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

Hi Malik , thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Through life I’ve always been a very driven individual. I was interested in learning to do anything that was seemingly lucrative or entertaining. Since I can remember I was infatuated with music. My mother used to say I was like her baby Usher. Comedically enough as a child I was singing all of usher’s lyrics and many other songs. My family played oldies all day everyday. Even with the oldies I had teen parents so I was still up to date with modern music at that time. I never knew I would get into music until one of my cousins convinced me. That opened up a whole new world for me musically. With that it only sparked my creativity. In 2014 I joined the Air Force. There I learned to do a lot of things. Just off the fact of the extra time, money and opportunity presented. I met people from all over and ultimately found friends that were on the same wavelength as I was. From there it just grew to figuring out how to capitalize on this. We started a brand, got into making music and went from there.

Honestly, I can say the first part of how I’ve learned everything that I know is from curiosity. The second part trial and error. The curiosity made me seek out new knowledge for everything that I wanted to accomplish or know. From engineering, producing, songwriting, starting a brand; you name it. The more I searched different routes just opened up. Thats where the trial and error came into play. Trying to figure out what method works for you and how you can shape that method to fit you even more.

I believe the best way to speed up your learning process is to understand that you’ll never stop learning. If you can come into terms with that your cup will never empty. You’ll keep trying to fill that cup and it’ll never quench your thirst. To be successful in anything you have to learn your craft. Everyone loves money but not enough people understand it to make more of it. If we continued to up the mental there’s no bounds to what a person can achieve.

Doubt will feel your mind for sure. I feel like that’s just in human nature. Starting something from the beginning is tough. You feel like you don’t know what you’re doing, there’s not enough support, or not nearly enough funds. That can shake a person’s course at any given moment. In my opinion that’s what weeds out the greats. Do you have the determination to stick it out at the lowest moments? Sadly, not many can. What kept me going is always hearing people say that when you reach your lowest that usually right before you start your rise. I know at any moment it can happen, so my job is to be prepared for that time.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My names Malik or Leek for short. My stage name is E.Y.S LEEK. It’s hilarious how the acronym always gets confused for the word “eyes”. “E.Y.S” come from a clothing brand that me and couple other people that I was stationed with started in 2016. The acronym stands for “Embrace Your Space”, it’s a derivative of a brand one of the founders started previously, Space Kiddz. Shout out to the OG Kidd! Embrace Your Space is basically about not being afraid of individuality. Everyone is different in their own way and we shouldn’t be ashamed of that. At the same time it’s up to the individual to accept that you’re different and love yourself for you. Live life and have unapologetically and learn from experience.

I was born in Los Angeles, CA. My family bounced around the city and we stayed with my grandmother at her house for majority of the time down on 99th and Century. Later on my family moved to Palmdale/Lancaster Area. That’s where I spent most of my young time. The AV and heading back down the hill almost every weekend, for holidays and the summer.

Around 15-16 years old I started writing short stories and poetry. I’m not entirely sure if it came from being an avid reader as a child or what. It kind of just came to me. The ability to show off your imagination, or even the process of learning how to display your imagination is what got to me. At 17 one of my cousins got ahold of my notebook. Of course he was the “rapper” in the family and he told me I should rap myself. I was timid at first but over time I grew. I love music to the point that I didn’t feel like I was learning. The practice/ rehearsing to just listening to others gives inspiration and sparks your mind to try new things.

At age 18 I enlisted into the Air Force and unfortunately quit music cold turkey. So for 6 complete years I didn’t do anything music related besides being a consumer. Little did I know that time was training in a sense. I got deeper into southern music, trap, r&b and even some country. The experiences I had in the military completely remolded me and gave me an all new love for music.

After Separating from the military I got back into rapping. I was enjoying the full creative control I had but it still wasn’t enough. Using “type beats” on Youtube just was not cutting it anymore. I felt like it was limiting and from there I decided to start producing my own music.

Making this transition was one of the smoothest yet challenging things ever. I love instruments and all the key roles they play within a track and being able to shape that to your liking just gives you fulfillment. In my opinion producing is all trial and error. There’s so much you have to learn that you would never know. The biggest thing that has helped me by far is music theory. Learning how everything works together as a cohesive unit within the production will boost your song more than you know.

After learning the little I could from YouTube I felt like I needed a more in depth and technical understanding of production. That’s when I decided to apply to The Los Angeles Film School for an AS in Music Production. I’ve been attending for a little over a year now. The understanding that its provided has helped me so much. Learning the technical side of your equipment is a complete game changer. All the information they’re giving to me is making me want more and more.

I can definitely see a future for myself within the music business. Not simply off the fact that I believe my music will blow up one day but because of my love for the music. I love learning new things relating to music. I love working with different artist, producers, engineers etc. Whatever I learn I want to be able to bless others with what’s seemingly unobtainable information. There’s always a way to get to that content, I just want to be the guide.

Now I offer freelancing mixing/mastering services. I also make exclusive beats for consumers. The difference between me and others is that I’m fully committed to the music. I offer unlimited revisions because I want the artist to feel as comfortable with the work as I am. I’m extremely proud of the work that I put into making music. I’m not a perfectionist by any means but you can hear the love and thoughtfulness put into every track. Along with working on music, the E.Y.S Apparel clothing brand will also be available soon as well as artist merchandise for myself.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

I wish I knew about schools for music sooner. I’ve always known there were performing arts school and what not but never known how accessible they actually are. I could have started this journey of knowledge earlier and have the accolades to prove it.

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

This might be a huge take but; In my mind when a creative person doesn’t have the space to create it can be mental suicide. It’s completely draining to not have an outlet for something going on in your head. A lot of people can’t express themselves and that leads to bottle up emotions. It’s exactly the same with creatives. We try to do what makes us happy and people that don’t have the same mindset just will not comprehend that. Everyone isn’t made to life confined to societal norms. What for you won’t always be for me, and I think that goes over the head of many people.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eys.leek/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/EYS-LEEK/100065250410075/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EYSLeeek
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@eysrecords5501

Image Credits
KStudioProductions