Today we’d like to introduce you to Mayssaa Dib
Hi Mayssaa, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Sure! My journey has been a crazy mix of failures, experimentation, and exploration. I grew up in Canada, in a mid-sized city in Eastern Ontario, where there wasn’t a huge art and music scene. I discovered Avril Lavigne at 9 years old and became instantly infatuated with her bold confidence and fun lyrics. Avril was my only staple in alternative music for a while, but that changed in 2013 when I heard First Date by Blink-182 playing in a Niagara Falls arcade while on a family trip. I must have spent weeks searching up the lyrics and trying to find that song. That led me down a rabbit hole, and I discovered Sum 41, Treble Charger, Sugarcult, and Good Charlotte.
I’ve always been drawn to the entertainment industry, to be honest, I was probably influenced by shows like Hannah Montana that showed the glitz and glamour of a life lived on stage, and I knew from a young age that no matter what, I would have to find a way to get myself there. I started out at 16 when I was signed to an acting and modeling agency, and it kind of all went from there. After spending a few years doing fashion shows and working on movie sets, I decided to pursue a Cinema and Television Arts degree at CSU Northridge when I was 18. Unfortunately, the pandemic put a stop to my plans. During that time, I was listening to music constantly to drown out everything that was going on. Bands like Veruca Salt, Weezer, The Strokes, Shampoo, The Fratellis, and Hole were among some that got me through it. Aside from filmmaking, I have always loved singing and performing. My bedroom was my stage for a few years until I moved to LA at 20 years old and started performing at real venues.
In 2022, right after arriving in California, I had an itch to start something right away. I knew I wanted to sing but I couldn’t play any instruments, so a band was the way to go. I reached out to musicians and started the first iteration of my band, Sting Ray. Things didn’t work out that time, but one of the guitarists, Kenneth Savage, and I reconnected in 2024. I had already played 2 shows as Sting Ray with other instrumentalists by then, and Kenny was looking for a new band to join. We wrote a lot of the band’s songs together, like “Avril Lavigne” and “Hate You Too”. But punk rock is not my only style. I write a lot of solo music in pop, jazz, RnB, and acoustic genres. I was also involved in pageants, and that gave me another opportunity to be on a stage and perform in a different genre.
In 2024, amidst all the craziness of playing shows at venues like The Viper Room and Whisky a Go Go with Sting Ray, I was interacting with a lot of other bands and music fans. I realized that there’s demand for a community of punk lovers alike. My college campus had some music clubs, but none of them were geared toward this niche. I thought, I could bring people together and do this really cool thing, so why not?
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road to get here. There were obvious obstacles, like trying to figure out my next steps as I entered adulthood during a global pandemic and the issue of getting a visa to move to the States. I also felt like I didn’t have a strong support system, and my confidence at the time was shaky, for lack of a better term. I was more comfortable sitting behind my desk, writing songs in private when I knew no one would see them. Although I had always wanted to sing and perform, I didn’t grow up doing sports or dance, where you really learn how to push your limits and are constantly putting yourself and your talents in front of others. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention, which I think is something leaders need to adapt to because whether you’re performing at the Superbowl halftime show or presenting a new project idea to your office, there is always going to be someone looking to you for guidance and expecting results. I had to really push myself to be okay with putting myself out there even if I didn’t feel I was the best. After all, that’s how you grow!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I like to consider myself a multi-hyphenate. Besides film and music, I’m also involved in dance, photography, fashion, writing, content creation, and culinary arts. I like that all of my passions and art mediums complement each other. I can bake a cake for a scene I’m shooting in a film, choreograph dances to my music, and design outfits for a performance.
With music, I’m planning to release EPs with my band as well as some solo music. I’m currently recording my debut solo EP, Daydream Lounge, which has an acoustic pop/jazz feel reminiscent of Norah Jones and Michelle Branch. I really want to dive into experimental pop and combine elements of funk, rock, and jazz together. My ultimate goal is to make fun, danceable music with stunning visual elements. I really want to build a brand for myself that is known for attention to detail. I love dance so involving heavy choreography in my music career would be amazing.
I also plan to continue writing, producing, and directing my own film projects. Trying out music videos would be fun, I’ve worked on a few but haven’t had the chance to really take creative control for one. I am currently finishing up my undergraduate studies in Cinema and TV. I plan to start my M.F.A in film producing in the fall, but I have not yet decided which school I will be attending. I’m really excited to start the next chapter of my life and see where it takes me, and I hope to get the opportunity to perform on stages around the world in a few years.
I’m most proud of myself not for a specific moment, but for not giving up. There were so many times when I was told I was not good enough, either by my peers, by some industry person, or by myself. I’ve been poked and prodded and brought down so many times, but I chose to take that negative energy and burn it as fuel for my dreams. I’ve been really good at managing my emotions and giving myself the space to feel what I’m feeling, and then pick myself up and get ready to get back to work. My philosophy is to find a way to make things work no matter what. A million different things could go wrong, and you could feel like the worst artist ever, but if you have no work ethic and ability to push past the negative feelings, you’re going to lose to someone who wants it more. The way I see it, there’s always someone out there less talented than you who works harder, and 99% of the time, they’re going to be the ones that make it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Luck has not played much of a role in my life. I’ve learned that waiting on luck is a surefire way to lose. You have to chase after luck and create it by yourself. I did that by chasing opportunities wherever I could, even if it might have seemed unorthodox at the time. If I went to a friend’s show, I would find the booking agent afterward and ask them if I could perform there too. If I was working as an extra on set, I was helping PAs clean up between scenes and asking them how they got their job. I just never stop looking for my next opportunity. I’ve gotten a lot of my jobs and experiences by just asking. That’s how I grew my network to where it is now despite moving here with zero connections or ties. This has opened up so many doors for me, I even got to go to New York City for a content creator conference, and that was through someone I met 2 years prior in Los Angeles!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/villainesfilles/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maydib/
Image Credits
Omids_offerings, Katie Dunn, Karanveer Jabbal
