Meet Malaki Smith | Musician / Writer

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

Hi Malaki, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Music was something that I grew up with in many different ways. Not only did I listen to Kiss 102.7 every waking moment of every day, but my father was also a big influence. He would burn some of my favorite songs on CD’s, play the guitar and sing, even help me make mashups when I was just 12 years old. I’ve wanted to make my own original music when I was that young, but that urge really took off when my father passed away when I was 14. I didn’t have the tools to create music at the time, but in 2017 I was finally able to start making original music. Ever since then, I’ve been writing and composing music as a coping mechanism and as a way to simply express my thoughts realistically and/or creatively.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When I tell people that I make music, a lot of times they assume that I do ‘mainstream’ rap and have nothing lyrical. But once I show them what I’ve done over the years, they realize it’s nothing like that. I’ve done countless different genres, from trap metal to lo-fi to shoegaze rock, and I never make anything unless I have a reason to. Very rarely will I have a song that doesn’t have some sort of underline meaning to it, especially my albums. All of my bigger projects are based off of a trilogy of poems from the 14th century, titled The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. Most people just know of Inferno, but there’s also Purgatorio and Paradisio. All of my albums follow each part of the trilogy, granted with my own little spin on it to make it personal and unique. I’m currently working on the album based off of Purgatorio, which I’ve titled ‘Love After Death’. To get to where I’m at now professionally, all I’ve really done is stayed true to myself and never gave up. There’s been a plethora of times where I wanted to quit and even tried, but I just can’t stop writing and making music. It wasn’t easy, but at the same time it kinda was. I know a lot of other artists that spend tons of time and money on what they do, which works for them, but it takes away from time they could be spending just being themself and not trying to fit in a certain box. Society tells independent artists that they have to be more than just an artist but also a content creator and do a bunch of tedious work to get to where they want to be, which isn’t false. It’s just not always the right thing for everyone. For me, it was just staying real to myself and my music and having realistic goals and viewpoints. What I want people to know is that you are way more than you could even understand. As long as you stay positive and be true to yourself, you can do anything you set your mind to. It may sound cliche, but it’s legit. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be cliche.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, I’ve never really hung out with many people much, especially in the area where I live. Personally though, I do like going to some of the restaurants like Pasta Bella, La Parilla, and The Border.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to shoutout some of my other artist friends who have constantly supported me through the years and kept me moving forward: OHSOTRYING, Hades, Thrr3, and hyper_death. I also want to shout out everyone that have joined my collective of other independent artists called DEATHMOTHTRIBE, especially Mortox for allowing me to share my creative mind with him and his music. And of course, a shoutout to my girlfriend Annabelle and my father Joey.

Website: https://hyperfollow.com/malakialighieri

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malakialighieri

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@malakialighieri