Image credit: Joseph Llanes
Spiritually in-tune music producer and rapper Steven Malcolm endured much hardship growing up. After the loss of his Jamaican father and his mother leaving him to fend for himself in Michigan soon after, the creative turned to music production in order to find an escape. He finds solace in his faith and creating music with substance, that explores the music industry and staying grounded to one’s self. His latest single and video ‘On Point’ featuring KB talks about the story of the underdog and how one should never give up on following their dreams.
We chatted with the inspirational and multi-talented rapper Steven Malcolm below.
Looking back, what were some of your earliest entries into music appreciation? And music production?
It was around 2009, I remember being in high school and living in a house with a studio in the basement. A few friends of mine started a rap group called Exclusive and it was there where I actually learned to engineer and grew a passion for the craft. I believe I was around 19 or 20 at the time. It honestly was something just for fun, crazy how far it’s gone.
Give us a sense of the music scene where you are based.
Here in Grand Rapids Michigan, the music scene is pretty popping. It’s a very artsy city with a lot of young creatives who love to express themselves. Hip-hop is big here. A lot of tours come to Grand Rapids as well, so that’s always good
What key pieces of software/gear are you using to define your sound?
ProTools is a must for recording, I love my Apollo thunderbolt interface. And an Airbnb in an inspiring city.
What are some of your key musical influences?
Bob Marley and Michael Jackson.
What kind of relationship do you have with the internet? How does this inform your artistic expression?
I have a pretty good relationship with the Internet. I’m great on social media, have been since the beginning. It’s just always been a part of what I do as an artist. What messes with me is taking breaks lol, once I take a break I don’t feel like getting back on.
What would you like to achieve with your music? What does success look like to you?
I honestly feel like I’ve already achieved what I needed to achieve with music. I’m doing what I love as my full-time job, and impacting millions as I go. The success part is still to be gained. To me, success in my career will be to tour the world and sell out venues. I’m working on it day by day.
What has been a memorable highlight of your career so far?
One of the many memorable highlights of my career is getting to perform in front of thousands of people. I did a tour a few years ago called Winter Jam, a 48 city arena tour. Each night tens of thousands of people and top-notch production. It was a dream come true.
If you could work with, or perform alongside any artist of your choice, who would it be?
Drake… he changes your life LOL. And he’s my favorite artist.
If you weren’t a musician what would you be?
A coffee shop owner in Montego Bay Jamaica, growing Ital food and living stress-free.
What can we expect from you in the near future? Any upcoming projects or gigs in the pipeline that you would like to tell us about?
I have the best body of work from me thus far coming out in January of 2022!!!! My album release will be crazy, the tour is to follow, along with amazing merch! Then after that, we got the single of the summer dropping with a legendary artist.
Follow Steven Malcolm:
