Nneka Renacole Rice was born on January 27, 1977, in Gallatin, Tennessee.

Raised in a musical family, she would spend most of her early years singing in various church choirs at Key-Stewart United Methodist Church.

As a teen, Nacole mastered the art of performing under the direction of her vocal coach Vera Warrick.

Warrick would later develop an all-female quartet Shadz of U, which featured childhood friends Chandra Boone, Selina Robb, Kimberley Locke and a young Nacole.

Shadz of U is featured on Kimberley Locke's "Everyday Angels" off her second album Based on a True Story in 2007.