We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Iismaill . We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Iismaill below.
Hi Iismaill , appreciate you sitting with us today. Maybe we can start with a topic that we care deeply about because it’s something we’ve found really sets folks apart and can make all the difference in whether someone reaches their goals. Self discipline seems to have an outsized impact on how someone’s life plays out and so we’d love to hear about how you developed yours?
To be completely honest, I truly think that it should come from within. What I believe is that it all comes down to internal drive and commitment to one’s own growth. You can’t have discipline if you don’t want to always keep learning and always wanting to achieve more, from both life itself and your own individual existence.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name’s iismaill, and I’m a 28 year-old first generation Indian-American artist/content creator from the Inland Empire in Southern California. I’ve always loved reading, which brought out the writer in me, which led me to go from writing short stories to poems to full-on songs. I also started to make TikToks in 2020 under the name of “Hydboii”, which I attribute as my comedian/content creator side. Making it in the industry means so much to me, as I want to be the first artist that is ethnically Hyderabadi (Hyderabad is the city that my family is from in India) to represent on multiple media fronts. I have a lot of projects on the way, both music-related and others, and I don’t plan to stop.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Perseverance, self-awareness, and sociability. I say perseverance because as an artist, you have to believe in yourself wholeheartedly before others do. Self-awareness comes into play after that, and it’s a crucial component because without it an individual can’t improve. The way I see it, you have to be able to look inwards and be able to critique yourself harder than anybody else. My philosophy is that if you can’t bump your own music super loud driving down the freeway or street, then you’re not doin’ it right. On the flipside, you have to be able to be honest with yourself that something doesn’t sound right, or that the content being created just isn’t that good. In terms of sociability, you have to be able to network and make connections. A simple conversation can lead to possibilities that were never expected to begin with. The whole “anti-social” bit doesn’t really work in this industry, simply because you need to be able to communicate on a different level. If there’s any piece of advice that I can give to somebody who’s just starting out, it’s that progress starts with humility. I don’t mean be humble to the point that people walk all over you, but rather know what you’re worth and be able to present that in an effective and firm way.
Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?
As of right now, the biggest obstacle that I feel I’m facing in my career as an artist/content creator is breaking through. What I mean by that is that I can’t really say that I’ve “made it” quite yet, but rather that I’ve experienced a lot. I find satisfaction in the journey because it’s been beautiful, but there’s still always that side that wants to make it. Time tells all, that’s what I always say.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/iilltivity
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iilltivity/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/iilltivity
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@iilltivity
- Other: TikTok: @hydboii
Image Credits
@visceralvisualshots @yourasianpapi
