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.
Connect with Mala Reignz:
Official Website: http://www.badgirlreignz.com // http://www.scholarvmg.com/
Facebook MalaReignzMusic
Twitter @MalaReignz
Instagram @MalaReignz
YouTube MalaReignz
