We recently connected with Malayka and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Malayka thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

This is a fantasic and moving question. Honestly? I think about it all the time. The nature of being an artist is that it’s a whole lot of effort with zero reward in exchange for the – anticipated but not guaranteed – massive reward later on. You have to be very mentally resilient to engage in this kind of relationship with your career. I like to think I’m an intelligent and capable person, and my friends and family would always tell me that if money was my dream I’d have no problem getting rich. But that immediate reward was never what I truly wanted. I want to squeeze the lemon, and live a rich life (rich in experiences, truth and expression).

I sometimes wonder where I would be financially, even mentally, if I just pursued law or psychotherapy, which were options I was considering when I started thinking about my future in highschool. I just had a phase this summer where I had decided I was going to get my Clinical Counselling degree starting January and do that alongside music. My mum, bless her, is the one who saved me from making that decision. Because I was going to make it out of fear and self-doubt, and she reminded me that a career like that is available for me whenever I decide I want it. Seeing through my artistic calling will not be an option forever, so I have to make sure I don’t miss that train. It’s not over yet (I released a song about this very thing in July).

I wish I could make like DJ Khalid and say I only “suffer from success”. But the truth is, I still exist in the space between big wins, too. However, that space has exponentially been shrinking, so I must be doing something right. Law and psychotherapy can wait :)

Creatives have the ability to reveal and package the truth in profound and provocative ways, and we need that in our society. I feel happy that I get to pursue that purpose to the best of my ability.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I always wanted to play and express myself, and music felt like the most effective way to do both together :) I started off just wanting to sing, and managed to travel to compete with my school. I copied Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys (I wanted to BE them!)

The revolution in Egypt in 2011, where I grew up, drove my family to move away to Canada. I found a voice teacher there and continued to learn. I was an awkward performer for the longest time. Always belting with zero dynamics and I never knew what to do with my body, haha.

I only started writing music when I went to college, which is when I really felt like I was starting to connect to the craft. It wasn’t about just being seen anymore, but also about how I can make others feel the seen. It was about storytelling. It took a while to really hone the skill and be very clear on what I wanted to say, especially as someone with a Middle Eastern and North American identity who didn’t know where they fell on the spectrum.

Finally, in the last 1.5 years when I moved to LA is when my message became really clear to me. The city and the incredible community of people inspired it. I want to write music that invites playfulness and makes the listener feel validated, empowered, and not alone. We all try to operate as people who are keeping it together and handling challenges and growing pains like champs. We forget there is grace in being present, authentic and honest with yourself and with the world about your experience and where you’re at. Life is hard, we don’t need to also perform for everyone (that’s my job ;) )

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

This is going to sound VERY ironic, but that I don’t need to put on a good performance to have inherent value as an individual. I grew up in a conservative society where your value as a human was pretty much determined by a checklist of habits and behaviours and whether or not you fulfilled that checklist. And it didn’t matter if that checklist aligned with your individual values. If you didn’t act a certain way as a woman, you were worthless. The same went for men, but the judgement was way more brutal on women.

So I felt like I was always putting on a show just to get approval from my society and from certain family members; in the way I dressed, spoke, in what I said I believed in, etc. I was just trying to not be treated like I was worthless. There were times where I would express more liberal thoughts or behaviours and the clear message I would receive would be “a worthy and proper girl does not do these things”. It was hurtful. and as a young confused child and teenager it’s not positive messaging to have as part of your growing up.

I have a lot more command and ownership over my narrative these days, but it’s still something I’m trying to unlearn.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Probably the move to LA :) I had a stable life in Toronto before coming here. Job, great living situation, partner of 2.5 years, my family, good social circle, safety, security. I uprooted all of that and decided to move on a whim with very little planning. I didn’t have any work or prospects lined up here. I was completely alone and knew no one. I was dropping off 10 resumes a day at restaurants just to get any job that would pay my rent. I questioned myself a lot, and wondered if I just ruined my life.

Fast forward 1.5 years later, I sold out my first show, released two singles (one of which was placed on a Hulu TV show), played Coachella this year, performed for the creators of Futurama at LA Comic Con, and I have an INCREDIBLE management and creative team for my artist brand now. I feel more compelled than ever to double down and commit. I’m glad I didn’t let the fear make me run back to safety.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/malaykaofficial
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@malaykamusic
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DJk09zggqa3otcA3gtPNM
  https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/malayka/1525654543

Image Credits

Karla Haddad
Jana Akkari
Nahal in Space
Faiza Rahman