A stage and screen actor with a lifelong love of music, North Carolina native and P-Valley star J. Alphonse Nicholson has forged a career embracing both passions. ∙ During his early days as an actor in New York, Nicholson earned extra money performing as a street drummer around the city. ∙ He’s appeared in such TV shows as Mr. Robot, The Blacklist, and Luke Cage, and he acted alongside Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx in the 2020 film Just Mercy. ∙ Nicholson landed his first job as a series regular in the critically acclaimed drama P-Valley, playing rapper Lil Murda and also performing several songs for the show’s soundtrack. ∙ Shortly after the first season of P-Valley, he teamed up with costar Tyler Lepley on the 2020 single “Slidin’.”