How Black Boys Grow Into Men (Written By Malika #1)
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Welcome to Industry Me Presents: Written By Malika, my new monthly music column. I am Malika, your Favourite Industry Insider, ex-Artist, full-time Songwriter, and now, Music Journalist.
I think there are some real discussions that need to be had about the current state of music. So, I have volunteered myself as tribute to do so. While I understand the struggles of this industry, more importantly, I understand the business. So, I will be here with you on the first Thursday of every month, to break down the latest releases and what’s been happening in the world of music.
Introduction
Some of you may know me by my original pseudonym Meleka. I’m the singer who co-wrote & sang (and owns the master) for that classic Funky House song ‘Go (now It’s Over Boy)’ remixed by Crazy Cousinz. Others may know me as MALIKA, the girl who co-wrote and sings on the songs ‘ Cheatin’‘ and ‘Flowers‘ with Nathan Dawe & Jaykae. Maybe it’s ‘Falling’ with Snakehips, or my songs with Basement Jaxx, SG Lewis, and Riton the list really does go on. Either way, I’ve been songwriting and working in music, full-time since University.
Some people reading this might think, “Who is she to think she is qualified to review other people’s music and talk about the industry?”.
I guess my simple answer would be, that we all have an opinion.
The more complex truth is, that whilst I don’t know everything about music, (and at ALL TIMES I reserve the right to be wrong), I reserve the right to my opinion, and in the words of Wendy Williams, I am a woman and reserve the right to change my mind. The fact is, I’ve been deeply rooted in music my entire life.
I grew up in a musical family. My dad was a music manager & started one of the first pirate radio stations in North West London (Time Radio). IYKYK. While most kids were playing in the park on weekends, I was in the studio either surrounded by many Black British music legends or simply getting to write and record my own music.
Not to downplay my own accolades, I have a degree in Music & Media Management, 2 Platinum songs, 1 Gold, 15 years working in the music industry (mainly as an independent artist), and over 300 million streams on Spotify alone.
I have put in my 10,000 hours. For whatever reason, I’ve been a student of the music industry since winning my first talent contest at the age of 5 years old. It all began with singing ‘Weak’ by SWV in Willesden Green Library. Again IYKYK.
So whilst this column isn’t about me, I’ve been an artist and spent time behind the ‘The Velvet Rope’ (one of my favourite albums by Janet Jackson btw). I know and understand the struggles creatives are facing in these times fighting to get their music out there. So together, here, we’ll discuss music trends and the latest releases. And whilst this won’t be a gossip column with all the salacious details of the industry, my hope is this will be a safe space for honest, trustworthy, truthful, constructive thoughts about the music.
So with all that said welcome to issue one of ‘Written By Malika’. I think it’s time we start.
Music Review: Here is where I’ll deep dive into the latest singles/albums/videos grabbing my attention
Bashy – ‘How Black Men Lose Their Smile‘ (HBMLTS) (Video)
Released – 02/09/24 (Ashley Thomas, Toddla T)
Now let me be honest, I had a whole other title for my first column. It was going to be called ‘Hi Everybody’. I was going to make a joke because the Simpsons have this character called Dr. Nick. He occasionally appears out of nowhere and says, “Hi everybody,” and then an overdub plays of kids playfully saying, “Hi Dr. Nick,” and chaos ensues. That was going to be my big opener for the start of my new Journalistic endeavour. I had a clear idea of who and what I wanted to speak about for my debut. This was a list of releases and a rundown of some interesting bits that had taken place over the past few weeks in music that I wanted to highlight. I had discussed everything with my editor, and I had already started writing.
Then Bashy released the visuals for ‘How Black Men Lose Their Smile‘ on Tuesday.
I had initially wanted to review his album when it came out in July, but my column hadn’t launched yet. But now because of the video, I get to use it as my excuse to discuss my thoughts on the song and the project.
So first things first, let me get my bias out of the way so there is no confusion. Bashy is from North West London (NW). I too am originally from NW, so I have an NW bias.
I was in university when Bashy released a song called ‘Black Boys’ in 2007. Looking back, I remember what that song did at the time, and contributed to Black British Rap culture.
I remember hearing conversations at the time, that were being had about banning the song from mainstream radio play. This was under the guise of its title and the song’s concept being racially insensitive and divisive. This was before the days of the BLM movement.
