Meet Iconic Bond | Hip-Hop Artist & Executive Director of The House of Creatives

We had the good fortune of connecting with Iconic Bond and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Iconic Bond, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I began pursuing a career as a hip-hop artist for a few different reasons. Growing up, I was exposed to many different types of music. I come from an Egyptian family so naturally I listened to a lot of Middle Eastern music as well as music from all over the world.

I remember when I first heard hip-hop music I thought, man this is amazing. The ability for a hip-hop artist to tell a story, provide their perspective on the story, and show personal emotional impact, blew my mind. As someone who has always been drawn to poetry, hip-hop was able to take poetry, deep poetry, and turn it into a song with rhythm and flow that just hit me hard. So one of the reasons I got into hip-hop was to be able to replicate that initial feeling from my own perspective and share with the world.

I was also mentoring a group of young men at the time when I decided to pursue hip-hop. They inspired me to pursue it indirectly as well. Seeing, in my opinion, the decline of real and impactful subject matter in hip-hop today, it almost felt like I had a responsibility to provide an alternative for those young men; an alternative that mimicked the hip-hop I grew up listening to, such as Nas, Tupac, Common, Rakim, etc. The era of hip-hop that I grew up on was heavy on the story telling and felt like it had a higher purpose geared towards elevating listeners and connecting with listeners about real life and social situations, while still packaging it as a form of entertainment.

Lastly, diving into hip-hop forced me to reflect heavily on my own life, my thoughts and ideas, and my emotions. It quickly became a form of personal wellness for me; a space for me to release emotions and thoughts, whether about myself or as a social commentary, at a time when I felt as though no such space existed for me elsewhere.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I truly believe that I don’t make music for the sake of fame, money, clout. We live in a world that has fame as its foundation for almost everything, and because of that, I have to constantly reflect and remind myself of my purpose in music. To me, fame and money are a secondary outcome to pursuing a career in music. If it happens, cool, and if doesn’t, my journey doesn’t stop or change because it was never the primary reason for pursuing it. Due to this, I think as an artist, I am more free to be as creative as I want to be and I am able to grow my creativity in ways that might not be possible if fame and money were the primary goal. It also allows me to be more honest with the listeners. Like I said, truth is my passion and my purpose, so I need to be in a space where my intentions are unshakable.

Also, because of my mindset, it has allowed me to identify the gaps in the way entertainment is managed even at a local level. Over the years, myself and the team of creatives around me have identified some gaps and we decided to create a non-profit organization called The House of Creatives. The House of Creatives’ mission is to provide a path for under-represented creatives. Overwhelmingly, the entertainment space, music specifically, puts artists and creatives as the lowest priority, with money being the top. That to me is insulting to creatives who spent their time, money, and energy into creating and providing forms of entertainment, just to be taken advantage of and put at the bottom. This is especially true for conscious artists who are clean in their subject matter and providing uplifting, motivational and inspirational music. So The House of Creatives was established due to the need to fill these gaps, and we even did it as a non-profit organization to make sure the creatives know our primary intention is not to make money or become famous, but to provide the space, resources, and guidance for them to grow and elevate their craft and their careers.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in North Carolina (NC), and NC has such an amazing and diverse atmosphere. That being the case, we would likely have to spend some time in the mountains, enjoying the natural scenes and outdoor activities. Places like the Blue Ridge Parkway, Grandfather Mountain.

Then drive to the beach and do the same but in warmer places like the Outer Banks, Myrtle Beach. Maybe hit some jet ski’s, fishing.

All while eating whatever those specific areas specialize in. There are so many restaurants, I can’t even begin to name.

If we wanted a city vibe, we would hit up Raleigh/Durham area, even though some people might say Charlotte is better, I tend to disagree. Raleigh/Durham in my opinion has done a better job in preserving some important cultural histories, especially from the black community. Durham is beaming with diverse restaurants and creative spaces.

See in NC, we’re not rushed all the time. We’re southerners, we like to enjoy our days and our nights, whether it be the natural environment around us, or in the city. I would definitely make your way to NC if you have never gotten the chance and especially if you have always lived in a city with no real natural scenery. That’s my favorite part of NC, the preserved nature.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
As with any journey we embark on, there will be many people that contributed by providing guidance, resources, and assistance. My journey, there are so many and I am so blessed to have had them, but I will highlight a few that really directly impacted my journey.

First and foremost, my parents. My parents, to me, embody the phrase I wrote in one of my earliest songs “Reside”: “How can they stop a man when truth is his passion”. My parents always raised me to be a man of truth, regardless of what the world thinks of it, or of me. That has been the basis for my entire creative journey, and I will live by that for the rest of my life.

My brother and the producer of my entire first album, badlogic. Me and badlogic have been friends for over 20 years. He was also the one that truly lit the fire for me to pursue hip-hop as a career. I remember him calling up one day and telling me he had just bought FL Studio and a MPK-mini and he was going to make beats, and immediately I went ahead and bought a mic and began writing to EVERY beat he made. If it wasn’t for that phone call, I might’ve never taken this creative journey as a potential career.

My first industry mentor, Kareem. Kareem was a member of our Muslim community who had years of experience in the music industry dating back to the late 80’s-90’s. Having him by my side and helping strategize and perfect my performance and stage presence is what allowed me to build my foundation as an artist locally and really become a force in the hip-hop scene. I will never forget what he always told me before going on stage, “each show you do is like a boxing match, every artist is going up there fighting trying to knock it out, so go up there and knock ’em out! Give it everything you have every time you hop on stage, leave it all on that stage”.

My current creative director and manager Mizghund, who I’ve known for almost 20 years as well. Mizghund is the person responsible for my brand and image as an artist. He has done the majority of my photo shoots and music videos. He took a chance with me to see how he can help build my dream and make it a reality. Over the years, he also began producing some of the beats I use, built my website and online content, and is also the Co-Founder and Creative Director of The House of Creatives along with me. Our relationship has been constantly growing, and both of us have leaned on each other and pushed each other to grow individually as well as collectively.

Lastly, my brother J. Dwayne. J is a creative himself, spoken word artist, graphic designer, singer, and much more, but, that’s not how me and J met. J and myself crossed paths through our community work and interfaith work. Over time, I learned that J also had an organization called Love is a Parable that partly was focused on providing safe spaces for men, which at the time of learning this, I very much needed. Culturally and socially, men typically don’t have spaces to share or feel, we’re expected to be tough and non-emotional. This was very true for me for the majority of my life. J invited me into his fold, and ever since then, I have grown immensely as a man, a father, a community servant, and of course as an artist. It was due to J that I now feel more comfortable in sharing emotions and feelings in my music, not being afraid of becoming more vulnerable on stage, and truly connecting with people through my music.

Website: https://www.theiconicbond.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iconicbond

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iconic-bond/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IconicBond/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/iconicbond

Other: The House of Creatives: https://instagram.com/thoc.hq https://facebook.com/thoc.hq https://thehouseofcreatives.org/donate