From Ova West | Meet BILALSQUIAT

Edmonson, Lexington, Walbrook, Sandtown, Mondawmin, or simply “ova west Baltimore.” Any way you put it, this section of Baltimore known for “The Wire” is what 17-year old Bilal Muhammad Jr. calls home.

“I know over west like the back of my hand now,” said the young artist. Muhammad, a senior at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, described the city as “wonderful.”

However, along with the beauty of the city, Muhammad described how difficult the city can make it for aspiring artists like himself to achieve success; "it's not for [expletive] like me. It's a slim to none chance I'll make it outta here... if the people here not feeling you, they never will and that's facts."

Along with the lows though, Muhammad gave credit to Baltimore for his development not only as a person, but as an artist as well. "Moving around homes was a hassle," he said; "But I met some cool people and my bros for life. My bro Brandon Woody back in eighth grade man. He’s currently a jazz player, but back then he rapped and we had [expletive] hits man, hits…I owe it all to him.”

Muhammad’s stage name, BILALSQUAIT, is just an example of how he takes his music as a form of art just like the late artist Jean-Michael Basquiat did. “He’s one of my favorite painters,” BILALSQUIAT said. “Music is an art, so it fit.”

Like many musicians, BILALSQUIAT’s music became an emotional outlet for him. “I didn’t like to talk about my problems at all, then I just put it in my music,” he recalled about his difficulties staring out as an artist. “When I wrote “Fear,” that’s when I knew I wanted to do this...it was an outlet for me.”

“I was some [expletive],” he described his younger self. “I can’t lie, I was garbage, but I was [expletive] with me and a few people was [expletive] with me so I was good.”

After the release of his debut project “Bilal Muhammad: The EP” in 2013, BILALSQUIAT began to establish an audience for himself; “my most precious accomplishment” as he describes it.

The EP also gave birth to one of his most popular songs, “#SongsForNaysa,” and a follow up “Songs For Naysa 2” in 2014. “[They] were made in and out of my relationship with the girl Naysa…I was in love with the girl and the songs reflect my feelings for her,” he said. “SFN1 I was infatuated with her so I had to make the classic love song and as a gift to her I released it on her birthday. SFN2 it was all about the truth and she told me herself it made her upset because it was all true. There was a lot of misconceptions about why we weren't together so I had to air everything out and at the time it was my best song.” Songs like these are not only some of BILALSQUIAT’s most popular songs to date, but another example of how he uses music as an emotional outlet.

However, neither song in the “Songs for Naysa” series gained the popularity BILALSQUIAT garnered when he took Childish Gambino’s cover of Usher’s “U Don’t Have To Call.” “My most difficult [task as an artist] was making music that people would bump on the regular, but I accomplished that when I made 'UDONTHAVE2CALL.'” The song is by far his most popular to date, and his versatility is what has set him apart from just being a “rapper.”

In his music, it’s clear that putting the title “emcee” or “rapper” to him doesn’t quite fit for someone so versatile as an artist. “The most difficult obstacle for me to overcome was changing my style of music. I was really stuck to one thing,” he said. “Now, I can do it all.” He further demonstrated his versatility as an artist on his 2014 project, the '11EP.'"

“I wanna make it,” he says. “I wanna sell out shows…put my squad on, because I ain’t do it alone.” His most interesting goal in music is perhaps his goal to go, as he says, “[expletive] triple uranium.”

No matter where his music takes him, however, he maintains his goal to graduate from college. With a recent acceptance into the University of Baltimore, he says he plans to major in business; “[Jay Z] made me want to change my major to business and start a damn label,” he said.

For now though, “summer time; that’s all I got to say. Lal x Reezy.”

#BILALSQUIAT #ArtistSpotlight