Gastonia teen musician debuts first album

Kadir Muhammad's first professional hiccup came while he was working on his album.

"So on the album, we did a cover of 'Gravity' by John Mayer. And when I went to send my guitar leads, it all got deleted," he said.

But Kadir, a 17-year-old senior at Piedmont Community Charter School, knows how to roll with the punches.

"I was like, 'wait, where did it go? I was panicked. But then I was like, 'I'll just I'll re-record it. I'll redo it,'" he said.

He woke up at 4:30 in the morning to re-record the guitar leads before school, and he was pleasantly surprised by the results.

"While I was recording it, I just noticed that my playing was completely different. Compared to when I'm more awake, I would say that my playing was better in a sense, … which is just so interesting," he said.

Muhammad has been playing guitar since his freshman year of high school. Known professionally as The Giftt, he recently released his first album, 'The Good Blues,' and performed at Gastonia Little Theater.

He said he was inspired by the guitar solo in Michael Jackson's "Beat It."

"So that was like, you know, I want to do that. I want to be able to do that," he said.

He also draws inspiration from 1970s rock band Van Halen, blues guitar legend Stevie Ray Vaughan, and singer-songwriter B.B. King.

Kadir said that his goal is to grow as a musician and make music that has meaning.

"I hope to become this, I guess you'd say, influential musician, not just making music to make music, but making music that has meaning," he said. "So people can have a better connection to the music."

Kadir said that right now, he primarily writes about his feelings, examining experiences he has had or events he has observed in high school.

"In school is where you really see a lot of these emotions that I might write about. So you know, people being upset, or getting bullied and having to find a way to deal with that," he said. "Any hardships that you may come across during that school life, that's where I pulled those emotions from."

Kadir will graduate in May, and after that, he plans to attend Gaston College and pursue a career as a professional musician. He says that he plans to work as a veterinary technician, and if music doesn't work out, he hopes to attend school to become a veterinarian. He said that he enjoys the complexity of science, and his favorite subject in school is chemistry.

"I like its complexity and that you get a very set answer. There's one method but at the same time, you can always find another method," he said.

But in the meantime, he is writing as much music as he can and working to build a presence on social media: Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and TikTok.

He is also in the early stages of his work on a second album, and he's signed to an independent label, Dréllex The Brand.

Kadir's father, James Muhammad, said that staff at a music store in Gastonia, Music & Arts, have been enormously supportive of Kadir, introducing him to instruments and giving him a platform.

"They have stood behind him, supporting his musical journey," he said.

That journey almost didn't happen.

Kadir was born prematurely, his father said, "and he wasn't going to make it, and by the grace of God, he did. He's been excelling ever since."

That's where his professional moniker, The Giftt, comes from: he's a gift to those who know him, his father added.

For now, Kadir maintains a 4.0 GPA while working at a bakery, Nothing But Cakes, and playing music.

"I know how to manage my time so that I don't overwhelm myself," he said.

He is hoping that by the time he finishes at Gaston College, his musical career will have flourished.

"Hopefully by that time, this music career has kicked off and I'm able to fully pursue that as far as I can. But even then, if it hasn't, I will still push as hard as I can to become a musician," he said.

He urged others to follow their dreams.

"The one thing that I'll add is if there are any dreams or aspirations that people may have, when it gets hard trying to pursue those aspirations, don't give up," he said. "Because if you give up, you're only selling yourself short of what you could possibly be doing. The only thing that comes behind it is God and work. If you put in the time, and you ask God to help you, it'll all get done."

You can reach Kara Fohner at 704-869-1850 at KFohner@Gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gastonia teen musician reaches for the stars with album debut