It was almost like Nicholas Delgado invented the dance battle. He always had a portable speaker on him, and he’d go up to a group of people, put on music and start moving.
After a few seconds—and maybe a funny look or two—his energy became contagious.
“He’d be like, ‘Guys, join in!’ And the next thing you know, a whole group of people were dancing, and I’m like, ‘Oh my god,’” his older sister, Millytza Perez, said with a resigned laugh. ‘All the time growing up we’d tell him, you’re too grown to be doing these things, but there go Nikko with his music.”
That’s just one example of a creative soul with a ton of friends who was extremely passionate about music. Nearly every morning he would come out to his stoop, put on some music and greet the neighbors.
He always carried a notebook with him so he could jot down thoughts for new rhymes. He was practically addicted to music and recorded a few singles, like “Run It Up,” that showed his big dreams.
They got cut short, though, on June 3, 2024. Nicholas was shot on Water Street near Indiana in Kensington. He managed to run a few blocks to his mother’s house before collapsing outside, and he didn’t make it. He was 29.
A suspect was arrested just last week.
He had grown up in North Philly and Kensington, the only boy of four children in the house. Though he was farily serious to the outside world—and fiercely protective of his sisters—he was a prankster inside the house. When someone was going around the corner, he’d jump out to scare you. Or grab smothing on table just to watch them look for it.
After attending Stetson Middle School, he went on to get his diploma at Glen Mills. He didn’t continue formal education but he was obsessed with knowing the truth. Nicholas never stopped looking things up on the internet to make sure the things people said were true, Millytza said. He was the fact checker who would go back to prove to you it was not the right information.
“You have to pay attention to what you listen to and what’s on the internet because it’s not always true,” he’d say.
He also was a big reader, and had recently dedicated himself to books focused on self-improvement. The most recent was “48 Laws of Power” a guide how to respond to things, how grow professionally and much more.
Through school and into adulthood, he loved playing football. It was a passion he eventually shared with his son, Mason, who is now 8.
The two would spend time together on the weekends, going to Dave and Buster’s or skating for a birthday. Sometimes you couldn’t tell which was the kid and which was the dad because they both loved Sonic the Hedgehog, Spiderman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Millytza said his pride was obvious when he went to hug his son. He would flash his million-dollar smile so much that she would take pictures just to show him how clear it was that he loved him.
“You don’t see that a lot in our neighborhood, but he was involved,” she said. She made a collage of the photos for Mason. “I was being a creep, but I told him, ‘These are what your dad felt when he held you.’”
To pay the bills, Nico had gotten into construction work, picking up as many jobs as he could including electrical work. But besides music, he was also passionate about photography. He was thinking of going to community college in 2025 to study it more.
When there were parades for the Eagles, strikes or protests, and holiday events in Center City, he would go down with his camera and come back with beautiful images. He was able to see things different than most people, Millytza said
One time on Water Street, she saw him taking a picture of flower, the only flower in the sidewalk facing the sun on the block. “He could see the vision,” she said. “No matter how dark this place is, look at this growing here.”
Resources are available for people and communities that have endured gun violence in Philadelphia. CLICK HERE for more information.