His 2009 album ‘Catch Me If You Can’ was the soundtrack to my journey to and from university at the time, and more importantly when dropping my little brother to school most mornings. After ‘Black Boys’, ‘Ransom’ with Wretch 32 & Scorcher was my favorite.
So there is no confusion. I am a Bashy fan.
So when one Friday in April I saw Bashy had released a new single, ‘Sweet Boys Turn Sour’. As a fan, I was so nervous, I deliberately made the choice not to listen. The musical landscape had changed so much since he had last released music, and truthfully I didn’t know what to expect. Being a fan, I didn’t want to be disappointed.
Let me explain. Having existed in the zeitgeist of this industry for so long, I understand the nuances of the music business in a way that at times, can make me jaded. So I have had to learn how to separate the art, from the business. This includes my personal fandom when it comes to the music.
He then released the GRM Daily freestyle ‘Sticky’ sampling and paying homage to the Garage Pioneer of the same name.
Then came the album ‘Being Poor Is Expensive’ on 11th July. Truly, and honestly, it is a remarkable body of work.
I’m told that Bashy was meticulous in how he approached this project. But even if I hadn’t been told, I can hear it. Throughout the album’s campaign, he’s managed to pay homage to all parts of himself at all times, which is beautiful to observe. In both lyricism and sonically, he honors both his Caribbean heritage and his lived experience as a child of Britain from North West London. To his credit, these themes have always been sprinkled throughout his music. They just seem even more at the forefront of this new era. I guess probably because now he’s sharing from the lens of a black man, rather than a ‘black boy’. Pun intended, but I’ll get back to that.
It is shown from the song titles to his choice of samples across the project. These include things like his use of the London underground voice throughout the record, the inclusion of the Jamaican dialect Patois, and the Lovers rock references. A genre created by the children of the Windrush generation*.
Even down to the use of a slightly distorted effect on some of his vocals across the album, which pays homage to his roots as an MC, and the days of pirate radio. The details in the details are not lost on someone like me who has always thrived on music culture. I’m always reading the credits, sitting at home watching the making of *insert artist or album* deep dives on YouTube for fun.
‘How Black Men Lose Their Smile’, is one of the most powerful songs on the album. It opens with what sounds like a soundbite from a vintage stereo playing an old-skool reggae tune and background noise from a dance**.
The music crescendos into a classic dancehall siren sound effect just before the beat drops. This sound is typically associated with Caribbean sound system culture. For those who don’t know, Sound Systems are deeply rooted in Caribbean culture, from back in the 50’s.
The visuals open with a super close-up of Bashy’s ear and then it begins. It’s a performance video; the entire frame pulls back very, very slowly as the song progresses. His performance becomes more and more animated until it reaches its peak. The song ends with a reprise of him singing, “Every day is like a battle, but we’ll overcome / When we get back in the saddle, faith will bring us home / Every day is like a battle, but we’ll overcome / When we get back in the saddle, faith will bring us home.”.
Hearing the lyrics is one thing, but reading them is another. As I sit here writing with tears in my eyes, the details, and descriptive nature of THIS song sheds perspective on some of the experiences I have seen in the eyes of the black men I know; the black men I love; the black men I have loved.
The honesty and the vulnerability of this song speak to the innate version of me and the responsibility we feel as black women to protect black men. The future mother of black sons, the sister, the daughter, the friend.
Whilst today I’m not here to argue about the complexities of race and the black experience. The more I write this column, the more you will see me speak about the importance of authenticity in music. This includes the cross-section between culture, Black culture, British culture, and Black British culture. There is a difference, and despite his time away from music, if there is one thing Bashy has always been astute at, it is painting a vivid real-life portrait of what it is to be all of those things combined. Specifically, the experience of Black British males, living in inner-city London.
Despite his time away from music and 10 years since his last release, ‘HBMLTS‘ somehow feels like part 2 of ‘Black Boys’. Like the story of what happened to the characters after, the song ended. An unintentional where they are now if you will.
On ‘Black Boys’ in 2007 Bashy chants, “Black boys, black boys / Yeah we’re all black boys / And one day we’re gonna be black men / And one day, we might have black boys / And we gotta teach them to be black men.”.
Now in ‘HBMLTS’ in 2024, Bashy says “Saw young pictures of my Dad, so handsome, happy and proud / Growing up I just saw him frown / At the time I couldn’t comprehend, life through the eyes of a juvenile / I had to live I understand it now / Black man living in a next man’s world / That’s how Black men lose their smile.”.
