Bay Area-Based Singer Malek Brings Back Hip Hop’s Golden Age With Insightful EP “No Lunch Breaks”
Throughout 2020, we have experienced many trials and tribulations that have challenged us to look inward and reflect, dare to question our surroundings, and push ourselves to be better and not stand idly by in the face of injustice. Malek, an Oakland, California-based artist, took things one step further by harnessing his creative talents as a tool to speak out and inspire his peers to instigate meaningful change.
Malek, who released his three-song EP “No Lunch Breaks” on September 22, recognized his responsibility as a musician to address the ever-changing cultural landscape we are living in. “With the first track, ‘Message Over to You Now,’ I wanted to address our current climate of racial divide and social injustices,” the Egyptian-American singer exclusively shares with The Hype Magazine. “Lack of justice for Breonna Taylor is just one of the themes covered.”
Of the two other songs on the EP, Malek reveals, “‘Wisdom is Wealth’ is about man’s search for wealth and what the definition of true wealth is. ‘Visualize’ is sort of a diary entry. An affirmation that if I can visualize it, I can materialize it.”
Known for his smooth beats reminiscent of Kendrick Lamar and Daft Punk, Malek’s latest project is a love letter to the golden era of hip hop. He explains that “No Lunch Breaks” has a “vintage and soulful” feel to it, whereas his last project “was versatile in genre and feel.” Another difference is that, unlike his previous work, Malek produced all of the tracks on this EP himself.
Malek, who is quickly on the rise and becoming a name to know in the industry, says his musical inspiration “was cultivated since [his] adolescence,” and it “was a combination of the environment and circumstances that created the opportunity for music to become [his] therapy and form of expression.”
Throughout the years of his life and the various experiences he has had, Malek’s creative process has altered as well. “It’s constantly evolving, like a martial art. At this point in time, I search for the feeling of the beat, freestyling with my composition until a hook or main theme materializes,” Malek notes, letting us into his mindset when making new music. “I don’t go in the studio with a preconceived framework. I just let the mood dictate the direction. I’ll have a song that has no hook, just all bars, separated by an intermission break, and then have another song with two hooks and a bridge. I let the music take control.”
The music certainly does guide the way in “No Lunch Breaks,” as listeners are left to sit with the important messages that Malek sings about. From Black Lives Matter to social status, Malek is urging his fans to ask questions, grow, and become the best versions of themselves, as he has strived to do throughout his life. From his Middle Eastern upbringing, which he says “heavily” influenced his music, to the birth of his son, which has given him “motivation and reason,” Malek is most definitely one to watch, as his music is as pure and authentic as it comes.
The budding artist, who wholeheartedly pursued his passions later in life, leaves us with this: “It’s never too late to become who you’re destined to be.”
Keep following Malek’s journey here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
Stream: https://songwhip.com/malek2/
Website: https://cairoglyphic.com
YouTube:https://www.youtube.
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