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ON THE RISE
MAL€K (pronounced “Malik”) is an artist with a story to tell. In fact, he’s already told quite a bit of it. His latest project, The Never Ending Story III: The Encore is the third entry in an album saga that began in 2024. Through songs and creatively written skits with sound design, voice acting and more, MAL€K crafts his life story of trials, tribulations, love, happiness and more through his passion throughout it all: music.
In this entry, the story finds him touring across the United States and getting into all sorts of situations along the way. In one of the more sentimental moments of the album, he’s at a bar and this environment is the setting for his track “Toast To That.”
The track “Toast to That” which features DEZI MARIE, is one that MAL€K wants people to listen to and experience euphoric happiness. It’s a track that’s sentimental and he hopes people experience both relatability and nostalgia when listening to it.
“It’s like you’re toasting to that feeling of falling in love and love at first sight. Most people have been there at one point or another in life. And the phrase ‘I’ll toast to that’ is one we use for acknowledgement and agreement. I’m sharing that we can all relate to being there.” he said.
“Toast to That” is one of several tracks on the album from the country genre. Furthermore, it specifically sits in the traditional country lane due to its subject matter and production. However, MAL€K prides himself on fusing other genres with country and this is showcased across the album too.
“Growing up in Houston, Texas and the South, I was exposed to both country and rap. Rap was my first love. I’ve listened to people who make country rap fusion songs as well as those who make country pop fusion songs. Both of them inspired me directly.” he said.
However, the album not only has subgenres of country but pure rap too.The musical diversity across the album is a testament to not only his upbringing but a genuine widespread love for music of all kinds. With 95% of his music also being self produced, it’s clear MAL€K’s passion extends to multiple realms of musicality.
“I was raised in multiple states and environments so I just adapted to and absorbed multiple different cultures. I grew up listening to all sorts of genres. As I grew, I got into the country genre. It’s all based on what I’ve seen and where I’ve been. All these genres define me and who I am today.” he said.
MAL€K created this Never Ending Story album saga to leave behind an auditory memoir for his family to play when he’s long gone. After losing his mother almost eight years ago, he began to reflect on how he didn’t have too many videos of her to reminisce on by hearing her voice and he didn’t want his kids or other family members to find themselves in this position. By crafting an album series that told his life story through music, they would have something auditorily tangible they could look back on.
“By listening to the albums, they’ll get to hear all the things I went through in life and all the heartbreaks, trauma and lighthearted humorous moments that have happened within it. It’s cool being able to be vulnerable about all that and have my family experience my life through my perspective of it by listening. “ he said.
Crafting an album like this is an involved process for MAL€K since creating the music for it can be a 1-2 year process. After recording 100-200 songs in this timeframe, he begins to piece together which ones line up with the narrative he is depicting across the album. Each song is made with a purpose and sometimes, they’re more fitting as a single as opposed to fitting into the album’s larger narrative.
“I start out with a top 100 songs and narrow those all the way down to a top 35 or top 20 and those will go on the album. I’ll figure out my ideal track listing and then start to plan out the skits in between them. I try to keep the skits lighthearted and humorous and I also like doing improv for them. However, there’s also moments where things need to be more serious in tone. In both cases, I also like to ensure the skit transitions into the song that comes before or after it and the two of them line up tonally for whatever is currently happening in the story of the album.” he said.
Maintaining familial intentionality is a key aspect of everything MAL€K does. For instance, the way his name is stylized pays homage to his Irish heritage on his mother’s side with the Euro symbol. His label, which his music is released through, is called Eire Entertainment and “Eire” is the Irish name for Ireland.
With these purposeful decisions and his Never Ending Story album saga that was crafted for his family’s benefit, it’s clear everything MAL€K does is for the love of his family and for his never ending love of music.
You can stream “Toast To That” and The Never Ending Story III: The Encore now.
You can continue to follow the journey of MAL€K’s story by keeping up with him on these platforms.
ON THE RISE
Clinton Brand III – better known as CBIII – is a California-based rapper. His new single, titled “I Won’t Quit,” is a motivational and relatable message for everyone “going through it.”
The track, with a beat by Tunna Beats, has a Blurry Face vibe. It starts with a violin and the soft “ahh”s of featured singer Alex Brinkley. When the beat drops, piano, bass and drums enter along with CBIII’s lyrical meditations on “overthinking, contemplating, and debating” why he “won’t quit.”
As the final line makes clear, the song is a study in contradictory mindsets. There’s the fear of failure – what if I’m not good enough? – and then the contrast of relentlessness as stated in the title.
The lyrics of the song’s final quattrain are especially strong. Beginning with an example of CBIII’s wordplay (phenomenal and astronomical anomaly), the final message is one of inspiration: I’m tired of this, so I’m going to make it better.
This struggle with nagging self-doubt and overthinking makes “I Won’t Quit” very relatable. In the end, CBIII wants listeners to be inspired, to not give in when they find themselves in similar circumstances.
Brand’s inspiration for “I Won’t Quit” was intensely personal. Following the death of his parents at a young age, he was raised by his grandmother and then was placed in foster care. A recent visit found his grandmother’s memory fading; this was painful, considering that she had once been his biggest supporter.
This episode left him feeling abandoned, in a dark place.
He says, “I wrote the song ‘I Won’t Quit’ because at that time I was suicidal. I didn’t have nobody else to turn to because my grandma didn’t really care anymore.”
The vulnerability expressed in the lyrics made CBIII unsure if he wanted to release the song at all. He says, “I actually sat on the song for like five months before even thinking about releasing it because it’s so close to home that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to have the courage to share it.”
Now that the song is out, its vulnerability is its strength. Brand’s struggle is real, and the general contours – missing family support, doubting yourself, knowing you need to persevere – will be familiar to many.
In addition to his personal desire to live up his dream of greatness, Brand has another reason not to give up: his younger brother, who is currently in foster care. Knowing his brother looks up to him, he wants to remind him that giving in to doubt is the easy way out.
Brand says, “I want to encourage him, to show him that if you set your mind to it, bro, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
In the end, CBIII wants listeners to learn from his pain, to ask themselves, “What if I don’t give up?”
Stream “I Won’t Quit” now, wherever you listen to music.
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