To pursue a living as a musician is definitely a very hard path.
Though it’s clear that there are plenty of talented people out there in the world, it’s not always the case that all of them get discovered. For some artists, working a day job and performing on the side is the only way to make ends meet. For others, getting some exposure and opportunity only leads to short-term successes and not a sustainable career. In any event, it’s not hard to spot true talent when we see it.
One place where it pops up frequently is on the subway.
Although most people use the subway simply to commute to work, street performers use it to express themselves.
In some cases, there are talented performers right in front of us on public transit that we don’t have the time to stop and appreciate. Still, in the age of the internet, sometimes these performances can see a wider audience once they’re uploaded, even if nobody appreciated them at the time.
That was definitely the case for the performer in this now-viral video.
The artist in the clip is named Damiyr Shuford, a musician based out of New York City.
As the clip begins, Shuford can be seen standing up against the subway wall in a long corridor. After a moment, he begins to sing “Who Am I To Say” by Hope, which begins with some moving and soulful lyrics.
As he sings, passersby seem to go right past him without noticing him much. Regardless, his voice is resounding and so beautiful. As he keeps singing, he also adds some guitar into the song as well to underscore the melodies.
After a moment, many more people walk by—though still, very few of them seem to take notice.
As it turns out though, one couple does stop—it’s a mom walking by with her little daughter!
Though they were clearly on the way somewhere, the daughter insists that they both stop and let the man finish his song.
Even though his performance went largely unnoticed on that day (apart from those two), the video has since garnered nearly five million views on YouTube—and it’s not hard to see why. As it turns out, Shuford’s voice is incredible and this performance was no fluke.
In fact, Shuford has been performing music for quite some time now.
For all his street performances and musical efforts on the internet, Shuford even got a write-up in Uproxx.
Beyond that, Shuford also has all kinds of other performance videos available on the internet. He has his own YouTube channel where he posts videos, many of which are other street performances like this one:
As he explains on the channel, he even has his first album on the way as a result of crowd-funding!
Above all, we’re grateful that we could discover such an amazing voice! As it turns out, Shuford’s first album is now available on all streaming services, so be sure to search “Damiyr” on Spotify or iTunes to give him a listen if you appreciated this video! As Shuford’s efforts show, sometimes great talent really does rise to the surface!
Congratulations to Damiyr Shuford on all his success so far! Watch the full performance below:
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