We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Naveed Ahmed a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Naveed, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
As a Bangladeshi American musician who grew up low-income in NYC, I’ve always been and continue to be in spaces where I’m the only one in the room that looks like me or comes from a background like mine. It honestly wasn’t until my early adult years when I really stepped outside the New York City bubble that I realized what a minority I really was. Growing up in Queens, I had an abundance of Bangladeshi community around me at all times. Roughly two-thirds of America’s entire Bangladeshi population is right here in NYC, and I was truly blessed to have that. I hear from South Asians who grew up in majority white areas all the time of how ostracizing their upbringing was, and I feel for them truly. Even apart from the Bangladeshi community around me, Queens was just abundant in diversity to the point where the psychology around race/ethnicity was honestly different. When you grow up as a kid going to school with people of all backgrounds, you set foot into a lot of different homes that teach you multicultural awareness. Even if you’re the only one in a room that looks like you, you wouldn’t really feel uncomfortable because you’re usually in a space where the energy is cognizant of that and naturally inviting. This NYC bubble definitely burst as I stepped into adulthood.
From going to college outside of NYC, and starting my previous band In Loving Memory with musicians outside of NYC, I started to really see how different white suburbia was from the upbringing I had. Especially for the genre that my old band was (metalcore/alternative rock), the demographic for that music is largely white-dominated. As In Loving Memory started to become more serious, play shows regularly, develop an online following, eventually do small tours that allowed me to see more of the country, I would grow very familiar with the feeling of being the only South Asian (let alone person of color often) in the spaces that I was in. I think the most profound effect of me being often separated from people who look like me or share my world view is that I started being more grateful for the qualities that set me apart. I started to notice more the perspectives that are lacking in the rooms I’m in, and how only someone like me can bring that to the table. I spent most of my life resenting my brown skin, resenting growing up low-income, resenting having immigrant parents. Over time I’ve unlearned a lot of that and become proud of everything about my life that I used to view as a disadvantage. This is a lifelong process that’s part of anybody’s coming-of-age, but I try my best to view every situation as an opportunity to contribute something no one else can.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’m a musician. My artist name is the one God gave me, Naveed Ahmed. To be an independent artist today means being way more than just a musician. Singer, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist, producer, videographer, marketing team, business manager, PR, booking agent, stylist. The list goes on. Show your favorite small artists some love because we do a lot, all for the love of our craft and wanting to share our stories with the world. I’m grateful to be able to share my story through great interviews like this too!
Being a musician is so special for me as a Bangladeshi American from New York City. Especially in working class communities where our families don’t come from much, young kids of color can very much be discouraged from pursuing creative/entrepreneurial career paths. For myself and all the kids I grew up, we were expected to do well academically, get great professional jobs in STEM fields, and elevate our families to fulfill the American dream. I want to be an artist who can represent that story, honor the sacrifices of our immigrant parents who gave us the opportunity to chase dreams as crazy as a music career, help shift the cultural perception of South Asians and our power, and put on for the beautiful city that raised me. A lot of my lyricism revolves around self-actualization, more specifically my ongoing journey to own my identity, my power, and strive to be the best man I can be. My first project “Insecure” is out now on all streaming platforms (https://listen.naveedahmedny.com/insecure) and is a record where I explore a lot of the qualities about myself I dislike. I explore my constant comparing myself to others, my fear of not forming deep long-lasting friendships, my dependence on external validation, and even the unspoken sense of competition that exists between a lot of South Asian Americans. It was very difficult to be so transparent about the uglier parts of myself, but I’m happy to see people learn more about their own similar insecurities through this music and my goal with this project is to help people along in their own healing journey.
A lot of the new music I’m working on for 2024 is going to be more directly focused on the various intersections of my identity. I have a song I’m working on where I’ll playfully jab at the eurocentric beauty standards and negative representation that always made me feel ugly as a South Asian man. Another example is I’m working on a song directly addressing the problem of gentrification in New York City. The narrative of my city is being hijacked, and I want to help reclaim it. I’m in the early stages of planning a very elaborate campaign for that song, bigger than anything I’ve ever done for a song.
Overall, I feel very in tune with myself and my power, and I’m ready to use my artistry to advocate for my community and I think if you’re finding me now, it’s a great time to journey with me!
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As a musician, one of the best qualities I’m grateful for is a wide music taste. Of course that only comes with an upbringing where I was exposed to lots of different kinds of music. My mom is a big fan of classics like The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Simon & Garfunkel and I remember sitting with her as a kid listening to them. I also grew up with an older sister, so I was listening to NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls, and all that as a baby. That’s probably why I still like boybands to this day. Growing up in NYC meant hip hop was the soundtrack to our lives. But then I first picked up the guitar after hearing Hey There Delilah on the radio and loving that song so much, and that got me into the whole emo/pop-rock scene. That led to me finding bands like Avenged Sevenfold that got me into metal, and before you know it Vans Warped Tour was my world. And then I had a bit of a dubstep phase that led me to some raves in college. I would rediscover hip hop and R&B later in life but I’m so grateful to have such a wide array of genres inform my music tastes. I think it’s even more important that I grew up in a city where I had access to shows of all kinds and could observe different people from different walks of life in all these different scenes and subcultures. From hardcore shows in hole-in-the-wall venues, singer-songwriter shows in cafes and bars, arena shows in large venues, sketchy raves, hip hop shows, I’m grateful to see the common threads in how everyone enjoys the beautiful experience that is music. And that has only made me a better artist.
