Today we’d like to introduce you to Shadiyah Omar.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Creativity has molded my life in many forms. I grew up in the most precious concrete jungles of LA with the beating drums of Lemiert park. My mother and father were both musicians making music apart of my soul. Experiencing the development of my music through culture, politics, and self-identification has allowed me to travel in sound. I feel personally gravitated towards expressing through these vibrations.
I started teaching myself piano at the age of eleven and continued to play as I picked up other instruments such as clarinet, guitar, ukulele, voice, and electronic music production. My expression is apart of the entirety of my journey when you see my appearance when you hear my voice, and my dance, all of me is present in that very moment. I’ve been privileged to find my passions in so many beautiful spaces and especially in activism. I am currently a social organizer with The Poor Peoples Campaign CA and Inland Empire Coordinating Committees as well as work in Climate Justice with Socal350. When I can offer my voice to be a mechanism for change it fuels the purest light inside of me. When we are able to see the power of interconnectedness in our human intelligence our ego fades and our intuition grows. In the near future, I hope to display my journey in its rawest forms and give people hope for a restorative world.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
A journey without pain, struggle, and triumph is a journey without lessons learned. I often find myself overwhelmed but other times in reflection of my past, present, and future I feel that existing is resisting and to resist means to carry the weight of your pain against the triggers of what is actually weighing you down. I’d like to think everyone is capable when they allow growth into their lives to extend their struggles into growing spaces. As a social organizer within my community and school I find that people who have gone through trauma and other challenges such as myself make the connection to the idea of continually becoming. We are in a constant path to find who we are and the limitations to evolve through challenges changes our perception to expand and strengthen our roots. As an artist, it is painful to see yourself for who you really are. To unfold our energy before us to see flaw, beauty, desire, and deceit all at once. It is empowering engaging process that lifts your ego and abolishes your and empowerment, and I strongly encourage those around me to allow healing to flourish as well. Our connection to humanity is full of happiness and when we get to share our history, we can brake cycles of trauma and create cycles of love and accountability.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
Everyday is new day to create. To live is to create. As a singer-songwriter and social organizer, I intend to use every tool within me to break down toxic cultures. When I perform, I introduce myself with a simple call and response. ” I love myself”, ” I love you”, and ” I love my community”. This introduction allows me to do somethings we would never do in group settings, like sharing our compassion and desire to love unconditionally the environment as a whole thats around us. My music has many forms but I almost always find myself freestyling every show I have. Freestyling has given me a space to be raw with my voice and extremely intimate and personal on stage. I allow my pain to shed and embrace what is to come out. I am very proud of who I am today. Two years ago, I was reborn. It took my third suicidal tendency to shake my core into finding myself again. Falling in love with yourself is probably the easiest yet most challenging obstacle to obtain. My darkness has molded my beauty and together I feel that I am liberated. The main reason I have Chosen to go by SOON is because I have a legal name that was given to me negatively and a given name that has been hurt. SOON stands for Shadiyah Omar, Omar Najwa. My full name is my liberated name. I no longer wanted to live in the shadows of my pain. To love yourself is to love your pain.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I feel that my music has been successful in terms of personal growth and style. I feel very privileged to have that kind of intimacy with my form. My family has a lot to do with where my sound derives from. The challenges we have faced within mental illness, addiction, financial insecurity, homelessness, and cultural differences has always given me an inspiration to draw from. My pain is my music and my family is my music. I am the second eldest of seven and my siblings have contributed to my growth and experience as an artist. My brother Yasin Omar (ZERO) has been a very large component into my musical career. He has helped inspire me to not give up on musicality rather indulge in the practice of mastering my form.
My growing connection to the earth or as I call her Gaia has introduced me to the evergrowing love and light of spirituality. The worlds an infinite space of knowledge and communication and I’m very interested in quasicrystals within quatumphysics. Quantum physics is defining the worlds intuitiveness in creation and has a special place in my heart and music. I truly believe that my heart has led me to a place of understanding and inspiration to continually love and live in truth and seek awareness. I have gotten the chance to make pure connections with individuals who make performing an emotional and wholesome gathering. Everything is connected to everything else and my music is apart of expressing that notion. Success is relative but interconnectedness is insermountable.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shadiyahh/
Image Credit:
Pictures by: SOON, Art Avila, LadyUniverse
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