King Solomon Hicks

Hicks has been steeped in music for as long as he can remember. Harlem, he says, “is not like New Orleans, where music is 24 hours a day — but it’s close.” His father and mother played music at home constantly.

His mother also took him, as a youth, to local nightspots such as the Lennox Lounge, Saint Nick’s and the Cotton Club, where Hicks witnessed performances that made a significant impact on his outlet and ambitions. “When you’re around good musicians, it gives you that spark — ‘I want to do what you do. I want to hold my own,’” says Hicks, who started playing guitar when he was six years old. “But being around those types of musicians also taught me to NOT be the fastest guitar player. I wanted to be the one who knew the most riffs and drew on a lot of knowledge so I could play anything, and with anyone.”