Rashid Malik or Ismail Green was born on April 13th 1998, in Savannah Georgia. He now lives in Atlanta Georgia where he is pursuing music and where he plans to attend college. Growing up as a kid in Savannah he was surrounded by violence and negativity, Rashid Malik’s music talks about the surrounds of his environment, he talks about the struggle of his life, and he also talks about his perception on life. He started rapping at a young age of 3 years old but didn’t take it serious until the age of 17. His favorite rapper is J.Cole but not only is J.Cole his favorite rapper, J.Cole is also is role model. Rashid Malik has released his first song titled “Golden Age” on Soundcloud and in just a few days the song has gained a nice number of plays (Not bad to be a new artist).

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

 

Artist: I grew up in Savannah Georgia. The decision of becoming an artist ties back to my childhood. At the age of 3 years old, my father would always tell me to rap for him. I rapped for my father so much that I continued to do it even after his incarceration. Following my father’s arrest I noticed how my mother became sad and how she would cry, so I made a rap for her and in this rap I said “momma don’t cry, it’s gon be okay.” Instantly tears came falling from her eyes. To effect my mother in the way I did, I knew that was special. So as I grew older I continued to rap but looked at rapping as something I was just good at rather than it being a gift. However, I noticed that I have a way with words and realized I also have the ability to rap, so from that moment on I decided to put lyrics together and pursue music.

 

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

 

Artist: Rashid Malik is actually my two middle names, so I decided to use Rashid Malik as my artist name because I want to stay true to myself no matter how far music takes me.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

 

Artist: In my opinion music sharing is very productive and helpful, especially for an artist like me who hasn’t yet made a mark. When you music share you’re allowing others to give feedback and critique your work, which is important for an artist’s development. At this stage of my career all the music I put out is free, simply because I haven’t yet made a name for myself in music.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

Artist: Any small or local bands or artist looking to get gigs and AirPlay should just keep chasing what their dream is or whatever it is their looking to accomplish, because anything is possible you just have to believe in what you want and fight to make it happen. I feel as if I’m in the situation of looking for gigs and AirPlay, so in order to get gigs, AirPlay, and get where I want to be in music I have to keep working hard, keep believing in what I want to achieve, keep positive thoughts and keep God first. These are tips I use for myself and are also tips others seeking gigs, AirPlay or even success should keep in mind and follow.

 

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

 

Artist: My songwriting inspiration comes from the things that I see, the life that I live, my surroundings, and where I come from. Songwriting comes day to day, it isn’t an everyday thing. My songwriting inspiration also comes from listening to other artist such as J. Cole, 2 Pac, Kendrick Lamar, Camoflauge and many more great artist.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

 

Artist: As of now I only use soundcloud to share my music, here’s a link to listen to my music if interested https://soundcloud.com/rashidmalikmusic/rashid-malik-golden-age

Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?

 

Artist: If I was given half a million dollars and a year off, I would probably buy my mother a new house, make sure my father is well taken care of while he’s incarcerated, make smart investments so that income is still coming in, give back in some form to my hometown of Savannah, and pursue other interests or dreams I have outside of music.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

 

Artist: When promoting my music I use social media, such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or any other social network if possible. I also have family and friends who support me to promote my music on their social network accounts and get them to tell others.

Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

 

Artist: As of now, my focus is to push my first single “Golden Age” as far as possible in order to see how far it gets me, however upcoming music is on the way so be on the look out.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

 

Artist: If I weren’t making music then my focus would be entirely on college. Not saying my focus isn’t on college because it is as I set to start college Fall of this year but being that I pursue music, my focus obviously has to be on both.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

 

Artist: To be honest I’m still young so I don’t have as much responsibilities, however I just take things one step at a time and allow God to guide me as I stay on top of my music life.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016? 

 

Artist: In 2016, fans should be on the look out for more quality music. Also as my fan base increase the pace at which I release music will increase as well.