Meet Macca Malik | BGIRL/Elite Breaking Athlete & Artivist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Macca Malik and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Macca, why did you pursue a creative career?
The reason why I chose to lead with an artistic/creative career for a very long time, ultimately was because I grew up with an extremely artistic and creative mother. However, I’ll be the first to admit, I struggled with this as a child. When I was younger I wanted to experience the “normal” life of having a parent with so called “steady income”, growing up in one place, having enough money to buy clothes, snacks etc like my friends had. I told myself as a youngster I would never grow up to be an artist. Well, look at me now haha. Creative expression is monumental to me. It has elevated and changed over time. I’ve gone through being a full on 9-5 artist, eat, sleep, sh*t my art. As well as working a “non-artistic” 9-5 to support my artistic career. No matter what I do for work, it will always give me the freedom of expressing my creative mind, body and soul. It will look different as time progresses but it is of high importance for me to always pursue my artistic and creative endeavors to make sure I share my Black girl joy and creativity with this world through my art.

Please tell us more about your art. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I can thankfully say I’ve grown into a top woman competitor in the Breaking scene winning battles, traveling the world teaching workshops, and judging competitions. Breaking has led me to co-found GIRL ILLA Tactics, a multi-modal production & creative curation venture as a way to amplify and build leadership within the global Bgirl Community and to bring awareness of the Bgirl scene to outside support in a healthy way. Girl illa Tactics then expanded into GIT Productions, a production house and collective centering Black, Indigenous and African Diasporic identified voices through high quality productions, calls to art & action, curated happenings and space/place making. I also reached a major milestone by becoming the first-ever Sponsored B-Girl by Monster Energy. In 2020 I created “The Battle Manifesto” show to interview dancers on certain monumental battles that happened in the Breaking community and “Gold Talk” which focuses on Olympic hopefuls. In 2022 I became an Elite Athlete Representative for Breaking For Gold USA which is the breaking division to help US Bgirls and Bboys go to the 2024 Olympics.

The biggest challenges were always trying not to chase after the “career/artistic level” people expected me to be on, as well as their ideals of me and what they believed I already should’ve achieved. Challenges also included dealing with gender biases within Breaking culture. There is still racial discrimination even though this is Hip Hop Culture. This is supposed to be the place to be the most sacred, safe, inclusive environment for Black people, since we are founders of this culture. In the USA, Black breakers are disproportionately under represented as Breaking has became a world wide phenomenon and embraced so many different ethnicities, nationalities, cultures, races etc.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Ooooh! There’s always something happening in Atlanta! Especially yearly events! So it depends on when they are coming ahaha!

– To just dance, enjoy good music and people EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK: Rock Steady!
– To dance MJQ
– To dance, drink: Buteco
– Bar hop either Edgewood or EAV
– Food ( Iam vegan!): Tassilis, Planta, Healthful Essence, Wadada Healthy Market & Juice Bar, La Semilla
– Drinks & atmosphere: Bar Vegan
– Krog Street Market
– Drinks: Little Spirits
– For culture and wellness: Historic Westend
– MLK Site

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
A big big thank you to each and everyone that has supported me on this Breakin’ journey since 2004! A big big thank you to everyone that has, still and will support me on my life journey that includes all of my artistic and creative adventures. Life has truly been a multifaceted experience and I am grateful to still be here. I am grateful to my ancestors, to the universe, to my guiding angels, my support system which includes my family and friends. THANK YOU!!!

Website: www.bgirlmacca.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/bgirlmacca

Twitter: www.twitter.com/bgirlmacca

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bgirlmacca

Youtube: Bgirl Macca