Black Music Matters: On the Horn with Maleke
To celebrate Black Music Month, KXSC’s Elle Davidson sat down with five Black artists at USC to talk about their musical journeys, and what being Black in music means to them. Senior Maleke reflects on a lifetime of making music as well as segregation at USC. With music set to release this summer, Maleke is excited to showcase his throwback RnB sound. Stream all of the artists featured for Black Music Month on our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist. Check out our interview with Maleke below:
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Elle Davidson: How long have you been playing music?
Maleke: I grew up around music my entire life. My dad’s a pastor so I grew up in church listening to music and singing in choir. I started making beats in middle school on Garageband on my iPad, and I realized I wanted to be a producer/songwriter in high school. I started taking it seriously my sophomore year of college, and I’ve been songwriting and producing for myself now. It’s all leading up to my first release of music this year!
ED: Who are some of your musical inspirations?
M: Right now, I’m really inspired by an east coast artist that goes to NYU, Rodney Chrome. I’m inspired by his overall vision of incorporating queerness into his music, as a Black rapper especially. He talks about how he wants to be the first openly queer rapper on the XXL Freshman list. That’s just so dope.
ED: How would you describe your music style?
M: My dad is a pastor, but he’s also a musician. We listened to a lot of RnB growing up, like Ginuwine and TLC. A lot of 90s and 2000s RnB artists. I make music in that same vein.
ED: What are some of your long term goals?
M: My first goal is to actually release music! I’ve had a lot of stuff going on with the pandemic and the protests. It doesn’t feel like the right time to release music. I eventually want to put out an EP. Long term, I’d like to start a production company. I’m a media arts and practice major, so with that, I do a lot of creative direction and design. It would be fun to have my own company and do branding and creative direction for other artists. I’d love to work with other artists in the industry. I’d also like to go on tour.
ED: How has your experience at a PWI [Predominantly White Institution] influenced your music or journey as an artist?
M: USC is in LA, which is diverse, but the university is very segregated. Going to USC, we are surrounded by so many excellent Black artists, but sometimes you see a lot of non-Black artists becoming popular off of Black aesthetics and Black sounds, and USC is not exempt from that. Whenever I see a lot of my Black peers not get the recognition they deserve because of external factors that we can’t control, like racism in the industry or racism in Los Angeles specifically, it’s very frustrating. The superficiality of the city and industry is exemplified through the USC community. It’s really unfortunate, but it’s something that I’ve noticed.
ED: Why is the amplification of Black voices important at USC?
M: We’re already at a disadvantage. I come from a low-income, Black, first-generation background, and statistically, I wasn’t supposed to be at USC to begin with. When institutions aren’t designed for us to exist in, our existence in itself is revolutionary. There are a lot of Black, low-income kids at USC that have these feelings and sentiments, so it’s important for the administration to listen to our voices because historically, we haven’t been doing that. Even at our current protests, it took the university six days after George Floyd’s death to acknowledge what was going on in our country. Even when they did, it was very tone-deaf in terms of mentioning specifics. It took petitions and backlash on social media for them to even address any of this. A lot of that backlash is coming from Black students, and oftentimes we are the ones that are leading these protests and dialogues while our non-Black and white peers sit back and wait for it to become popularized. Only then do they deem it okay to contribute. It shouldn’t be that way. It’s important to listen to Black voices the first time, instead of when it’s repeated. When it’s repeated, we get exhausted. It should be a community-led effort to end racial injustice, all the responsibility shouldn’t just be on Black people.
ED: Do you have any advice to other Black musicians at USC?
M: Don’t get discouraged, because there is a community of people that want to support you and your vision. Don’t fall into the trap of comparison at USC, or in LA in general. No one can tell you if you can be successful or if you’re going to be successful. You have to determine that for yourself.
ED: Are there USC artists you admire and think deserve more attention?
M: I really like Ellie Williams. She’s a rising sophomore in the pop program. My friend booked her for a show, and I got put onto her. I really like her sound and think she’s going to places. She’s really down to earth, which you learn to appreciate as you work your way in the industry. She's not jaded by USC or music industry culture.
- Elle Davidson, Director of Publications
Our Black Music Matters Spotify playlist is linked here.