Mal Sounds is a singer, songwriter, producer and rapper from Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in Crown Heights, his first creative muse was writing; he remembers writing both poetry and prose at 16 years old. It wasn’t until high school that he discovered music production and began to teach himself how to make beats. Eventually, he realized he could integrate his love for music with his love for writing.
In his artistic practice Mal sees production as a way of world-building, bending genre to create new emotional spaces: “I get really inspired… once in awhile I’ll come across a song that introduces me to an entirely new feeling and makes me want to produce… the goal is to make something that captures that feeling.”
Mal finds inspiration across all genres; from 80s R&B to Funkadelic - “I think I’m pretty much influenced by anybody/thing that creates a world with it’s own set of rules & logic.” This week, Mal’s current song/vibe is “I’d Rather Be With You” by Bootsy Collins
In 2021, Mal’s focusing on “working on the best ways to tell my stories and deliver them to the people! That, and just always working on the craft. The more I learn the more I realize I have much more to learn. I try to play music every day. I try to write every day too, whether it’s songs, thoughts, journal entries, stories, scripts, whatever.”
Last but definitely not least: Mal’s got some advice for fellow artists trying to create in the current climate: having a healthy information diet in our media-crazed culture is essential. Limit doomscrolling, take stock of your mental health: “be intentional about what is in the space and what you take in.” We’re excited to see where this year takes him, so make sure to hit his follow button to keep up with the music.
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