We recently had the chance to connect with YASMEEN* and have shared our conversation below.
YASMEEN*, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
A normal day or let me say a normal weekday typically is working 10 hours at my engineering job. I try to dive into something music related for the next couple of hours after my actual workday has ended. Usually right after I finish, I go straight into music manager mode whether it’s brainstorming merch, creating flyers, reaching out to people to book shows or try reaching out to other artists to see if I could be on their bill. And if I have a little extra time or a burst of creative energy, I’ll try to write some music. After that’s done, I might go catch a hot yoga class, make a quick dinner, maybe watch a show, play with my cats and then prep for work the next day.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi everyone, my name is Yasmeen. I usually describe myself to new people as an “engineer by day and singer by night” haha. My undergrad was in Mechanical Engineering and I work an engineering job now, but I also love to perform and write my own original music. I am Afghan American and I like to perform and write pop/R&B music. There’s not a lot of Afghan American musicians in the mainstream music industry, if you wanna call it that. I think my ability to try to dabble in both engineering, music, and coming from a Middle Eastern background kind of makes me stand out in a way. I have a seven piece band, including myself, and they are the reason why I sound even remotely good. Right now I’m trying to work on releasing new music, booking shows outside of the DFW area, and really just practicing my craft and trying to build more skills as a musician. I grew up listening to a lot of early 2000s pop and R&B. I listened to artists such as *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Destiny’s Child, Timbaland, The Neptunes, and most recently, Snoh Aalegra (Iranian) and much more. I used to be a part of an a cappella group in college, and those pop/r&b arrangements made me fall in love with vocal harmonies. I’m always trying to find every which way to integrate vocal stacks into my music. I don’t have a lot of music theory background, but I really trust my ear when it comes to writing.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
I would say the person who saw me clearly before I could see myself would have to be my mom. She knew exactly what I was capable of at such an early age and she has always watered my flowers when it came to academics or creative hobbies, or sports. She is one of my biggest supporters and fans. The way that she was able to teach me that I could achieve anything I could put my mind to was exactly what I needed and continue to utilize even as an adult. I think she always knew that whatever I was going to do was special and supported me no matter what, even if she really wanted me to continue focusing on my education. She knows music has my heart and supports my creative expression whole heartedly. I also have to give a special shoutout to Aunt Christie, may God rest her soul, for taking a chance on a 10 year old YASMEEN* who was just visiting with her dad in the summer of 2007 and discovering my love for music. As I quietly tried to sing to the Hannah Montana/Meet Miley Cyrus album, she saw something more and demanded that I get put into voice lessons. Although the lessons were short lived, I’m not sure where I would be without them and my close friends for constantly supporting me even when I was unsure with myself.
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Oh, there’s definitely been times where I thought to myself “why am I continuing to do this”? Not only can writing music be stressful when you have a creative block, but when you’re also your own manager – trying to book shows, trying to schedule rehearsals, promoting yourself, promoting your music and much more, it can get tiresome. I’m sure any indie artist knows what I’m talking about. And I might say something a bit controversial, but even though you’re extremely happy for your peers and their success, you can’t help but sometimes think you’re maybe not as “successful” as some of the other artists in the local scene depending on what your definition of success is. Whether it seems like others are booking more shows, or putting out more content constantly, or even feeling like maybe because you’re older, you think it might be harder for you to get opportunities. Those thoughts can seem never ending and honestly most of the time, it’s imposture syndrome, at least for me. I try my best to get out of that mindset and let that fuel a fire under my butt to keep going for what I really want, for what I really care about and at the end of the day, it’s music.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Is the public version of you the real you?
I think in a way, the public version of me is a percentage of the real me. It’s not inauthentic, but there is more to the real me that people don’t see. I don’t really talk publicly about any struggles that I go through and try to keep it close to myself/home but I have learned that you never know what other people are going through and sometimes sharing your struggles and showing the “imperfect” side of you can help other people to relate. I won’t go into the details, but yeah, I’ve had struggles these past few years whether it’s been physical, mental, and everything in between. And everyday I’m doing something to better myself and make sure I prioritize things that makes me truly happy. Only my close friends and family knows what goes on in my head and the kind of pressure that I can put on myself sometimes. There’s definitely some “behind the scenes” that I do in order to build my public persona – social media is fake and I wish people could understand that more. At the end of the day, I’m just a girl who went into engineering and loves to sing and perform. I’ve got my 2 cats, my beautiful friends and family, busy weekdays that that can either be incredibly boring or super charged. I can go from sitting on the couch after work, eating dinner, watching trash reality TV to prepping for a gig of an audience of 800+ people. Every day is something new and different and that’s what keeps me going honestly.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What will you regret not doing?
I would regret not being authentically myself and doing what truly makes me happy. I never want to live life inauthentically or doing things that make me unhappy for the sake of other people. Life is too short to be stuck in something you’re not happy about. Who wants to live a life like that?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3OmcpfiXotlClRbjgMF5sB?si=EcfhNIEiSHaBCKebUA3_ZA
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasmeenzmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasmeen-nasir-a365b8148?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
- Twitter: https://x.com/yasmeenmusic?s=21&t=rW1lh-S50j5aTdyH1VwmOw
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/172tfyVh6f/?mibextid=wwXIfr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@yasmeenofficial?si=89RHVdQ0deBjCeLN
Image Credits
@maiartmedia
