Amidst the turmoil that is 2020, positivity seems harder and harder to come by. Thankfully, emerging artist Yasin’s catchy lyrics and buoyant beats capture the essence of encouragement– adding a little optimism to your rap-pop playlist.
Yasin is a 19-year old computer science and engineering student turned rapper, who recently took a leave of absence from USC to pursue music full-time. Within the past few
As the son of two Moroccan immigrants, Yasin credits his parents with developing his interest in culture and music. However, they were not initially thrilled to hear of their son’s interest in rap. Yasin explained, “When my parents first found out I was rapping my senior year of high school, it was definitely a huge conversation. They have very traditional values and just associate rap music with face tattoos and drugs. It took me a
His most recent single “Stay Strong” is certainly a step in that direction, as it focuses on mental health and suicide prevention. The track, Yasin revealed, was written for a close friend whom he wanted to help out of a bad headspace: “I was in the studio and he had called me the day before so I had been thinking about him a lot because I knew he was in a bad place. So I just imagined I was talking to him while I was writing the song, and it ended up all coming together.”
SHEESH! chatted with Yasin to learn more about his progression as an artist, life in LA, and long-term aspirations.
What does the process of working on music involve for you?
Working on music encompasses a lot of things. It could be actually writing songs, going to studio sessions, or building and defining my brand. For a long time my biggest focus was finding my sound but now that I feel like I’m at that point where it’s refined, there’s a lot more than just the actual music side. It involves branding, marketing and figuring out how I want to portray my image.
How has your sound changed since you started making music?
Honestly, I feel like I just found my sound about three or four months ago. I grew up in the Bay Area and listened to a lot of local artists that focused on very traditional rap. I was very much in that wave until I left home and started experimenting with singing and autotune more, which I feel like opened up a lot more doors. My songs have definitely become a lot more melodic over time.
What is it like being an up-and-coming artist in LA?
I don’t know if it’s because I’m at USC, or if it’s LA in general, but the room for collaborations and meeting people here is huge and that didn’t really exist for me back home. The first week I got to college there was a singer, rapper, and director just in my hallway. Meeting all these people that are the same age as you and all committed to working on their own thing is really dope, and gave me a competitive drive to put towards my music.
When did you realize you wanted to pursue music seriously?
I really made the decision after the first week at USC. I had dreams of being a famous artist as soon as I started rapping in high school, but it just didn’t seem very possible because I had never seen anyone actually do it. But after being in LA and observing people my age achieving that level of success, it just made me realize that I can do it. If they can do it, then why can’t I?
What does your family think of this career switch?
My parents are literally my biggest supporters. My dad is an Uber driver and I always get DMs from random people like ‘yo, your dad just played us your song’ telling me to keep it up because he’s super proud of me.
You say your motto is “more than rap”, what does that mean?
That encompasses everything I want to do once I have a bigger platform. I didn’t grow up with the richest parents or in the best area, but they always provided for me to the best of their abilities. But a lot of my best friends have had to work two jobs since they were like 15, just to pay rent for their parents– a lot of fucked up shit happening in the community. That makes me want to really give back once I’m able to.
What was it like leaving that community at home for a very different one at USC?
Going to USC was a huge adjustment, now I feel like I’ve seen both sides of this shit. My high school counselor was like “are you sure you want to go to USC? I don’t think you’re going to fit in with all those rich kids.” Growing up the way I did, you really start to develop this mindset of “those rich kids.” But soon I realized that the same way it wouldn’t be fair for them to generalize someone from a
Any advice to upcoming artists?
Don’t stress out when you have a creativity block. For a long time when I was anxious and upset that I wasn’t going anywhere, I’d tell myself I needed to sit down at nine o’clock every day and get stuff done. Everyone’s different, but it’s probably just not gonna work like that. If you’re not feeling creative, don’t force it. Instead, go live your life and do something that’s going to make you happy.
Stream Yasin’s latest single “Stay Strong” and check out the music video on Youtube.
