Please introduce yourself. What do you do? Why? What do you want people to know about you?
I’m a female hip-hop artist and reality personality. I was born and raised in a small town in the south of Germany. But my heritage is Turkish. So growing up I experienced both cultures and I speak both languages, which reflects in my music. My Music draws heavily from my middle eastern and European background and combines it with American Hip Hop.
The reason why I love music so much and why I want to share my passion with the world is that I understand that it is a universal language. I grew up listening to American Hip Hop and R’n’b music, not understanding the words, BUT I still could feel it! Music can bring people from all countries, religions, and cultures together.
My goal with my music is, to connect and unify people from different backgrounds and make them understand that we all come from the same source and we all are brothers and sisters, and we need love and support for each other.
What qualities make you different and unique from everyone else in the industry?
At a very young age ( 4 years old) I already knew my big dream was to move to Los Angeles and make it big. I wanted to live up to my name, Zühre, which translates to Venus, and is the brightest object in the sky, other than the moon. So I knew I was destined to be a superstar.
A couple years ago, I finally made it to LA. It was very hard initially. I came here alone, no family, no friends, starting from zero in a city that is a total opposite from where I come in South Germany. I studied music business at UCLA & worked in music management for a reputable music Management company where I gained a lot of knowledge & experience about the business side of the industry.I learned that life here is very fast and that you cannot expect people to help you. But I had a dream and nothing can stop me! So, I decided not to wait around and make something happen for myself.
I created a reality show, which is starring me and my 3 German girl friends who came to Los Angeles to make the American dream come true. The show was filmed in LA and aired on a big network in Germany. I also used the show to help me launch my music career. In the episodes you can see how I started my first music project. My music business education is helping me a lot to navigate my career and I can manage myslef which is a huge benefit as an artist.
And artistically I feel like there is no other woman in the industry like me right now. My music is a mix of Hip Hop beats mixed with Turkish/Middle Eastern instruments and German/English/Turkish lyrics. I’m representing them oder muslim woman who is independent and strong. I always say, imagine a modern Day Cleopatra who spits rhymes.
Describe THAT moment when you realized you’re doing what you were born to do.
There were several moments when I realized that I’m on the right path during my journey… Because every time I hit a roadblock and I don’t know what to do/where top go anymore the universe brought people or opportunities in my life that led me to the next step and to b bigger and better things. I’m very grateful for that. But one moment I will never forget was, when my friend invited me to a studio session where Dr. Dre was recording for his album Straight outta Compton.
The movie wasn’t even out yet but he showed us snippets of some scenes, it was amazing. I was sitting there taking everything in. It felt so right but at the same time unreal when u imagine that he always was a legend to me. In this moment I knew that it definitely is possible to reach my goals and that LA was the right place for me to be.
What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve had to go through and how did you grow through it?
I think one of the biggest challenges was the move to LA start a whole new life and beeing complete alone. Loneliness and being away from my family really put a toll on me. Especially in a city like LA where a lot of people are very self centered…I was not used to that and it was a shocking and sad experience! But, now I can say it made me extremely stronger and showed me that I always have myself and actually don’t really need anyone. Whatever I want to do, I can do by myself.
Of course, I love having loving and caring people around me and I believe a lot in team work, but in the end of the day I learned not to depend on anyone. This experience and the time alone (sometimes being depressed) also helped me in my spiritual awakening and I feel like I had to go through this tough time, just to find to myself and open up to the spiritual world. I grew so much from it and I became a different/ better person. I understand myself the purpose of life better. Because of that I can also help other people when they feel lost.
If you had to pick the TOP 3 people you’d want to meet that could take your career (or business) to the next level…who would those 3 people be?
P.Diddy, because he created an empire beeing an artist but also a business man and does not just music but has a label and is also involved in Film and TV.
DJ Khaled, he is so inspiring to me because we have the same culture. He is muslim and from the Middle East and represents our culture with pride. I know he would understand me! Plus he makes the biggest hits and he is all about spreading positive vibes. I love people like him because his vibrates in a very high frequency and that is what I practice very day too! Namaste
2Pac, I know he is dead (or not) but there is a special connection I feel I have with him.
When he said “I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world” I always thought he was speaking to me 🙂