Another crucial quality that I think is necessary for anyone wanting to go against the grain and build their own vision from the ground up is that you have to be willing to sacrifice a “normal” lifestyle. And I think this applies regardless of what age you decide to dive into your business. I would say I started to seriously pursue music when I was in college. Mind you, I was studying to be an engineer, so music was a whole other life outside of my education. I was a full time student while spending almost every weekend with my band recording music, practicing, playing shows, filming videos, whatever the case may be. It was definitely difficult at times as a young man to feel like I was missing out on “the college experience” and seeing how much fun people around me were having going to parties and doing all that. Throughout the years, I’ve definitely felt the pursuit of my dreams straining my relationships with friends, significant others, family. Sometimes it’ll even be those people that are closest to you who try to discourage you from pursuing your endeavors. But you have to be able to shut out outside voices and trust your vision. The way I see it, if the people closest to you can’t dissuade you from your dreams, nobody in the world can. However, and I say this to not contribute to the smoke and mirrors of “hustle culture”, I’m learning to lead a more balanced lifestyle that lets me prioritize time with my loved ones and, dare I say, even time to just rest. I’m probably gonna play some old Spyro games after I submit this interview.
Lastly, I gotta shout out my parents for instilling in me gratitude. Be it directly with their words of always being grateful for what we have, or indirectly through my sister and I seeing how hard they worked their whole lives to keep a roof over our heads and raise us, they have shown me what a beautiful privilege it is to have the opportunity to pursue what I want in life. For a lot of us first generation Americans, our parents were constantly in survival mode, and we got to reap the benefits of that. I often say how privileged we are to be able to play the game of happiness, especially when so many people around the world are just trying to survive today. If gratitude wasn’t a core value of mine, I probably wouldn’t find the energy to make the most of the amazing opportunities that are all around me.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Depending on the context, I think either answer could be valid. But for anyone who wants to be a creative/entrepreneur and build their vision from the ground up, I think it’s crucial to be well-rounded and be at least competent at every aspect of your craft. The transition from fronting a band to becoming a solo artist in 2021 really taught me this and I’ve been living by it since. In order for me to properly improve at my craft and grow my brand as a solo artist, I’ve had to push my limits in all aspects of the creative and business aspects of my brand. I’m not just singing my songs. I write all the music. I usually play all the instruments you hear in my song. I’ve started producing more of my own music. I film and edit a lot of my own video content. I run my social media ads, email marketing, and Patreon myself. In the past few years, I’ve invested a lot of money into better instruments, better recording gear, and put in the hours to improve at everything I can because I just want to be the best artist I can be. Obviously there’s only so much time in a day, and I’m nowhere near where I’d like to be in any aspect of my craft. But the beauty of life and the artistic journey is that there’s always room to improve at something, and the improvement will show as my music catalog grows over time.
Now speaking purely on the business side, it’s super important to be well-rounded. There’s so many different tasks, roles, and skillsets necessary to operate a business. And everything depends on whether you’re willing to spend money or time. You could do everything yourself, or you could pay people to do things. Either way it’s all gotta get done. In the early stages when you likely don’t have as much capital, you’re probably going to be taking a lot of the weight on your own shoulders. That will require you to wear a lot of different hats and develop skills you didn’t even know you needed. Being well-rounded will allow you to convey your vision in every aspect of your brand and make sure you know what each role demands. That way, you’re ready when time comes to hire someone to do that work. You will know how to train someone effectively, how to judge the quality of their work, and how to grow that aspect of your brand with someone else’s perspective. I’ve had this happen naturally for me in a lot of ways. I never planned to get into video editing or filming. But as I did more photo and video shoots over the years, I developed the understanding of what I like as well as the language to articulate it to whoever I’m working with. To a point where I realized I could sometimes edit things myself to get the vision I have in my head. Same thing with music production. I was always so intimidated to produce myself because production is its own 10,000-hours-to-master craft. But after working with different producers over the years, I improved to a point where I can decently produce my tracks and then send them off to get mixed/mastered. I have the language to give very specific feedback when I do work with producers.
A big part of being well-rounded is just leaning into your natural curiosity. If you really love your craft, chances are you’ll love learning the ancillary things around it. Obviously music is my main love. But to really love music and the process of becoming an artist, I also grew interested in videography, photography, marketing, business, fashion, film, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: naveedahmedny.com/links
- Instagram: @naveedahmedny
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCBiGG6j0uiaCUO1uiR_NMw
- Other: Tiktok: @naveedahmedny
Image Credits
Jason Xanon Ricky Mejia Mahbub Naim
