here and there. Oh, I don't think that she really messes with this.

And I was starting to get worried. So when she initially liked it and commented, I was like, oh. I took a breather. And I ran to my dad and I was like, look, look, look. And he said, I knew you could do it, Tink. That's what all my family calls me. I knew you could do it. He was sleeping for work and I had to wake up the whole entire house. And I was like I can't even believe this is happening right now. And ever since then, I've gotten word that she's like stuck on Twitter, but I don't go on Twitter that much. So whenever Barb Twitter sends me things and a lot of Nicki's friends, her makeup artists, people she's worked, with they now follow me. So I said, OK, that's a good sign.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. And that means that they're probably showing her because who knows how much scrolling she's actually doing herself. So that probably hinges on those people showing her certain things on their phones. But that's great. And I feel like getting the co-sign from her, it's like that should nip any like negative reaction from Barbs. Not that you're-- not that what you're doing is negative. But like, you know how barbs can be, how fan groups can be, they can be hyper protective of their queen. So to have the co-sign from Nicki must just like kind of curtail a lot of that.

NIA IVY: Yes. It did. It calmed-- it definitely calmed me down. I think hate got worse, honestly, after that because sometimes when you get the co-sign from Nicki because she's the queen, like when you get that co-sign, people come out of the woodworks pretending to be Barbs just to spew hate because they don't have the co-sign. So that part, it was hard to deal with. But--

GIBSON JOHNS: They're jealous probably. They're jealous of you getting the acknowledgment, to be honest.

NIA IVY: Yes. So that, it happened in an instant. And I had to take a break, honestly, from going live and posting. I think for seven days I didn't post anything. So it was-- definitely, there's two sides to it. Yes.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. Can you do an impression of her reacting to your impression?

NIA IVY: Oh, my gosh. Let me see. OK.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. Let's hear Nicki Minaj reacting to your impression of Nicki.

NIA IVY: Let me see. OK. Let me pretend to be her. Entering Nicki. What the heck? Who is this? Her name is-- what? It's Nia. Oh, she's like a cutesy little ladybug. This is cute. Hold on. Um, Tay, can you-- get Papa bear. Tell him to sit down. Can you repost this to my Instagram story for me please? Thank you. Child, she is too funny. OK. All right. I like that.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yes. That was iconic. Oh, my God. I love that. And obviously, it obviously helps that you are clearly a Barb yourself. You're a big fan of Nicki's. Give me the like the track of your fandom with Nicki for yourself. Like when did you first connect with her?

NIA IVY: Oh, I connected with Nicki, I think it was 2018, right before the Queen album came out. And I was watching a lot of her interviews on The Ellen Show. Like I do like all celebrities. But something-- Nicki's energy, I just loved it. And her Queen era was very like confidence boost. All the Barbs know, it was something different and new for her, especially putting out that album. And the time she took on that, the push backs, everything, all the chaos around it. It was like monumental. And it was the first album where she acknowledged that she was the queen of rap. People had been calling her that, but that was her first time going, OK, queen, period. Like there was nothing after that.

GIBSON JOHNS: Stepping into it, right.

NIA IVY: Yes. She finally stepped into it. So that's when I started listening to her more and more. And then I actually started rapping at my church and I would perform at teen events, and stuff like that. Then I stopped because it was a little bit cringe to me. And then the internet came about and I got a little bit older, and got a little bit more mature. And really felt my love for music just like overflow. So now, I listen to rock, jazz, Latin, rap, pop, hyperpop, recession pop, which is that [INAUDIBLE]

GIBSON JOHNS: Right. Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. I know what you're talking about.

NIA IVY: Yes. I listen to anything. So I love--

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. And obviously, since the Nicki stuff has started to blow up, you sprinkle in other impressions. You do Britney, you do Kim, you do Halsey, Camila Cabello. Like I feel like, your talent really knows no bounds. And like I feel like you must like work on-- how long do you work on a certain celebrity impression before you decide to debut it with the public?

NIA IVY: Oh. Honestly, if I'm being completely honest, when it comes to all those, I usually improv a video and then I might redo it about two or three times. I know with the Camilla one and like Kim, or like some other people, like Halsey, those are just kind of in the moment just me mainly reciting more of the moment that they had. So like Halsey or Camilla with "Quismois." Like that stuff is just me being funny. But Kim Kardashian, I have been working on her since last year. Her, Khloe and Kourtney. I'm more so sound like Khloe. Like Kourtney, what the fuck is up with your Wi-Fi? You have this big house and like-- what? You don't have a good Wi-Fi box out here? You're going to die anyway. Die with a good Snapchat going through. Like that stuff it's just because I used to watch them for so long. So I think-- I honestly just improv on the spot. And if I post it, I post it. I never take too long at all.

GIBSON JOHNS: That's amazing. And obviously it's like you're so good at it. And I'm curious if like-- and you, obviously, have an interest. This is your career path. You want to be-- you want to make your business online and have that be like what you're doing for life. But I guess I'm curious, like what-- what is the goal? Like what is-- do you have an interest in like doing your own music? Do you have interest in like doing actual voice work in some capacity? Like what are you envisioning in terms of like what this could lead to down the road?

