Author: boredandmusicalinpittsburgh

The most telling moment of my talk with local rapper Leek
Lone (the stage name of Malik Malone) occurred after the interview had
officially ended and we were about to go our separate ways. I can’t quote
exactly, since I had stopped recording by that point, but he said something
along the lines of, “Just make it about the music. People don’t need to know
stuff about me.” Ironically enough, that moment reveals a lot about Malone both
as a person and as an artist. The same message that runs throughout his new
album blckboyfromaroundtheway is also
clear in everyday conversation: for Malone, music is the means and the end, the
alpha and the omega, the journey and the destination. So, in a way, it’s almost
impossible to separate the music from the person. I’ll do my best here, though.
I’m not including any pictures—they aren’t necessary—and I’m not…

I have a huge soft spot for all things screamo/emo/hardcore/metal/etc; I used to listen to a ton of that stuff in high school (much to my mom’s chagrin–Happy Mother’s Day, by the way!) because the anguished shouts and impassioned, soaring choruses matched the absurd levels of conflicting emotions that came with being an angsty teen. Like, nobody understood me, man! I’ve remained attached to bands like A Day To Remember, Hawthorne Heights, Silverstein, We Came As Romans, and (especially) Saosin as I’ve gotten older, mostly because those bands make some of the most cathartic music out there. When you’ve had a long, crappy day, there’s something to be said for cranking up some jaggedly melodic tunes and listening to a dude scream away his frustrations like you only wish you could. “Prism,” off the newself-titled EP by the Los Angeles band Mirage, was the perfect song to listen to…