Photo credits: Yazan Alsharif
The advent of social media has proved to be both a boon and a bane for aspiring artists. While the platform has offered endless opportunities to artists to showcase their talent to the world, it has also invited criticisms and trolls. Social media has changed the perception of stars among audiences. Fans get to know the stars on a personal level and even interact with them directly. People no longer idealize stars; they recognize they are mere mortals. Rising stars often receive unwelcomed criticisms from fans before they make it really big in the industry. Young artist Yazan Alsharif also has been a victim. Unlike other talents in the industry, Yazan took it as a challenge and emerged as a promising star of tomorrow.
Yazan Alsharif was always passionate about music. He was intrigued by the traditional genres of different eras. At 13, he composed his first music. Although his initial accomplishment was limited to his friends and family, it was a great boost for him to pursue music as a career. Yazan quit his studies to focus on his music career. He launched his YouTube channel titled “Yaz Sounds when he was 20. He recreated several classics in his own style and uploaded them on his channel. Despite his videos not getting the expected number of views, Yazan continued to upload videos with absolute dedication. He always believed that persistence and hard work is the way to success.
Yazan finally got the much-deserved attention from the audiences as he managed to keep them engrossed through music. His relentless efforts finally paid off when one of his recreations of the famous track “When Doves Cry” went viral on social media. It made Yazan an overnight star, and before he even knew it, his subscriber base exploded, reaching over a million in less than a month.
His initial success came with several challenges. Yazan was criticized for recreating tracks and not creating originals. People identified him as a fake talent and even accused him of using old classics as a shortcut to success. Such trolls, after his absolute dedication and hard work, were heart-wrenching for Yazan. It disturbed his mental peace and even lowered his confidence for a while, but not for long. Yazan matured to understand the downsides of social media and its popularity. He took all those criticisms as a challenge to hone his craft.
In 2020, Yazan released his first original single, “Let Me Live Once More,” which surpassed his previous viral video response. The song earned more than 2 million views on YouTube within a month. It also got Yazan offers from artists across the world to work on different projects.
“Let Me Live Once More” is an unconventional composition of traditional rap that blends with contemporary hip-hop. The sound is an unexpected track that is both energetic and soul-soothing at the same time. Yazan has brilliantly merged the high notes of rap with original lyrics that create a sensuous medley. The song reflects his real-life struggles, hard work and persistence, and final realization of success’s true meaning.
“Let Me Live Once More” proved to be an apt reply to Yazan’s critics who never wanted him to have the limelight. It is not just a song but an inspiration for many who walk the same path and find the same obstacles.
