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Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

An Ivy League graduate to #1 on the Itunes R&B charts.

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Taylor S. Hunter

By Nandi Howard · Updated November 3, 2020

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…

When you graduate from the ivy-league institution known as Cornell University at the age of 20, what’s next? For North African singer Ilham, it wasn’t working at a stereotypical Fortune 500 company but, trailing to Los Angeles for unpaid music internships and ghostwriting.

But, after trading six written songs for one hour of studio time, the Queensbridge songstress found her rhythm, and eventually her hypnotizing crooning fell into the right hands. “I sent my manager my music on my flight back to New York. I landed and he was like, all right I’m going to book you a session. And then that’s it,” Ilham told ESSENCE.

“I want to stand side by side with the top artist.” -Ilham

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

A few weeks ago, Ilham’s second project, “with time” hit #1 on the Itunes R&B charts. Out of the top 40, she was the only independent artist. Now, with some momentum, the new yorker is ready to stand against the greats. “I want to stand side by side with the top artist,” she concluded.

Here’s what it’s like to get ready with Ilham.

01

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“Skincare I learned is really important because you can have amazing makeup brands, but if your face is dry, it’s just not going to look good. I feel like lip liner and lip gloss are my two staples. I’m not really into matte, so rosewater makes me look dewy. I’ll do my eyebrows and a little bit of mascara, that’s it.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

02

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

03

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I think it’s refreshing and I do want to continue show girls you can look like me.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

04

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

05

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I wear a lot of bandanas, but that’s just because my hair naturally is really curly and I still don’t know how to style my curly hair. In my community, the bandanas and durags are used to maintain your hair to be honest. It’s kind of interesting to see all these girls who are wearing it as a fashion trend.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

06

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

07

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“As soon as I hit number one on Itunes, I understood that I deserved everything. When you do something and you get hate, you almost feel a little insecure. But when I hit number one, I was like, no. We deserve this. You released this with no money behind it. And if you look at the 40 artists, we are the only independent artist.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

08

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

09

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I think right now I’m becoming more comfortable with myself and I’m also comfortable with the idea of the female tomboy look.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

10

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

11

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I want to make music that make people feel.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

12

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

13

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I want my music to help people because, no one looks like me. We need other artists period. And it’s time to show people that no matter what zip code you’re from, you could do anything you want.”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

14

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Photo: Taylor S. Hunter

15

Here’s What It’s Like Getting Ready With Songstress Ilham

“I used to sit in my room and the room had windows that included bars. I felt trapped. I would look outside the window and wonder, how do I make shit happen?”

Here's What It's Like Getting Ready With Queensbridge Songstress Ilham

Taylor S. Hunter

TOPICS: african artists Artists fashion news