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What’s “it” to Mala Reignz? To hear her tell it, it’s simple. Make quality music and put out a solid product. “At the end of the day, it’s not just about putting out the music anymore – you have to be a whole package, and it’s more than just showing up and rapping. It’s more than just putting out a mixtape and giving it to all your friends on the block. You really have to work hard.”
Luckily for her, Mala seems to enjoy the work. She doesn’t get tired of creating and recording, and she willingly accepts all the new experiences pursuing a career in music brings. She explains, “There are so many experiences that I would never have if I was just doing a regular 9-5. It’s so exciting to me. There are so many things I could get into and branch off and do through music.”
The excitement is multiplied when she is on stage, as Mala proclaims her love for the rush that she gets from performing for a crowd. “I love it. You always get a little nervous right before you go on stage, but once I’m on there, it’s so natural to me. I’m not up there like me against them, it ‘I’m here and we’re all here together’. I talk to them, kind of warm them up. I do a call and response with them. I get them to really be a part of the show. I try to give them a great show every time I do it. I really love to perform. It’s so exciting.”
Performances these days are helped by the radio friendly “OMG” (not to be mistaken with the Usher song), as Mala was fortunate enough to receive some mainstream radio play courtesy of Power 105.1 New York’s Ed Lover, who broke the song on his morning show. Additionally, the all-mix Memorial Day weekend radio format allowed DJ Lady Chellz to drop several more tracks from the EP over the Power airwaves. Mala described the experience of hearing herself on the radio as “exciting and surreal.”
But while hearing herself on the radio may have felt unreal, Mala feels it’s important to inject her real life experiences into her music, and strives to write from her heart, instead of pure formulation, believing that artists who achieve musical longevity are those that let the audiences know who they really are, letting fans get a glimpse of their real life.
“That’s what makes you an artist,” she insists. “It’s just not about fun music and making people want to dance. If you want people to identify with you, then you have to open up a little bit and give them a peek into your life. You never know who you are helping or who can relate, so I like to tell my story whenever I can.”
Mala follows this religiously, proudly writing her own rhymes, believing it essential to be a total artist. “That’s what separates us from the singers. We don’t sing,” she explains. “We need to be able to write really good lyrics, and if we’re not putting out good lyrics, or it’s not us, then what are we?” She goes on, “The ultimate compliment to me when fans come and recite my lyrics. People like my lyrics. I want that to be what people think about first when they think of Mala Reignz. The lyrics. My lyrics.”
