Nina

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Little is known for certain about Nina. The first mention of her name appears in a tattered journal found in a farmhouse near Elektrozavodsk, where the author describes a woman with a quiet voice who helped bandage wounds before vanishing into the woods. Subsequent reports from survivors in Berezino and the northwestern airfield mention a figure matching that description, always seen at a distance, never staying long. Some believe she is a ghost or a figment of collective trauma; others insist she is a real person, possibly a former doctor or aid worker who refuses to join any faction. Her name has been found carved into a church pew in Chernogorsk and spray-painted on a wall in Novy Sobor, always accompanied by a single, stylized musical note. No verified photograph or recording of her exists, and her ultimate fate is unknown.

In Their Own Story

In 1964, Simone changed record distributors from Colpix to the Dutch Philips Records, which meant a change in the content of her recordings. On her debut album for Philips, Nina Simone in Concert (1964), for the first time she addressed racial inequality in the United States in the song 'Mississippi Goddam'. This was her response to the June 12, 1963, murder of Medgar Evers and the September 15, 1963, bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four young black girls and partly blinded a fifth. She said that the song was 'like throwing ten bullets back at them', becoming one of many other protest songs written by Simone. The song was released as a single, and it was boycotted in some southern states. Promotional copies were smashed by a Carolina radio station and returned to Philips. She later recalled how 'Mississippi Goddam' was her 'first civil rights song' and that the song came to her 'in a rush of fury, hatred and determination'. The song challenged the belief that race relations could change gradually and called for more immediate developments: 'me and my people are just about due.' It was a key moment in her path to Civil Rights activism. 'Old Jim Crow', on the same album, addressed the Jim Crow laws. After 'Mississippi Goddam', a civil rights message was the norm in Simone's recordings and became part of her concerts. As her political activism rose, the rate of release of her music slowed. Simone performed and spoke at civil rights meetings, such as at the Selma to Montgomery marches.

Reader's Guide

Nina Simone's career offers a masterclass in blending artistry with activism. Her piano playing was strongly influenced by baroque and classical music, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, and she accompanied expressive, jazz-like singing in her contralto voice. For aspiring musicians, her path shows the importance of versatility: her music spanned classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. Her debut album Little Girl Blue was released in February 1959 through Bethlehem Records. It included George Gershwin's 'I Loves You, Porgy', which she learned from a Billie Holiday album and performed as a favor to a friend. It became her only Billboard top 20 single in the United States. Because she had sold her rights outright for $3,000 (equivalent to $31,100 in 2025), Simone lost more than $1 million in royalties (notably for the 1980s re-release of her version of the jazz standard 'My Baby Just Cares for Me') and never benefited financially from the album's sales. After the success of Little Girl Blue, Simone signed a contract with producer Hecky Krasnow at Colpix Records and recorded a multitude of studio and live albums. Colpix relinquished all creative control to her, including the choice of material that would be recorded, in exchange for her signing the contract with them. By this time, Simone performed pop music only to make money to continue her classical music studies and was indifferent about having a recording contract. She kept this attitude toward the record industry for most of her career.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Nina' first appeared in survivor lore in a 2012 community-created story, later referenced in official DayZ loading screens.
• Unlike many named characters in DayZ, Nina has no confirmed faction ties, making her a truly independent figure in the lore.
• The musical note symbol associated with Nina is sometimes interpreted as a reference to a lullaby, though no such song has been found in any in-game audio files.
• Some players have reported seeing a female character model matching Nina's description in remote areas, but these sightings are unconfirmed and may be server mods or glitches.