Maleek Berry on global sounds and how all hits are about love
The South London artist is bringing global influences and good vibes to the forefront of pop.
[M]aleek Berry has drawn from Afrobeat, dancehall, hip-hop, grime, western pop, garage, gospel and R&B, producing a sound that harmonises eclectic influences from the global black diaspora. For his latest single, “Bend It” he fuses those sounds into a shimmering, upbeat chorus, a beach-side sunset bassline and lyrics all about yoga.
Bringing seemingly disparate themes or sounds into one place is second nature to an artist whose life has been defined by music – from the Michael Jackson he heard on the radio at six years old in South London, to the Fela Kuti played by his Dad to the Gospel sounds he heard at church. The result is a new kind of pop that has accrued millions of streams and has established Maleek as a one of a wave of musicians taking afro-infused pop global.
Maleek embarked on his solo career in 2015 after establishing himself as in-house producer at WizKid’s Starboy Entertainment, where he produced beats for Wande Coal, Iyanya and WizKid himself. After taking the mic with the single “For My People” featuring Brixton rapper Sneakbo, Maleek hasn’t looked back, following up with 2016’s Last Days Of Summer EP, a string of singles in 2017 and a new project on the horizon. We caught up with him to find out more.
"I had no idea that as I was growing up I was adding to my musical vocabulary and that’s what helped me become the kind of producer, artist or writer that I am today. "
What made you transition from being a producer into the spotlight as a solo artist?
I felt like I’d done quite a bit in that side of the industry and I felt like I wanted a new challenge. Even before getting into afrobeats I was making hip-hop and R&B so it was nothing new to change my sound a little bit. When I wanted to delve into the whole artist side of things it was scary, you get the hesitancy and and the uncertainty, so there was a little bit of doubt from me and people around me. It was hard at first but experience and the fact that I used to have a rap group at church when Iw as a lot younger really helped me. I felt like I was diving back into the pot of tricks that I’d had from before.
You've spoken about all the different genres that have influenced you, what sounds surrounded you growing up?
I lived in Nigeria as a kid and when I was there I would listen to a lot of Fuji music and my Dad would play a lot of Fela Kuti and he used to listen to a lot of Bob Marley as well so I had that layer. When I was a kid all I would listen to was Michael Jackson so I had a pop layer too. When I was six years old I came back to the UK and I was surrounded by Caribbean culture and Dancehall, there was no such thing as afrobeats back then so I grew up in that culture. So I had the grime layer, the garage layer, even the gospel layer. I had no idea that as I was growing up I was adding to my musical vocabulary and that’s what helped me become the kind of producer, artist or writer that I am today. When I listen to music, I don’t listen to genres, I just listen to music, that’s why I like to blend sounds together.
"When I was a kid at school it wasn’t cool to be African and now all of a sudden it is cool to be African, that makes me proud."
Do you take extra pride in bringing through the afro sound?
Yeah it definitely makes me proud to see the resurgence of the afro sound. There was a bunch of major labels in Nigeria back in the day so to see my generation starting to take that sound to the world definitely gives me a sense of pride. When I was a kid at school it wasn’t cool to be African and now all of a sudden it is cool to be African, that makes me proud as well.
Have you seen anything specific that has made that happen?
You know what, I don’t think it’s particularly one person, it’s a bunch of artists. The guys that came before us – the likes of D’Banj and Mo Hits, they eventually got the recognition of Jay-Z and Kanye West so they definitely opened doors and shone a bit of light on the genre and now us younger ones have taken the baton and now we’re running with it. It’s just a case of everyone altogether making noise at the same time.
"For me, I’ve always known that most good music is centered around love, sex, hate, break ups. Most hit songs always stem back to love"
What are the key moods that influence your songwriting?
For me, I’ve always known that most good music is centered around love, sex, hate, break ups. Most hit songs always stem back to love and I always try and write about that subject and break it up into as many different sub-topics as I can. I’m always on that search to find a new way of saying something, or of saying a phrase that could potentially become a new slang or something. Because I produce my own music as well, I guess it’s an always an easy process fleshing out an idea – I can just jump on the keys and play a few chords to set the mood or the direction that I want to go in, then I lay down the drums and it’s smooth sailing from there.
Can you talk us through “Bend It”?
“Bend It” is me continuing the tradition of my summer, vibe-y, fun songs, the way I released “Kontrol” last year. I saw on Twitter that my fans were demanding that sound but I wanted to give it a new spin and a breath of fresh air. I asked myself what are people into right now and I was like – “Yoga!”. I already had the melody down and the rest of the song just built up from there.
And what’s coming up next for you?
More videos, more music, and a new EP before the end of the year. It’s a bit more moody, it’s gonna suit the season.
Follow Maleek Berry on Instagram here.
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