10 Things We Love About: ilham

Recently, New Wave Magazine was lucky enough to speak with the incredibly talented and inspirational Queensbridge, NYC native known mononymously as ilham (lowercase 'i'). Making music out of feeling and emotion and not necessarily abiding by genre is something that ilham has always found easy. With a deep understanding of music; the business, as well as the creation process she illuminates us with some insight into her world.

Here are 10 Things We Love about ilham:

"I chose, hands down, the hardest industry to thrive in..."

1. Always flying the Moroccan flag, ilham always has her family and heritage firmly on her mind. "The day I get my parents out of the hood, out of the projects... I'm just so focused on making sure my family is taken care of, you know? My parents and my friends, they're extremely proud because you have to understand where I come from, and then wanting to pursue music. I chose, hands down, the hardest industry to thrive in. I think that alone, the fact that I'm following my dreams and not allowing fear to shift me, I think that's what makes my parents proud - them seeing me happy. That's what makes them proud."

2. She's so focused on her own music, she rarely listens to anyone else. "If I'm being honest, I don't really listen to other artists, especially in 2021 because that was the year I was focused on putting my album together. And during the creative process, I try not to listen to people because subconsciously you start to sound like other people if that makes sense."

3. When we asked what colours inspired her new album, she answered: "Throughout the creative process, I had a TV that played Vaporwave, so the colours are like a neon purple, neon pink. I think that was the background to the entire album. I think those are the colours that really represent it."

4. She's a fast songwriter (especially when her feelings are hurt). "They're not out yet, but on the project there’s two songs. There's a song called ‘Over’ and a song called ‘Midnight’ freestyle. My feelings were hurt in both of them. So, every time my feelings are hurt, I tend to write really quick, and I think each song took me 30 minutes to write."

5. She knows all the best places to eat in Queensbridge. "There's a little hidden Chinese food spot and there’s this Thai food spot that opened up before the pandemic that's really good. But the best place to eat is mom's kitchen! "

"Never compare your journey to someone else's journey."

6. She has an inspirational story and a lot of knowledge to pass on. "I would say do it, (get into music), because you love it. Don't let anyone tell you what you could be and could not be. Stay true to yourself. Never compare your journey to someone else's journey. And just stay focused and level-headed. I think it's important to understand that if you want something, through hard work and talent, you will get it and not to pay attention to all the noise, because the noise is just going to drown you."

7. She loves picnics! "Like family picnics or picnics with your loved ones. I know I sound maybe childish or whatever, but it's not until I came out to LA and I started meeting people who come from different financial backgrounds, and they'll ask me about my favourite memories when I was younger, and I'd say we used to do picnics every other day. And these people who you know are very financially stable, they've never experienced that, and it just made me understand what my family really did for us. And it's just something as simple as picnics. It's something that I want to keep forever, because not a lot of people do it, especially in our generation, you know what I'm saying? I had to look at other people’s lives that I deem to be well off, and I'm like, wow you've never had that..."

8. Even with a degree from one of the highest-rated colleges in the country, Cornell University, she still chose to intern in the music industry and carve her own lane. "I don't see myself doing anything outside of music. That's why I have never given up, because I honestly have no plan B, I'm in too deep with music to even think about something else. I don't think I'd be happy doing anything else. It’s a tough industry, and sometimes I get sad, and I'm just like, “well what could I do to feel safe?” And there's nothing, I have no plan B."

9. She collaborates in every aspect of her creative process. "Usually, I listen to my records over and over again, then I create a mood board. After that I send it to my team, and they'll start giving it out to different directors. I'm actually very collaborative when it comes to something such as visuals, I’m stingier when it comes to my writing and the music creation. But when it comes to visuals, if someone can take my idea, the foundation and elevate it, that excites me. I have a seed, then I can tell people what I want, but I just I haven't found it yet. It's finding that one person that can take your seed and really nurture it to be what you see it as."

10. She's never been to London, but she has a plan to. "I really want to go. I want to perform out there. I want to see the touristy stuff like the London Eye, I heard Soho was nice, the Palace I heard was pretty cool. But I also want someone who's from there to show me around. Like the authentic non-touristy spots. Because even me being in Morocco, right? I'll speak to a friend that went as a tourist, and then my experience is super different. Like I've seen the touristy spots, but I want to see the genuine spots!"

The future holds great promise for ilham, not only because we are expecting new music from her very soon, the release of her highly-anticipated album, as well as big festival placements such as Sol Blume in Sacramento, CA and her recent collaborations with Gary Vee in the NFT space. Safe to say ilham is here for the long run!