The Road to Success

Fatima Faheem  and Humayra Rahman Mitul are in conversation with Tahmid Jamal Diaz, as he discusses his musical journey

Photos: Ashraf Uddin Apu

Why did you decide to pursue a career in the music industry?
Since I was young, it has always been my dream to pursue music. My role model was my first cousin, Salman Shah, who used to be a Bangladeshi actor. Since childhood I’ve been seeing him perform on screen and that sort of inculcated me to be a part of the media industry. I had the opportunity of working and jamming with talented people like Habib, Arnob and Fuad. It felt wonderful to be appreciated for my work and hence I started taking this passion more seriously.

Were you trained?
No, I was not really trained. However, I had the opportunity to learn from people like Arnob and Fuad. I rehearsed and practiced music every morning diligently and guess what? When you have the guidance of such brilliant people and the inner drive, the goal is attainable.

How would you describe the music scene in your hometown? Does it influence you?
Although I’m from Chittagong I don’t think my hometown music scene influences me that much. But there are a few Bangladeshi musicians that I am fond of such as Lucky Akhand and Ayub Bacchu. But as for my hometown, I don’t feel Chittagong’s music scene has influenced me that much.

What’s the difference between the music industry today compared to when you started?
I’ve been in the industry since 2010; that’s when my first single came out with Fuad. I feel the evolution has been through technology. As in social media wise – we have Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and all these new smartphones enabling people to have access to the internet. So the exposure right now is insane! I mean, you can make things go viral these days. The main aim of artists is to go viral. It’s not about how many CDs are sold but how well you are known among people of different age groups and different backgrounds.

How does the music affect the lyrics and vice versa?
I don’t have any fixed genre or anything. I rap, I sing, I do pretty much everything. I also have the experience of singing Lalon. My choice in music is quite diverse. From rap to Lalon to dubstep to electro singing to folk song, I have tried it all. My album also has this folk song that we remade with Fuad with permission of the person who holds the copyright. I think it plays a major role as in every music has its own flavor and a tempo and a vibe to it so I think lyrics also falls into it. But I am very conscious about my lyrics, I think there is this thing going on where everybody is promoting gangster-rap, sex and drugs, there is enough violence in today’s generation as it is, we do not need to promote it through music. So I try to go for positivity in my music.

Top 5 favourite musicians

  • Tupac
  • Eminem
  • Fuad
  • Arnab
  • Biggle