Ishmael is a Hip-Hop Artist hailing from Porterville, California. He started making music when he was a teenager, taking inspiration from J. Cole, Drake, Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, Childish Gambino, among many others. After releasing numerous mixtapes and EP's in the mid 2010s as Bryan Martin, Ishmael founded Maelrose Records, releasing his first album Rise Above in late 2018 under his birth name. He soon followed up with Good Spirits in 2019 and Don’t Ever Doubt Yourself in 2020. Securing numerous gigs across the San Joaquin Valley such as the Private Wax Festival, The Getaway Fest, The Iris Festival and performances on KMPH Fox 26 only helped him grow as an artist. Ishmael kept it pushing with consistent single releases throughout 2021-2023 accompanied by visuals for every release. He was able to open up for well known artists such as Mike Jones, Lil' Flip, Big Omeezy and Bubba Sparxxx. 2022 saw the release of his album, The Way I See It, followed by numerous music videos to promote the album. As of 2024, he has collaborated with artists such as Sonnyb, J Blvd, Jay Braxton, Fashawn, J2K and JAY D.