Today we’d like to introduce you to Ismail Green.
Ismail, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I really don’t know where to start; I go by Ish Malik. I was born and raised in Savannah Georgia. At the age of three years old, the federal government moved into a house across the street from my family’s home to simply watch my father’s every movement. My father was not only a street hustler as the streets of Savannah knew him by “Frye.” My father was a well-rounded business-man and family-oriented figure. Savannah is totally different from Atlanta although the impoverished communities remind me so much of Sea-port. Although Atlanta is a city of full love, it’s more so a fashion runway. Everyone wants to be “the man” and stand out. Oppose to Savannah; fashion is slow pace. People from Savannah are family-oriented; in other words, people from Seaport embrace loyalty, and would rather lay their life on the line for family opposed to materialistic items. Speaking of materialistic items, Long Live my brother Jordan Gratton, he was a victim of a senseless murder this past October of 2018. In all honesty, I have been jumped off the porch while I was still living in Savannah. I moved on Candler Rd from Savannah and lived in Spanish Trace with my mom and aunt as my mother, and I had to share a room in a two bedroom section-8 apartment. I could talk about the bad things I’ve done both in Savannah and in Atlanta, but I’d rather focus on the positives’ that God has stored for my life. I’ve grown as a believer, and I continue to grow every day that I pray for better situations. A few more positives, my father is back in my life now physically, and My mother is having a much better year compared to 2018 when she has 2-3 surgeries for having a bad kidney as well as kidney stones. I just thank God for all the obstacles I’ve been able to overcome. I sit back and thank him all the time for saving me from many situations. I’ll never incriminate myself, but let’s just say for a young black boy from Savannah who had everything his family had ever worked for to be all taken away by the feds, I’ve truly come a long way. NO CAP.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My Art is my story. I only share the things I’ve seen, been through, and hope to see. Through my music, I’m able to tell people my stories, paint visual images using words, share my evils, what I come from, what it took to get here and what it may take to stay on top. I’ve been Rapping since I was 3, the same age I lost my father to incarceration. My message that I hope people take from my art is to never give up, especially on your dreams. Continue to work, stay grounded and prayed up.
The sterotype of a starving artist scares away many potentially talented artists from pursuing art – any advice or thoughts about how to deal with the financial concerns an aspiring artist might be concerned about?
Keep chasing your dreams and believing in your craft. If you don’t believe in your own artistic path then who else will? When you believe others start to believe in you. Those who believe in you will support and make small investments or contributes towards your path. Only will tell who truly supports you. I was just hustling all last year, now my management team fully invested in each step of our branding process. Place those who strongly believe in you in important roles during your artistic path.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I’m actually not sure when this will be published, but I’m actually having my very first “Single Release Party” April 13th which is also my birthday, I’ll be turning 21. I currently have two songs under my old alias artist name “Rashid Malik” on SoundCloud, but I stop releasing songs because I wasn’t going about the process in a professional matter. In other words, I didn’t have the proper guidance about the business behind the music. Now with better guidance than ever, a solid team and movement behind my brand it’s for certain time for the world to hear “Ish Malik.” The wait is finally over; now it’ll be hard to slow me down. I’m still so young and still have a lot to learn, which means my music will only improve from here on out.
Contact Info:
- Email: ishmalikmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: deepn_eastish
- Facebook: Dne Ish Malik
- Twitter: Youngish_Livin
- Other: http://www.bslpublishing.com/contact-us.html
Image Credit:
Instagram: @Ziglorphotos
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