Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Zahir Muhammad. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Zahir, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
The most meaningful project that I’ve ever worked on is the ‘Unusual’ project. ‘Unusual’ has blossomed into what is now my debut single, and debut solo-directorial music film. The work put into it, however, was what makes it so meaningful to me. Being that it was my debut, there were many months of vocal work and study done to improve my tone, voice, and lyrics. I worked with my vocal coach and co-composer, Ms. Micaiah Dempsey, to achieve the necessary level of confidence in my voice and inflection before expressing some of my deepest emotions through song. In addition to all of the personal work on my own vocals, there was a ton of work in the studio continuing to move the song through phase after phase with the features from rising star artists Phoenix James and Wiseboy Jeremy. Once the song was completed and released on March 17, 2023, the next phase of this project commenced. I had to promote the song daily through every avenue I could think of. I sent emails out each day, posted the song on social media each day, and simply tried to get others to view and listen to it. While this was going on, perhaps the most beautiful part of the project was also happening. We drove to Utah from Louisiana (25 hours!) to produce the visual for ‘Unusual’. That experience was life-changing. The trials we had to work through, coupled with the genius that each of us (myself and my team members – Courtland Myles, Andrew Kim, Jerimiah Ochoa, Jordan Griffin) dug within ourselves to produce became the framework by which the video stood upon. When the video was released (April 13, 2013), the completion of the ‘Unusual’ project was achieved. Over the next few months, ‘Unusual’ received artistic critical acclaim garnering co-signs from some of our biggest inspirations like Earthgang, Monte Booker, Mavi and others. Music critics like Anthony Fantano described the song and video as “pretty” and “luxurious”. ‘Unusual’ has reached millions of views via social media, and over 200,000 streams as my debut single. Seeing the response from the artistic community to this project made us all emotional and further cemented just how beautiful this entire process was. It has continued to inspire so many around us to create to the fullest extent and made those who worked on the project into a little family! It was definitely my most meaningful project thus far.
Zahir, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a 21 year-old Washington DC based multi-hyphenate artist, director, and musician. Growing up playing both the piano and trumpet, while also learning multiple percussion instruments, I presented an early affinity for musicianship. I started my career as a visual director, using hallmark visual recognition skills to assist in directing multiple short series’ for RayBan, Samsung, and most recently, my first short film ‘Unusual’.
In June of 2022, I began to bridge my directing craft and musical upbringing by executively curating and releasing ‘From a Potter’s Hands’, a musical compilation with artists such as Wakai, nelovesbias, Ezy and others. Since this release, I’ve been blessed to met or learn under major influences such as Saba and Halsey among others. Taking these lessons along with me, I crafted my debut musical single ‘Unusual’ bringing in rising stars, Phoenix James and Wiseboy Jeremy, to create the perfect R&B/Alt Hip Hop vocal introduction featured on COLORS’ Weekly Releases and labeled by EARTHGANG as “hard as f***!”. The accompanying visual experience, co-signed by monte booker, MAVI, and others, serves as my freshman solo-directorial effort and has been widely acclaimed throughout the creative community. Unusual and my second newly released record, Big Drop, are the first two singles from my much anticipated debut EP releasing later this year.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think there’s such a beauty in creatively exorcising pain. As a creative, I take many painful moments in my life and express them creatively. I think non-creatives sometimes look at music or film or any medium of creativity and judge it based on their current level of understanding or emotional state without realizing that it really is a story of the artist’s deepest emotions. I think as a community, we would all benefit more from trying to understand the message the artist is truly trying to convey, and many non-creatives currently struggle with understanding that about my music and visual creations.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is the ability and responsibility of translating our life experiences into palatable thoughts, feelings, and emotions for others to understand. The connection that comes with that has always been beautiful to witness. Talking with strangers from across the world about how a certain song or visual impacted them super deeply makes me extremely grateful for the gift of artistic translation. This art has helped create a family for me (my best-friends) and also created connections for me all across the world. I love it.
Contact Info:
- Website: zaverbs.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zastarring/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/zastarring
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9O4FlQTqlbW3VNlu-pS1_A
Image Credits
Courtland Myles