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
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Lettie Law is a vessel for God’s message and she spreads it through her music. She gives Him all the credit for the songs she releases, which she says come to her from Him directly. Her latest single, “Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” is one that celebrates the ever lasting power she believes He has.
When I spoke to Lettie, I could feel how strong and at peace she was just from our conversation. She shared a variety of stories of her life with me and God was the constant throughout all of them. She has a writing process for her songs but as earlier mentioned, she always credits Him with giving them to her.
“I write songs as they come to me from the Divine. Something is whispering to me to tell me what to write, how to sing it and what instruments go with it. Sometimes I’ll get partial parts of a song gradually but for this song, everything came together at the same time. It all comes from Heaven and I give out what I receive from the Almighty.” she said.
Sharing God’s message is a part of every song Lettie releases but this one was specifically crafted to encourage people who are dealing with everything happening in the world today. Lettie sees all the turmoil people are going through in the world and wants people to know that they will make it through any situation they find themselves in.
“No matter what is going on in life at this current time, you can look to God. If yesterday was not good for you, you don’t need to look back. Look to God and there is no way He will not deliver you. Keep moving forward and doing your best and look to God.” she said.
Lettie believes that music and singing can bring people joy, hope, courage and also healing. The latter can come in the emotional sense but also the physical sense too. During our conversation, she shared a story about how one of her other songs, titled “Yaweh” had a large impact on someone’s life.
“My favorite thing about music is how it can be healing. Not all diseases are physical. A woman called me had shared how she had been dealing with insomnia for eight years and had taken all kinds of medication for it. But once she started listening to my song, she would sleep like a baby.” she said.
Lettie Law knows about the power of God and music from firsthand experience. She shared that while she enjoyed singing in front of the congregation at church as a child, this changed as she began to get older. She became more shy and reserved not just in church but in life and in general.
Her shyness and reluctance to sing became the catapult that would push her to sing as God wanted her to after she went through a life altering situation.
“I ended up getting sick and my son suggested I record one of the songs I had written in the books I had from years ago. But once I started recording more, the sickness left my body. But recording and singing in public are very different. So it became a tug of war between me and the Lord because He wanted me to sing publicly but I didn’t want to.” she said.
“A different situation happened and I ended up in a coma and I could hear various voices around me as I faded in and out. I thought I was dying but I woke up on this side and realized I was still alive. The Lord asked me ‘Are you ready to do My work now?’ And I said ‘Of course! I’ll sing in front of the congregation. I will tell my story to the world. Wherever you send me, I am going.’ And when I woke up, all my family members who I had heard while I was fading in and out apologized because I heard them planning for my funeral and things like that. So the Lord spared my life and I’m not shy anymore. The Lord gave me strength and I chose life.” she said.
As Lettie said, she truly did go wherever God sent her. She’s since sung at Boston College, in Connecticut, at churches and even a club.
“University students love Christ. They were singing and dancing and they wanted me to come back. In the club, people were drinking and smoking and couples were dancing and it was nice because everybody belongs to the Almighty. God sees a sinner and knows one day they will become one of His children.” she said.
Lettie Law is West African with her father being from Nigeria and her mother being from Cameroon. The range of the diaspora is felt throughout “Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” whose production is far from traditional Gospel instrumentation and blends a variety of musical styles. The positive and uplifting atmosphere is felt through both the instruments and the lyrics.
For many Gospel artists, their foundation was laid by someone older than them that raised them in church and likely also had them singing in church as child. For Lettie, this person was her father.
“He played a very big role in introducing me to Gospel and the Almighty. He introduced me to reading the Bible and he and my Mom introduced me to reading hymns.” she said.
Lettie Law has a 10 track album coming soon which will include songs like “Prayer is a Masterkey” and “God is Our All in All.” Her journey with Gospel has encapsulated her whole life and her ongoing faith continues to motivate her to keep making more music.
“I am just a vessel for His word and His message.” she said.
“Forward Ever Backward Never Jesus” is available on streaming services now.
You can experience more of God’s messages through Lettie Law by following her on these platforms.
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