We were lucky to catch up with Malik Johnson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Malik, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

Honestly I’ve thought about this before and overall I’m grateful my journey started when and where it did. As a kid I wrote songs, auditioned for commercials, and performed monologues at talent shows. As a freshman in college I auditioned for a role on the tv show Empire. I officially started my professional career in the fall of 2016 at 19 years old. The lessons I learned from trial and error, living a normal life, and failure have truly inspired me as an artist. My experience of failure at Howard University inspired me to write my first album at 20. Over the course of 2 years in my early 20s I experienced work as a background actor and gained insight on how a film/tv set works. Being signed to a talent agency showed me to be grateful for every opportunity, how to be professional, and to make sure you review every contract. I learned how to work with a crowd doing cover songs at open mics and showcases. If my career would have taken off earlier I wouldn’t have any tools or knowledge to sustain it. The only thing I would have done sooner is hired a vocal coach because I didn’t have all the skills to express myself exactly how I wanted musically in those early days.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a 25yr old singer-songwriter, producer, actor and media personality from Ft Worth, TX. I have written & self produced 5 studio albums (Rated M, Technicolor, Sorry I’m Late, A New Day, & MALIK.) which have garnered nearly 400,000 streams in over 40 countries. Over the past 6 years I have been featured in commercials for QT, UNT & Dr. Pepper along with tv/film roles in Murder/Scandal Made Me Famous, The Pullout Game & Queen of The South. Since 2021 I’ve also hosted The MalikWorld Podcast focusing on social issues, growing pains, & life in the industry. I’m most proud of my tenacity, the industry can be very cruel and discouraging and the fact that I’m still pursuing my dreams is a testament to when God gives you a vision you have to execute it. I always try to create from the heart, every song I create is 100% honest, every brand I work with and every role I take is something that genuinely interest me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Once you truly step into your creativity its really hard to go back. I’ve been professionally pursuing music and acting since 2016 and its been difficult to maintain a regular job for more than a few months ever since I made my first check from streaming royalties or my first commercial. Even with jobs I like they eventually get old really fast, imagine doing something you love and getting paid a months salary for a few days/hours and then clocking back in for a boss or customer to annoy you. I’ve accomplished some pretty cool things over the past few years from being featured in major commercials/tv/movies and accumulating 6 figure music streams worldwide however, that doesn’t equal major money. The industry is very up and down especially in the DFW, it takes a very long time to reap the financial rewards of being an artist.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist is being told my music has inspired someone or made them feel seen. Whether it’s someone saying they related to a song or it was catchy, any feedback saying that I made people feel is worth all the hard work. As far as acting someone seeing somebody who looks like them or came from a similar background on there screens can be really inspiring.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://malikjohnson.com
• Instagram: @officialmalikmusic
• Facebook: @officialmalikmusic
• Twitter: @the_malikshow
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@malikworld
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6EKYKp55uBrqGsDvEqbGfe?si=OP9_yEiEQzejF-vp8SqEKA Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/malik/1466043804 TikTok: @officialmalikmusic

Image Credits
Camille Washington, Frank Green