NIA IVY: I want to say it here, so it's documented, and you can be the first to hear it. I absolutely see myself in the next three years, probably, being another big star that everybody sees on TV. You know, a It girl. We always have an It girl of the year. And I definitely think someone who is me, who is like me, girls like me, they need their It girl. And I think the world needs another it girl who truly just enjoys what she does and the happiness that it can all bring. I want a voice act. I think Angry Birds commented-- the movie, they commented on my video of me doing my impressions. And said, please tell us do voice acting. And I almost screamed because--

GIBSON JOHNS: Do I ever? Come on.

NIA IVY: Like even if it's children's movies, I love the innocence of being able to tap into a character and make friends on a set because there's something about other people getting the art of acting and music that intertwines you with strangers across the world. I like that stuff. So I want to voice act. I want to be in the movies. I would love to have a reoccurring role on a sitcom. I like stuff like the "Modern Family," "Office," "Blackish." That dry adult humor. But I also love stuff like DreamWorks and Shrek, and Madagascar. Like I like funny stuff that the kids go to the theater to see. So that's what I want to do. And I know I'm going to do it very soon. I have a couple opportunities in the works. So--

GIBSON JOHNS: Good. Come on. Yes. We're ready. And just put it out into the world, you know? It's like you voice it, you never know who's going to be watching, you know?

NIA IVY: Yeah. Yes.

GIBSON JOHNS: Yeah. Oh, my God. And I also feel like this past year and a half, for you-- I mean, honestly, the past several months. But like ever since that first trailer kind of blew up for you, I think some of the hesitation I think about stepping into the fame and Hollywood, and all that stuff is like the negativity and the feedback. But like you've been exposed to that already. I feel like you probably-- your skin is getting thicker. And like, I don't know. That to me is always the hesitation in any of these situations, is like, OK, but like how do you throw yourself into that and prepare yourself adequately for it? But like you've been exposed to it. I feel like as your platform has grown.

NIA IVY: Yes. Like a ton. That's why I think over the last two weeks, I've been taking breaks at night off of my phone. I've been reading books. I've just finished a Britney Spears book. Oh, my God.

GIBSON JOHNS: Me too.

NIA IVY: Couldn't believe it. Couldn't stop reading. Had to stop myself because I would have finished it in probably five days. So every night I've been doing that with some Christmas music, ambience in the background and tea. Started my therapy up again, just for confidence and learning how to be OK with saying no and taking a break. So prepping myself because my manager has told me, by this time next year, she'll be good for me to be out in Cali. I get opportunities sometimes and I have to say no because I'm not local. So I'm already prepping myself. And I'm dealing with hate, more than I have ever had before. It's like as soon as I hit 500K, I got--

GIBSON JOHNS: I'm sorry.

NIA IVY: It's OK. It's like a thing. It's like, OK, you got to deal with it. So I'm learning how to deal with it the best way I can. I'm only 19. So it's-- I'm still very-- I'm like a baby, but I've done a lot of grown up things. So I'm learning how to adult right now in the midst of answering to the world and the public online. It's hard. It's hard.

GIBSON JOHNS: Right, totally. And that was going to be one of my last questions, which is like, you know, you're in Saint Louis, but I think there's always this point, I feel like with content creators that aren't based in LA or New York, where it's like, OK, I should probably take the plunge and move to New York or LA. So it sounds like you have sort of a game plan in terms of when that's going to happen for you.

NIA IVY: Yes. Next year. I was actually supposed to move there this summer. And then something in my gut just told me, hey, let's do another half a year or so back home with mom and dad. And I said, oh, OK. And I listened to my gut. And Lord and behold, me staying here actually got me to make the video with [INAUDIBLE] my good sister who did Beyonce's voice. And that is the one that got us our interview on TMZ. And literally, took us into meetings we could dream of. So Everything happened for a reason. But this time next year, I definitely want to be in Cali. And hopefully, Vinny Hacker, will be my future husband.

GIBSON JOHNS: Again, put it out in the world. Who knows?

NIA IVY: Yeah.

GIBSON JOHNS: You know? Who knows? Well, Nia Ivy, this has been so much fun hearing about your life and you building your career. Again, it's so impressive. It's happened so quickly for you. But as I said, like I just think you're so talented. And the way you can just rattle off some of these things is just truly-- I mean, nobody else can do that, really. So I'm so excited to see some of these opportunities that you've alluded to and see what's next for you because I'm sure-- again, you put it out there. You're that girl. You're going to be that It girl of maybe 2024 or 2025. Like that's going to happen. So I'm just so excited for you. Thank you so, so much.

NIA IVY: This was-- your questions were amazing. And thank you for allowing me to be so transparent. You are amazing. And I cannot wait to see how much bigger you get. You are very driven.

GIBSON JOHNS: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And we'll talk soon.

NIA IVY: All right. Talk soon. Bye bye.

GIBSON JOHNS: Thanks for tuning in to We Should Talk. I hope you enjoyed the interview. You can find out more about In The Know at intheknow.com. You can follow me, Gibson John at Gibsonoma on Twitter and Instagram. And you can listen to all of our interviews, past and future, by searching We Should Talk wherever you get your podcasts. Hope to see you next time.