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

Yazid, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

As a child, I knew I always wanted to be well known as a creative. I never knew what my niche would be because I was so multi-talented, and I still am. I never limited myself. The crazy thing is; I thought I was going to pursue a music career. I remember vividly talking to my cousin on the house phone as a kid and having our own singing contests. We also used to write rap verses to YouTube instrumentals, share them with each other, and decide who had the better verse. I still have a strong connection and good ear for music. However, social media began to grow during that time and I came across influencing. I’ve said this many times, but I first came across Stahr Milan on YouTube. I love him to death. He showed me that it was possible to do what I love, control the content I share, and create my brand the way I wanted to. I started doing more research about the various ways people were monetizing the internet to make an income and using that to create a pathway to achieve my own influencing goals. I’ve had regular jobs, and still work a corporate job. However, working in the corporate world made me realize that I do not want to answer to anyone ultimately. I want to create my own work environment, schedule — empire! I’m still working towards that goal while trying to be consistent and creative in a forever evolving and, sometimes, discouraging industry.

Yazid, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a multifaceted content creator with a focus on beauty. I don’t know of too many black beauty influencers who are openly trans. I plan on dominating that space by being authentic, staying true to myself, being honest — just simply being real. I know people say this a lot, but I feel it is so important to just be yourself as an influencer. However, as much as it is said, I don’t think it’s valued and executed. We are currently living in a social media era where everyone only likes to highlight the good parts of everything and never the trials and tribulations that they went through to get there. My goal is to bring awareness to these things, be open and honest with my audience of my journey, and inspire by being as authentic as I can be. I REALLY want people to know that if I could do it, they can do it too. Although I have so much more to accomplish, I am so proud of where I am now and what I have accomplished at this point in my influencing journey. All thanks to the genuine support I have THUS far. I truly love the people who support me!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I think society could use a lot of improvement when it comes to supporting creatives. We do live in a time where everyone operates in their ego. Then operating in their ego transitions into secretly not supporting someone, or being envious. I’ve been guilty of that at times. It’s natural to be jealous. However, turn that jealousy into motivation and spin it in a positive way. You’re only “jealous” because you wish that could be you, or maybe you feel as if you’ve worked hard and you’re not being recognized for your contributions. Again, if someone else can do it, you can too! Your time is coming. Be patient, and continue pushing out your content. Some creatives will not support other creatives because they don’t want that particular creative to surpass them or take away from their opportunities. Even non-creatives, as I stated, will not support someone because they’re envious of the potential someone may have trying to become a successful content creator. Society just has to do a better job at simply supporting people. It takes nothing to share a post, like a post, comment — engage. I would love to see more of that, ESPECIALLY in the black community — even more in the black LGBTQ+ community. Just SUPPORT!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

There have been so many times where I have wanted to give up on my goals and settle. It’s been plenty of times I would plan out content, record the content, and hate it afterwards. I have a bad habit of comparing my work to others and often think “it’s not good enough.” I would then get trapped in my thoughts and never post the content. I could’ve thought it wasn’t good enough because I feel I didn’t look as pretty, my body isn’t the “ideal” body, or my talent isn’t as great as the others. Not realizing the goal is to STAND OUT and to create your own lane. Which is why I said earlier that my main goal is simply being authentic to myself. Whoever is gonna rock with me, will rock with me, because I AM ME. That’s all I can ask for; someone who supports me because I am simply — me. Thankfully, I get those reminders here and there from supporters in my DMs or YouTube comments about how I encourage them to be themselves. They don’t know I struggle with that at times too. However, I’m glad that I’m able to execute a level of confidence and comfortability within myself to help someone else. That’s the biggest blessing and reward of my influence. I grew up TERRIFIED to be myself and still on the verge of blossoming. But those messages serve as a reminder that I’m on the right path. Even interviews like this reminds me that I’m doing SOMETHING right and for me to remain resilient and keep going. So I appreciate every opportunity you guys have given me to share my story.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: MsYazidSmith
• Twitter: MsYazidSmith
• Youtube: MsYazidSmith