Let’s talk about how you got into music… Since many people begin their pursuits as a pastime, it’s common for a few to turn their hobby into a full-time career, and I like to find out what that “defining” moment was for the artists that I interview. So how did you get into music and what was the edging moment that convinced you to go in fully?
I first began releasing music in August of 2021 as a result of a growing passion, which was largely inspired by the other music artists I would listen to frequently throughout my childhood. The immediate response I got from listeners around the world was very positive even with my limited portfolio at the time, with hundreds of thousands of streams amassing quickly. After seeing an uproar of support initially after releasing some of my first ever recorded work, I knew that there was a lot of potential in future tracks that I could release as a full-time artist with an already existing and rapidly expanding community of supporters even just one month after my debut single “INDUSTRY” was released on all major music streaming platforms.
What is the one thing you think most makes you unique and stand out as an artist?
One thing that makes me unique and “stand out” as an artist is my specific blend of Hip-Hop inspired, energy packed vocals blended with the punchy drum patterns and catchy underlying R&B-inspired melodies featured in my music’s instrumental tracks. In my opinion, emotion is very closely associated with every good song ever made; therefore a priority of mine as an artist is to create music that takes a specific set of emotions and transfers the same feelings to the listener as soon as the sound enters their ears.
How do you measure success – a gold record, over 1-million streams on iTunes, winning Best Hip Hop Album at the SA Music Awards, or is it something more than this?
The idea of “success” for me as an artist is having as many ears as possible listen to my music, and having the people listening experience the finding of some type of value that means something to and resonates with them on a beneficial level. Whether that being my music acting as a “pick-me-up” for someone who was having a bad day before they hit the play button on one of my songs, or perhaps someone finding inspiration of their own from listening. Stream counts and other metric statistics do represent the number of people listening to the music, so yes – a high stream count is and would be considered success in my book, but the underlying value that people are able to take while listening to my music holds a far more important meaning.
Looking at your life and career so far, what makes you most proud?
One personal characteristic that I’ve developed throughout my career thus far that makes me the most proud is my newly discovered ability to persevere and continue learning in the world of music. Having no experience musically in my life prior to diving in to learning how to make my own songs from scratch presented a lot of road-blocks and hard concepts to learn and adapt to, however my career’s rising success has all been shaped by my overcoming and improvement in these difficult goals. I am extremely proud of my current progress in not only the creation of my upcoming music, but also in the statistics being achieved by my dedicated community of listeners; none of which would be progressing at the rate they are if it wasn’t for my own mental and physical dedication.
How do you remain positive and inspired during challenging times?
I remain positive and inspired when I feel burnt out or demotivated by allowing myself time to be creative. One thing that I noticed very early on in my music career was that when I forced myself to record a song even when I wasn’t feeling like doing so, the results were always not “musical” anymore to me – because the ideal process of my music creation has always been a non-forced flow of creativity and ideas. Understanding this idea and not applying the mindset of having to constantly be working on something new, which is a concept often associated with other career paths, is my key to staying refreshed and rarely feeling drained of creativity. Another outlet of motivation for me as an artist is seeing the constant support I receive from my family of listeners.
Who and what has inspired your journey thus far?
Other artists that I grew up listening to such as Xavier Weeks, Kevin Powers, and DIRTYXAN have had a heavy inspiration on my journey in music; as well as my own life experiences and emotions. I initially started making music of my own as another way of expressing my creativity, so being my own main inspiration and guide on the journey to the top of the music industry is also very important to me.
Last question. How far are you projecting your music? What’s the long-term goal for yourself?
In the coming months, I plan to project my music as far as it can possibly go with a combination of projects, singles, and featured artists on a one-way elevator to the top of the charts. My long-term goal for my career as an artist is to maintain an exponentially rising community of listeners who find their own value in my existing and upcoming music.
To stay updated with future announcements, releases, and artist updates – supporters should follow NORD’s official Instagram profile (@ilynord) and artist streaming profiles (“NORD“).
Social Media and Streaming Profiles
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/artist/5XizUM8okE6lciS03N3JGh?si=-0oz3lfBRIyWTT3hruUYlQ
Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nord/1581737788
SoundCloud – https://www.soundcloud.com/ilynord
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ilynord
YouTube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC24-TW8suV0K-mAySVO2kEw
Website: https://www.nord.llc
