Malik Jvon Drops Visuals For "Westside Welfare"
Written by @ElijahxDavid
Photography off Instagram
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Rapper Malik Jvon hasn't been rapping for a long time in fact he's only been rapping for about a couple years now. But in the short time since he started honing his craft it seems that he has already found his voice. Malik Jvon is a 28 year old rapper from Tennessee, although he was born and raised on the West. Malik recently dropped the video for what seems to be his first single of the year, "Westside Welfare".
"Westside Welfare" features artists Carmine Prophets and Leah and recounts where Malik was at during that time of his life. I sat down with Malik and we spoke on the creation the record and the inspirations behind it's meaning. Check out the interview below and watch the video for "Westside Welfare".
*Slightly Edited for continuity*
How long have you been practicing music?
A year and a half.
What did you do before you started rapping?
I was a few years out if college just trying to figure out what was next. You know, working and adulting just doing Life . The pandemic happened and I got a paid leave from my job and i had nothing but time.
What inspired your decision to start rapping?
I started hanging with my creative friends while they create. Being around so much i started writing. One day i went to support a friend perform at an open mic and she signed me up. She said she wasn’t performing unless her friends did. The MC called my name and i rapped to some youtube beat, when i was done folks fucked with it , my friends were mad surprised . It was just for fun at first but folks actually say they like the music so i figured why not.
The west coast has a distinct sound when it comes to music, do you think moving to Tennessee has affected your sound?
Living in the south exposed me to artists that never interested me before. But I listen to so many southern artist now. You’d think it’d influence my music . The homies back home say it sounds southern and folks down here say it's west coast.
Yea the song sounds west coast as hell. It sounds like section 80 kendrick as far as the content and overall vibe, what inspired you to make this song?
Honestly I was hanging out at the studio with Carmine and we were talking about the places we lived before Nashville. We talked about the difference in living costs with TN being cheaper than Southern California . We chatted about some other stuff he start making the beat and I started just writing what was on my mind. We laid it down .
Speaking about being in the studio Westside Welfare seems to be the first song you’ve released this year, what was is like being in the studio, writing and recording the song?
Yeah it was actually recorded last year. This year I've been honing my craft. The session was literally just that. Carmine and I was talk about what ever before cooking up. Makes for a chill vibe to record too.
The year is almost over, you plan on releasing any more music?
I have a few more songs I want to release before the year is over but not in much of a rush.
You talked about how the song came about, but in your own words what does the song mean..what do you hope people walk away with after listening to it.
Honestly just that. The song speaks at where I was in the moment . Reminiscing about home and thinking of ways to get bread to get a nice spot back home. Usually my music has a specific topic this one just kinda flowed out a lot of random thoughts. Trying not to think too much.
I mess with that, a true message is always the best message, thank you for speaking with me today.
Man thank you, hopefully next time we can get another!
Check out the video below
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