We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ebri Yahloe a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Ebri , thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.
Imposter syndrome used to feel like a real burden for me. It showed up as this belief that people wouldn’t care about my music, or confusion about why people wanted to hire me, collaborate with me, or even date me. It was all these silly little doubts that added up, and the strange part is I come from a very supportive family. My family encourages you to be whatever you want to be, as long as you aren’t hurting anyone and you’re doing your best. For a long time, I couldn’t even listen to my own music. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I could fully listen back or watch myself on video. Not because I thought it was bad but because I genuinely didn’t understand why other people thought it was good. A lot of that came from mistrust. Overcoming imposter syndrome is still a work in progress, but I’ve definitely moved through the biggest chunk of it. What helped the most was owning the fact that I’m amazing and actually standing in that. Understanding that what’s mine is mine. I’ve put in the practice, I’ve put in the reps, and those skills follow me into every room I enter. I also learned that I don’t have to be perfect, and that growing and learning are part of the process. Trusting myself, accepting myself unconditionally, and loving myself more deeply that’s what’s helped me overcome it.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m a multidisciplinary storyteller music, sound, visual arts, poetry, performance, teaching all of it is just different languages I use to say the same thing: we matter, and our stories deserve space. I’m based in Columbus, but my work honestly lives anywhere people are willing to feel something real.
My career sits at this intersection of art and impact. On the artistic side, I’m a hip-hop artist, poet, actor, author, and visual creative. I’ve released multiple EPs and singles, performed at festivals like COMFEST, Columbus Arts Festival, Sofar Sounds, A&R Bar and every time I step on a stage, my goal is the same: create a moment that feels like truth. I make music and soundscapes that people tell me they feel more than they just hear. I create visuals that carry that same emotional weight. That’s the part I love.
On the community side, I’m a teaching artist who uses songwriting, poetry, sound design, and visual storytelling as tools for confidence, self-awareness, and healing. I work with Columbus City Schools, We Amplify Voices, and other organizations to build spaces where young people can create freely and see themselves as powerful. Watching a student write their first verse, produce their first beat, or bring a story to life visually that’s honestly magic to me.
What feels special about what I do is this: I get to build worlds. Sometimes it’s a three-minute song, sometimes it’s a classroom full of kids who suddenly believe in themselves a little more, sometimes it’s a visual moment or an open mic where the whole room is breathing together. Art lets me do that.
Right now, I’m growing my community initiative, Pop Up Speak Up a traveling open mic and performance series popping up in schools and neighborhoods. It’s a stage that comes to the people, empowering students and community members to speak, sing, rap, create, and shine. It’s loud, joyful, healing, and becoming something really special.
At the end of the day, my brand is authenticity, emotional honesty, and creative courage. I’m excited because I feel like everything I’ve been building is starting to connect in a bigger way the music, the sound, the visuals, the teaching, the community work it’s all orbiting around purpose. And that’s the part that keeps me going
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Looking back, the three qualities that shaped my journey the most were:
being a lifelong student,
being obsessed with learning and reading, and
recognizing that there’s a market for every single thing I create I just have to package it well.
Being a lifelong student kept me humble, curious, and always evolving. I’ve learned that the moment you think you know everything is the moment you stop growing.
Reading and learning opened up worlds for me. Books, articles, interviews anything I could get my hands on helped expand my creativity, my vocabulary, and my sense of possibility.
Understanding the market helped me stop doubting my gifts. Once I realized that everything I do has an audience, it unlocked a whole new level of confidence and intentionality. Creativity isn’t the hard part telling the story of it is.
My advice for people early in their journey who want to build these same skills:
Stay teachable. Ask questions, seek mentors, watch how people you admire move. Don’t be afraid to be a beginner beginners grow the fastest.
Read widely and often. Read in your field and outside of it. Read things that inspire you, challenge you, or make you curious. The more you take in, the more original your output becomes.
Experiment with packaging your gifts. Try different formats, platforms, and ways of presenting your work. Pay attention to what resonates with people. You don’t have to change who you are you just have to find the right container for what you do.
At the end of the day, develop the habit of staying open, staying curious, and trusting that your voice has a place in the world. The rest you can learn.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
Yes, I’m absolutely open to both partnerships and collaborations. Alignment is everything for me our values, intentions, and creative energy have to match. I’m drawn to work that feels innovative and thoughtful, ideas that make me stop and go, ‘hmm… okay, that’s interesting.’ I love being surprised.
I’m not someone who gets easily excited or gassed up, and sometimes that throws people off, but I’ll never fake enthusiasm. If something genuinely moves me, you’ll know. I’m looking for collaborators whose ideas feel fresh, meaningful, and rooted in purpose. I’m especially inspired by art, music, food, plants (I love plants the most), youth empowerment, education, fashion, visual arts, and honestly the arts in general. Pottery too I fall into week-long pottery and ceramic rabbit holes like it’s nothing. Anything creative, tactile, or expressive, I’m already halfway in.
So partnering with people, brands, or organizations who orbit around those worlds is peak for me.
If someone’s reading this and wants to collaborate, the best way to reach me is through social media. Send a clear idea or even just the seed of something exciting if it aligns, we’ll build something beautiful
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ebri_yahloe
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/GGUQiShO-Xw?si=fg0Ed2nWSbka7NBc
Image Credits
prophet
Efua
wav
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