It’s eerie listening to them side by side, 17 years apart. One is from the perspective of a young, hopeful optimistic 20-something-year-old black boy. The other comes from the lens of a now 30-something-year-old black man.
‘Being Poor Is Expensive’, is one of, if not the best album to have been released this year from any UK artist. It was better than the fan in me could have hoped for.
It has been beautiful to see the support Bashy has been receiving, especially for this song in particular. But, if there is one thing the men in Rap and Grime know how to do, it’s get behind one of their own. The way the culture comes out to support each other’s projects when it is time for a release, especially in recent years, is akin to when the Barbs, the Swifties, or the Beehive come out to support whoever they are rooting for. Ashley Thomas, aka Bashy, is someone many of us have been rooting for, because of what he means to Black British Rap culture.
Whilst we have many great MCs: Dave, Stormzy, Ghetts, Kano, Wiley, Wretch 32, Dizzie Rascal, Akala, Swiss, Chip, Giggs, Skepta; we know the names, the list is long. I’m just not sure if we, and by WE I mean North West London, have had OUR elder statements of the culture, how other parts of London have had during the rise of UK Rap and Grime. Rest assured, in no way do I say this to be divisive.
Yes, there are many rappers from NW. Nines, who Bashy name checks on ‘Blessed’; Scrapz, who features on ‘Blessed’. Even someone like K Koke, who did big things very early on in his career. But Bashy has been here from the beginning.
So while we are all gathered here discussing culture, I put to you how about we think of Bashy as, I dunno, the Mayor? The same way we have the Godfather, the Landlord; etc.
And if not the Mayor of the culture, then at least the Mayor of North West London? Whilst I don’t know if any of us expected music from Bashy, this album solidifies that his version of events is necessary. If only so that when the other elder statesmen of Black British Rap and Grime gather from their respective boroughs to discuss matters affecting the culture, North West can be sure we have our representative there also.
Check him out here: Instagram, X, and TikTok.
* The sonic baby of Black British Caribbean music of the 60’s & 70’s.
** A dance is a colloquialism used in Caribbean households to describe a rave.
On Repeat: Here is where I’ll highlight a song that I personally have had on repeat
Ray BLK – ‘Courage‘ ( Rita Ekwere, Ray Michael Jr) – Released: 24/07/24
This song, gave me chills when I first heard it. Potentially, this is because unfortunately, there are parts of the lyrical content I can relate to. But, more than anything, it just felt really real. This is the side of Ray BLK we all fell in love with when she first came out. We saw it in her tracks ‘5050‘ in 2016, and ‘My Hood‘ way back. We have met a couple of times, and I wouldn’t say I know her at all, but musically, what she is doing in this era feels the most authentic she has been in a while. For me, it is exciting to see and hear.
Either way, congratulations! I’m excited about the project and her return.
Check Ray BLK out here: Instagram, X, and TikTok.
Songwriter/Producer Highlight: Here is where I’ll be highlighting Producers and/or Songwriters
DaVinChe
DaVinChe is someone, that in my opinion, doesn’t get enough love for the contributions he has made to Black British music over the past two decades. Most people know him for producing ‘P’s and Q’s‘ for Kano, iconic within itself. But, his talent and discography go far wider and deeper than that one monster hit.
He is actually one of the pioneering producers of Grime for sure. He has not only worked with most of, if not all of your faves in rap at one point or another, his talent transcends genres. Not only discovering Cleo Sol on MySpace (the original Instagram), but also being one half of the Funky House duo Perempay & Dee, as well as having his own artist project C.H.A.D. In an era of giving people their flowers, the culture doesn’t seem to speak enough about DaVinChe’s musical genius. I’m not entirely sure why, so I wanted to take the opportunity to start the conversation.
Check DaVinChe out here: Instagram.
Artist of the Month: Here is where I’ll highlight an artist of interest
BBYx
I had the pleasure of meeting BBYx in 2022 when I was writing with her & her old group Melladaze. They were put together by Little Mix on their BBC show ‘The Search’. She went solo last year and released her debut single ‘LIKE THAT’ which went viral on TikTok. Further to this, she has been building a fanbase in the hyperpop genre. That sound has been gaining momentum commercially in 2024 and looks set to dominate in 2025.
Check BBYx out here: Instagram and TikTok.
Check me out here:
@MalikaOfficially // @ThisSoundsWrite
Send your thoughts, submissions, reviews, suggestions, and comments to: Malika@thissoundssoundswrite.com
See you next month!
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