Cover Story Article - Industry Certified (V12.1)
Art in Audio Frequency:
International Rap Artist, Malix, Drops 10-Song Mixtape, Malixia
Written by Lydia Plantamura
“Highly creative, Hong Kong-based hip-hop and R&B artist, Malix, has an assortment of hobbies. She draws, paints, and dances. She is also an acrobat, regularly flying through the air in a graceful flow state. After videos of trapeze artists caught her attention, Malix signed up for as many practice sessions as possible, suddenly obsessed with areal sports.
“Straps. Silks. Hoops—Circus stuff,” she explains.
Bold and energetic, Malix needed something to occupy her downtime between back-to-back classes and began writing catchy rhymes on her phone to pass the time. Growing up, she longed to be like the artists she heard on the radio. Malix sang in both the school choir and glee club. As she matured, mainstream pop music lost its appeal. Instead, she gravitated toward rock and hip-hop, seeking an outlet for her inner angst, anger, and aggression. Listening to artists like Eminem, Snoop Dogg, and Missy Elliott, along with many others, inspired her own desire to rap.
Passionate, she wanted to take her music to a professional level. Malix sought out the proper equipment to learn and experiment on her own. Eager to get her work out to listeners, she pushed herself hard. At just 19 years old, Malix is growing her audience at a rapid pace, building a strong following in less than a year. With a new mixtape out, Malix is quickly attracting even more attention. Titled, Malixia, the work is a 10-song project held together through a continuous narrative. She has never put together a body of work like this before, and Malix describes the process as long.
“It felt like six years,” she says. “It was fun. I worked with different people. Different producers. Different writers. So, it was a new experience.”
In the past, Malix worked completely alone from her home studio, but this time she collaborated with a team. Talking with others helped make the process easier. It gave her direction and perspective on the project. She liked having people to bounce ideas off of. It also allowed her to consider other opinions and gave her more direction with concepts. It was nice having an over-arching story for the entire work. Tying the songs together added a new element to her creative pieces, offering something refreshing and fun for fans. Each track flows into the next, with skits that piece together fictional scenes of a police chase. The action-packed audio creates a cohesive experience, bringing audiences along for the ride.
“The story is about me robbing a bank and everything that unfolds afterward,” Malix explains. “There are a few R&B love songs here and there, mixed in with the hip-hop and rap tracks.”
Some of the vocals in her mixtape hit on heavy emotions. Her R&B songs, like, “My Reflection” and “Come Back to Me,” talk about the loss of a loved one. These are real experiences that Malix has been through, and the music serves as an expression of that pain…
…She’s learned a lot on her journey so far. Finding her way was a challenge for Malix in the beginning. Writing from the heart, music became an outlet and method of processing complex emotions. Her songs are art pieces in audio frequency form. Feeling like the world is trying to suffocate her, these creative outlets allow Malix the space to breathe. For self- preservation, Malix no longer cares if people don’t believe in her. She knows they lack her vision and fail to see what she can.
“I believe in myself,” Malix says. “That’s enough. If I cared too much, I would go insane.”
Dedicated to her work, Malix is raising the bar, with vibrant vocabulary, focused flow, and direct delivery. She wants all audiences to be able to see themselves in entertainment, so Malix looks forward to more Asian representation, hoping that her presence inspires confidence in others. An artist on the rise with immense talent, Malix is breaking down barriers, changing the status quo, and leaving her mark on the industry at large.”
The mixtape, Malixia, is out now! Find it on AudioMack @malix_
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