A Vocal Accord: Mala Reignz: Redefining the "Bad Girl"

Fearless, independent and redefining what it is to be a “bad girl” that is, rapper Mala Reignz. A Latina, born and raised in the Bronx, Mala was exposed to all kinds of music growing up, “when you’re here, you definitely adapt to what’s popular here,” she says as she remembers the importance of hip-hop in the Bronx during her upbringing.

Mala admits that music was something that she stumbled into. While she was always good at writing and enjoyed it very much, it was not until college that she really began to take it seriously. As a single mother in college who was very much on her own, Mala’s time to do homework and write her poetry was late at night once her son was asleep, “I used to play music in the background and I didn’t realize that as I was writing my poetry, I was writing to the beat,” she shared.

Mala’s experience during college is what equipped her with the tools to make the right decisions and learn the tricks of the trade at a very young age. “Not a lot of people know this about me but I worked in the industry,” she says. After interning for Mun2 and working at Jack Move (a production company owned by Cipha Sound of Hot 97), Mala learned how to walk the walk and talk the talk. All skills that she has carried with her to this day, “I knew a lot of the lingo and how to deal with certain people…once you speak their language it helps a lot.”

However Mala is far from your average female rapper, she is also the founder and creator of Bad Girl Chainz, a line of necklaces she originally created to make herself stand out in a crowd. Mala’s decision to sell Bad Girl Chainz came from the fact that people wanted to know how they could get theirs. “She’s the paper doll that broke off the chain, she’s the one that’s different. And you know when you’re different than what everyone expects or wants you to be they point you out as a bad girl and that’s kind of what it is,” she explains; the chains are currently available on Groupon.

Currently, Mala is working with her partner J30 with whom she has cofounded their own record label with, called ScholarVMG. The label has signed their first deal with Chris Gotti of Addventure Records of Warner Brothers, “Now we have a way to get our music everywhere and help others,” she says with excitement. Mala has also released two music videos, “Hands Up” discussing the current issue of police brutality and a “Seen It All (Remix)”. Surely, the future is bright for Mala and she will continue to break barriers as she paves the way for other strong and independent women like herself.