Nabil Ayers is an American music industry entrepreneur, author, musician and podcast host.
Ayers' debut memoir, My Life in the Sunshine, was published by Viking Press on June 7, 2022. The book focuses on Ayers' relationship with his father, the jazz musician Roy Ayers, growing up as a mixed-race person in America, and Ayers' life in the music industry.[1] The title, My Life in the Sunshine, is a reference to the Roy Ayers song, "Everybody Loves the Sunshine."[2] In a June 4, 2022 CBS Saturday Morning segment, Ayers, when asked about how the memoir portrays his father, stated, "In the end, it's positive. It's about all the great things he's given me, even though he hasn't been part of my life."[3]My Life in the Sunshine has received accolades from author/musician, Michelle Zauner, who said the book "ultimately redefines what it means to be a family." Ashley C. Ford, John Hodgman also gave praise, and Rolling Stone, called the book "[an] affecting new memoir."[4][5]
As a writer, Ayers is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, NPR, Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, People, GQ, Huffington Post, and The Root, among others.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] His writing is often autobiographic, and touches on topics of music and race.
In June 2024, Ayers launched the new podcast, Identified, which focuses on family and identity. Some of the musicians, authors, comedians, and actors Ayers has interviewed on Identified include Dawn Richard, Hrishikesh Hirway, Ione Skye, Geoff Rickly, Reggie Watts, and Nate Mendel.[14] In the podcast trailer, Ayers states his reason for starting the podcast toward the end of his eighteen-month-long book tour: "I felt a persistent desire to continue exploring stories of family, shifting the focus from my own experiences to those of others. On "Identified, we'll engage with authors, musicians, and people from a diversity of backgrounds to unravel what family means to them."[15]
In 2002, Ayers founded the independent record label The Control Group where he has released music by Lykke Li, Cate Le Bon, and El Perro del Mar. In 2018, Ayers founded the independent record label Valley of Search to reissue his uncle Alan Braufman's album of the same name. The label has gone on to release music by Tomas Nordmark and Patricia Brennan.[31] As a drummer, he has performed with various acts, most recently The Long Winters and Tommy Stinson.
He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, where Brooklyn Magazine named Ayers #7 in a list of "The 100 Most Influential People In Brooklyn Culture.”[17]
