Ilyas Mao: Acting, Music & how to make money from your craft | EP 1

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My guest in this episode is Ilyas Mao,  an acapella singer, songwriter, composer, and producer. Our conversation took us back to Somalia, where Ilyas was born, to Pakistan, where he spent a few years before moving to Canada. We spoke about artists in the Muslim community, and the needed support. How he discovered his talent and transitioned from making music with instruments to using his own voice. He shared the story of quitting his marketing job after college, driving Uber, to becoming a producer for singers and filmmakers. Finally, he spoke about his new album The Edge of My Mind, a project that took him five years to put together. Ilyas is an artist who uses his art to spread positivity, and the rawness of his music takes one from the end of the tunnel to the light. He also looks out for other artists and uses his platform to help them with their journey.

Timestamps:

(00:00:00) Who is Ilyas Mao?

(00:02:34) Acting and Filmmaking

(00:03:50) Mentorship and Boonaa Mohammed

(00:06:35) From Instruments to Vocals

(00:11:44) Using Nokia Phone to Create Music

(00:14:30) Somali and Yemeni Art

(00:27:03) From Marketing Job to Full-Time Producer

(00:37:12) Social Media as a Distraction or Promotion

(00:39:53) Advice for Young Artists

(00:44:31) The Album- The Edge of My Mind

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