Nic Masangkay is a 25-year-old, multiply-marginalized poet, music producer, and singer-songwriter based in Seattle. With poetry Buzzfeed claims “will leave you speechless” and music the Seattle Times reports is "synth-pop with overlaid vocals in the style of Reggie Watts," Nic is incredibly grateful that anybody wants to listen to the art that they create to survive.
Embraced by Seattle’s LGBTQ writing community at 18-years-old, Nic has since gone to perform their poetry locally and nationally - opening for Andrea Gibson twice, and reading alongside some of their arts-activist heroes like Leah Lakshmi Piepszna-Samarasinha and Anastacia Renee. They also speak and keynote at LGBTQ events, some including Pride ASIA and the University of Washington Qolors Reception. At College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational (CUPSI) 2013, Nic’s piece “My Gender Is for Mothers” was voted as one of the “Best of the Rest.” “My Gender Is for Mothers” has also been highlighted by Buzzfeed and Autostraddle while another poem, “Platonics,” was featured on Tumblr. In August 2016, they put out their first chapbook - Melancholia - exploring themes of gender, race, sexuality, disability, trauma, and diaspora.
In September 2017, Nic released their debut electronic-R&B pop EP A Hundred Suns Setting. Warmly received - with an accompanying Release Party that sold out Gay City Arts’ Calamus Auditorium - the EP features Nic’s singing, songwriting, production, recording, mixing, and mastering. They also provide these skills as services to other artists - mainly to create recording access for Nic’s QTPOC community. Some current collaborators include Da Qween, Realistic Fiction, and Julz Ilang-Bulan.
Nic aspires to one day develop a recording studio that specifically serves LGBTQ communities. Until then, you can find Nic performing music and poetry wherever they are welcome - from Seattle’s Town Hall to your local QTPOC’s living room. In all aspects of their work, they hope to bring justice to themselves and the people around them.