Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Waqqas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Waqqas thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think folks should manage their own social media or hire a professional? What do you do?

I think you should find what works for you. If you’re good at running social media and it doesn’t take too much from your time spent on other things, run it yourself and save that money. If not, see if you could hire someone that has more knowledge on it. I suck at social media, but for the time being I do run my own. I honestly don’t believe I’d even have social media if I didn’t make music, and can’t wait until the day I have someone/a team to at least help with me with it. I don’t necessarily need them to run the whole thing, but I’m not the best at keeping up with trends so it’d be nice to have someone assist with that. Social media is what keeps you relevant in today’s world, so the best tip I have for other business owners that are looking to take advantage of the tool is to stay proactive with it and essentially find what works for you via trial and error.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name’s Waqqas and I’m the only Pakistani West Coast artist. I was born and raised in SoCal, but I never lost touch of my South Asian roots, and essentially the combination of nature & nurture made me who I am today. As a kid I was always into the arts, but the career choice was a taboo for my immigrant family, so it wasn’t until I was eighteen that I actually dropped my first song – a remix to Drake’s “Poundcake”. After positive feedback on that I continued chasing my passion and crafting my sound. I always wanted to bring representation for people like me, and that’s the biggest reason I chose to keep my name as my stage name. Because I didn’t grow up around Desi people, my early music was all in English, but I always knew I wanted to incorporate my own sound into it. Fast forward to the era of TikTok, and I started releasing remixes/freestyles to popular Punjabi songs with my own touch, and started welcoming a wide audience of South Asians. Now, I make sure to mix both my cultures together in my music to deliver my unique sound of Punjabi West Coast.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a musician is when my songs help my listeners in their times of need. I’ve gotten quite a few messages from my friends, family, and my supporters to let me know that my songs have helped them from the times when they’re feeling down all the way to helping give them that extra push in the gym, and I love that. As a kid, I wanted my career choice to be something where I can give back to the community; I used to want to be a firefighter or something, but I’ve always been more on the creative side, so music is what worked for me.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

I actually believe this is the best source of new listeners for me has been word-of-mouth, and I actually this is this best source of new clients in any business. Nothing beats references, and you have that instant credibility when a trusted person is recommending you to others.    

Contact Info:

• Website: http://tapn.me/waqqas
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/waqqasent
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/waqqasent
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/waqqas-516b1a18a/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/waqqasent
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/waqqas
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@waqqasent