The daughter of a jazz pianist, Marti Nikko spent her childhood in nightclubs, absorbing the art and wisdom of many great musicians. Enthralled by what she heard, she began to sing and perform her own music, infusing her innate grasp of jazz and soul into a warm, natural voice.

Marti met DJ Drez shortly after high school, when they began performing and recording together. Over nearly two decades, their collaboration has become an intimate musical language that effortlessly translates into and between many styles of music, including hip hop, reggae, kirtan, jazz and soul. Listen to any of DJ Drez’s albums and you’ll hear Marti Nikko’s unmistakably rich and nuanced voice. Her first full-length album, Dreaming In Sanskrit, combines her instinctive musicality with deeply devoted mantra practice.

In addition to Marti’s talents as a singer, songwriter and performer, she teaches yoga and pilates in Los Angeles where she and Drez live and love their 10-year-old son.