Niontay’s style comes from his time split between cities. Born in Milwaukee, the rapper/producer first took influence from Midwest culture but was quickly moved to Kissimmee, Florida, where he’d spend the rest of his adolescence. Sitting in the car as a kid, he picked up on the emotional resonance of music through his mother having a good or bad day, and choosing between Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, or the Hot Boys to help her express herself. As a teen, he dug through YouTube rabbit holes and found stark Memphis storytellers such as Three 6 Mafia, Scarface, Tommy Wright, and the warped screw rap of UGK, Kingpin Skinny Pimp and DJ Screw, further exposing him to a clash of styles. He also began writing, inspired by the smooth raps of Joey Badass and Capital Steez and slick wordplay of Kendrick Lamar and Lil Wayne. Though he aspired to rap, he had to tend to real life and make some money so he kept most of his writing to himself. In 2018, his life changed when he moved to New York for a modeling gig. Discouraged after losing many of his raps and writing, he kept his talents a secret until a friend’s barbecue led to a freestyle session where his future engineer encouraged him to keep going. A chance meeting with DC rap legend Sideshow through his modeling agency led to being introduced to MIKE, who saw the vision for Niontay’s talent. In 2020, an annual cabin trip with friends served as the studio for his impromptu debut EP Blood Diamond, where Niontay keeps his flow smooth and similar to the Pro Era of New York rap, working to master the rules to one day break them.