Malik Yusef – Matte Blaque Experience

By starrymag | January 9, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Street.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Lenard Skynyrd, Prince, Jimmy Hendrix, Queen, and Mozart.

Q) What is your song writing process?

A) Different every time. And the Most-High, God determines how it is to be written.

Q) Do you need music/beats before you can create lyrics?

A) Same thing; not always.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) 100% – Full control. I direct other producers that come in to work with me.

Q) How has being from the South Side of Chicago influenced your music?

A) Fully; I think the South Side is so much part of my music, it scares me. When I’m writing, I can’t help but to put my full life experiences into my songs.

Q) What songs off your Matte Blaque Experience album are your looking forward to performing live?

A) Every one of them is different and everyone has a personal story that offers me the opportunity to present it differently each time, so I’m looking forward to performing them all.

Q) This is the first volume. Do you already have an idea of how many in total there will be?

A) Yes, five.

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

A) That… the much-maligned Dope Boy is human.

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you?

A) I love performing in Kazakhstan. I love performing in London. I love performing in Nigeria… but mainly Chicago, Illinois because everything I say people can relate to and understand.

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Jay-Z

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them?

A) I’ve been listening to Hiatus Kaiyote because of the mix of music that they choose. It’s in keeping with how I like to choose my music as well.

Q) Six Grammys is an incredible feat! What does this accomplishment mean to you?

A) It just reminds me I should’ve had seven.

Q) As a spoken word poet, what are some of today’s relevant topics that continue to inspire you?

A) It’s always about taking a gulp out of life; making mistakes, watching people make mistakes and how we repair ourselves after making said mistakes. If you’ve made a mistake in your life – and everyone has – the ability to repair is paramount.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is it such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) I can see what they want from me… And I can also give them what they need; need and want are different.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) I wanna say, I thank you. And I love you for loving yourself, which is why you chose to be a fan of me because I teach self-love. But not always in the since of self-greed… but loving ourselves first – in a way that we all need people to love; making us all infinitely more powerful.