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Who is Arneeb Mahbub/ BABA NYZA?
BABA NYZA is the alias of Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, Arneeb Mahbub. His sonic influence stems from his upbringing in Bangladesh, his university days in Toronto, Canada, and most recently his love for exploring the dancehall urban sounds emanating from the UK, the Caribbean, and Nigeria. Such a diverse array of sounds unfolds in BABA NYZA’s tracks, making him a presence not to be ignored as a crossover artist into and from Bangladesh. (Snippet From Spotify)
What got you into music?
I’ve always loved music as a kid. I loved singing in school. I was in the school choir for more than seven years. I always used to sing at home, in the shower, anytime anywhere I would feel like. My parents never discouraged me from singing or being involved in music. I always felt like their support allowed me to express myself creatively.
What challenges have you faced while being in the industry?
This biggest challenge is finding an audience for your music. Traditionally, if you were talented, record labels would find you, pay to record your songs, and then put spins of finished tracks on the radio. Nowadays, getting a record label to do anything for you is extremely hard. Music is subjective and finding someone in the music industry willing to take risks on you is few and far between. To this date, I don’t have a manager and only once have I released a song in partnership with a record label. What I’ve learned is that you have to be the biggest advocate for your music and then you must spend more than 50% of your time and money into promoting your music. If you can do that, you may have a shot. Just remember record labels these days are not trying to start fires. They are only willing to add fuel to an already burning ember.
What is your process/inspiration for creating music?
When it comes to creating songs, I have found a process that has become simple for me. Find some beats you like from an engineer. Put a melody on top of that beat. Add lyrics to that melody. Record the full song. Send it off for mixing and mastering, and voila song done. Those are literally the steps I follow every time when I want to create a song. Sounds simple right? It was difficult early on. But over time the process becomes very simple. It’s hard to tell where the inspiration comes from though. Inspiration hits me randomly. And can hit me anytime and anywhere. I often find melodies just come up randomly in my head and then I quickly record it on voice memo on my iPhone.
What is one of your biggest challenges an individual faces in this industry and how have you combatted this challenge?
I think self-doubt is one of the biggest challenges individuals face. I know I faced it a lot early on in 2016-17 when I first started pursuing music more than just as a fun hobby. I’ve realized through the last four years that self-doubt occurs because we want instant gratification. I was so frustrated early on because whatever I released seemed to get zero recognition. I found it difficult to stay motivated creatively. One thing that has helped however was simply being obsessed with seeing progress. I remember that in 2018 and 2019, I asked random people on the street to open their Spotify accounts and follow my artist profile. I think I got my first 1000 followers that way. Over time as I saw my fanbase growing it gave me the fuel to continue because I received validation from the market. Once I surpassed a million streams and got my blue check on my socials, I knew I was on the right track. I have no doubts about my creativity now.
How has the pandemic affected your music?
Honestly, the pandemic has acted as a catalyst to bringing new eyes and ears to my music. I used the quarantine in 2020 to write more lyrics, create more melodies, and produce two finished songs. I released O Sonia in June of 2021 and Baare Baare in December of 2021. Both those songs have been accumulating millions of streams on Spotify and have been playlisted to multiple editorial playlists. So in short, the pandemic accelerated the popularity of my music.
What do you do as acts of self-care?
The biggest way I remain focused and in tune with my daily life is by giving myself healthy distractions. Music began as a healthy distraction but now consumes a lot of my time outside of my job. My other healthy distraction is playing cricket. Any time I practice or play a game, it helps me unplug from my daily routine. The exercise and the break allows me to refocus on other priorities, mind reset, mind refreshed.
What are the systems you build to create a positive environment?
I always try to work on some aspect of my music everyday. Whether it is putting down a melody, recording a verse, writing one phrase of a lyric, or even going onto the social platforms and leaving one single, solitary comment, I try to do something. I truly believe that small efforts accumulate into big rewards. I’ve seen the fruits of this come to be after four years of persisting with this system and getting a lot of recognition in 2021. The important thing is to not break the chain of continuity. You don’t have to put in hours of effort every day. If you did, it just would not be sustainable and you would burn out. Instead, I try to put in ten minutes every day. Sometimes those ten minutes can turn into hours, but that only happens when I’m really in the zone and enjoying it.
I also practice positive thinking regularly. Your mind tends to wander into negative thought territory because your brain is something that has evolved to be in flight or fight mode. That’s why anxiety is so pervasive in our society. People don’t know that they are usually programmed to think about survival. Positive thinking is a muscle you grow and must be honed over time. I am obsessed with finding out how far my creative potential goes, which is why I’m constantly pushing myself to create more and promote it hard. I supplement this obsession with thinking about the positive outcomes for my pursuit. Whether it is music, or cricket, or work, you must think about and visualize the positive outcomes for whatever you are doing.
Do you have any specific advice for people starting out in music?
Before you even step into the industry, make sure you have a plan on how to market your music. Just creating stuff and hoping it catches fire is a terrible strategy. All the songs that blow up have concerted marketing efforts behind it. Don’t be afraid to spend money promoting your music either. The money you spend is a direct indicator of how much you believe in yourself and your art.
How are you doing?
I am doing really well. I say this because saying anything less than that can be detrimental to my efforts and allows doubt to creep in. I like to stay positive and that includes completely believing in my state of well-being.
Links for BABA NYZA!
Manas Magazines 