Niaz, a 37-year-old singer, songwriter, and producer who's originally from Bangladesh, relocated at age 10 to the busy life of New York City. He was actively involved with music since childhood, and that didn't change one bit! Niaz talks about all the things he does from his own studio, like, composing the music as well as operating the recording studio equipment.
Niaz mentions he works as a full-time law enforcement officer and is pursuing a doctorate degree which makes it quite challenging to put out new musical content all the time, but he tries his absolute best to stay in line with the current trends, music-wise. Niaz works alongside several record labels in Bangladesh, such as G-Series, Agniveena, E-Music, and Gaanchil Records. His previously recorded albums were released through a combination of these record labels.
"You, Baby You" opens up with a melodic instrumental that you can hear comes from his Bangladesian background. He pairs it with soft intriguing lyrics where he talks about a woman and how he would treat her right if he'd had the chance to. Niaz mentions how he sees this beautiful woman and how he would love to have a chance to talk to her and get to know her better.
He tells us all about this love story in such a definitely unique way. Niaz mentions how he saw her, when, and the feelings that were felt when he did. He gives us his up-tempo raps and highly loved lyricism. He ends off with his catchy bridge and chorus with so much feeling and futuristic sound. Niaz really shows us that he has what it takes to be the "next best thing," no matter where you come from or how much you have going on.
"You, Baby You" deserves all the recognition it's getting. It catches us off guard in a really great way!
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Niaz. We love your energy and storytelling on "You, Baby You"! Which feelings or moments inspired this record?
For me, the music creation process has always been quite random. I have always found that some random tunes usually pop into my mind, and if I'm at home, I immediately go to my studio, turn on the recording equipment and quickly record the tunes before they disappear from my mind forever. After that, I started building the musical track, and during that process, I kind of started working on the lyrics. Just about every single one of my songs is romantic, thematically speaking. So, in that sense, I would say that I naturally lean towards writing, composing, and recording romantic songs. I hope that this made some sense.
With respect to "You, Baby You," I can say that I felt compelled to record songs not just in Bengali but in other languages also. This was probably one of my very few songs, which were about 95% English.
You talk about this woman, and to us, she's a mystery. What can you tell us about "her," and what was your writing process like for the record?
A lot of time has passed, so I really don't mind sharing what I'm about to share. During the very beginning, when I was writing and recording my music, they were always secretly dedicated to my best friend with whom I had grown up. I'm talking about my junior high school days. However, this particular song was one of the later ones that I had recorded. I feel that this song is just another one of my "romantic" songs, but who knows? Maybe, subconsciously, this one was also dedicated to her.
With growing up in Bangladesh and relocating to NYC, what was the most challenging thing you dealt with, and how did you overcome it?
For me, the most challenging aspect was the language. I did come here at the age of 10, so I picked up on it rather quickly, but still, I felt the difficulty during the learning process. Upon arrival in New York City, I was living in a Bangladeshi-dominant neighborhood, and that was great. However, I made a choice to spend time with as many non-Bangladeshis as possible. I did that purely to learn the American culture as quickly as I could. Now that I look back on that, I can confidently say that doing so really helped me grow as a person.
Is there any advice you'd give your younger peers to balance your daily life and still pursue what you love? What are some of the personal processes that you have used over the years?
Quite simply, I would tell the younger generation to always focus on the thing they love and pursue that thing, and that's it. Yes, go ahead and hang out with your friends, but don't overdo that. Stay home, concentrate on your schoolwork, and after that, with the little bit of spare time you have left, work on your passion. The main point is: be responsible – stay in school, and get a job, and during your free time, concentrate on building yourself by working on the thing you love.
What's next?
I have been working on some musical projects for some time, which I would love to complete and publish. However, I also have a full-time job with the New York City Police Department as a Police Sergeant, and I am enrolled in school full-time, pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice and Criminology at Keiser University. My job and school take an enormous chunk of time out of my life, ultimately leaving me with very little time for myself. However, I still make it a mission to sit in my studio and work on the tunes that are begging to be finished. Completing a musical project has an indescribable feeling, which I haven't felt in some time. I guess that this is a perfect opportunity for me to make a promise to myself, at least that I will complete those projects in the near future. What can I say…except…slowly, but surely?
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