Malaika Khadijaa’s voice is smooth and gentle, tinged with a rich, mahoganyesque quality that feels like a warm, familiar embrace.

Born and raised in the suburbs outside of Toronto, Malaika is a first generation Canadian who is proudly grounded by her Ugandan, Kenyan and Antiguan roots, imbuing her heritage into her artistry through her melodic, rhythmic and linguistic choices. On her debut EP “18”, Malaika invites us to relive central moments from her 18th year through a collection of 5 songs that chronicle those memories. We journey with her as she grapples with the complexities of coming into adulthood, finding hope and finally achieving catharsis. 

Hypnotic vocal layering gliding over acoustic-driven, minimalistically produced tracks are Malaika’s signature, creating the perfect pocket for her poetic songwriting to shine through as heard on songs like “Tears”. And although rooted in indie-R&B, Malaika’s sound is versatile; from incorporating rock-influenced guitar patterns on “Let Go” to African melodies on “Nyota”, she takes us on a journey through various sonic landscapes on her debut EP.

In this conversation with Malaika, we discuss her origin story, influences and the process behind creating “18”.

When and how did you get into making music? 

Although I’ve been singing and playing instruments since I was 10, I started writing my own music in 2019. Since the age of 15, I’ve been performing, doing background vocals for other artists, and immersing myself within the music industry all with the hopes of building enough courage to write and release my own music. It was a big learning curve but ever since the release of my first single “Story” (March 2020), I’ve been inspired to continue writing and releasing new music. 

Who or what inspires your work? 

I’m most inspired by my everyday experiences, good or bad my music is a form of release. I am also very inspired by artists like Miriam Makeba for her versatility, Lauryn Hill for her creative songwriting and rich vocals, Daniel Caesar for his tone and independence.

You explore themes of loss, release and accepting change on ‘18’. What inspired the EP and what headspace were you in at the time of its creation? 

“18” is a compilation of diary entries from my 18th year. It was a long and confusing year for me, as I slowly entered adulthood in the midst of a global pandemic, a lot of changes happened in my life. It was ultimately a way to cope with hard times and express happiness. Each song was written at a different time, with the first two tracks “Need Me” and “Let Go” coming out of a place of sadness and anger, “Olive Tree” was the turning point and was written in hopefulness, and the last two songs “Nyota” and R4C (afterword) were about reassurance and expecting change. As I wrapped up this project it was fascinating to see and hear how I’ve grown and changed and how different I was when writing “Let go” in comparison to “Nyota”. There were many songs and stories that didn’t make the project of course but I felt these 5 were most impactful. 

What story/stories are you ultimately telling on ‘18’? 

First and foremost, I am telling my own personal stories in hopes that people can resonate and feel through them. Aside from that, I want people to know that it’s okay to grow older, to change, and to release and expect new things from this life. This project is one example of how I changed throughout my 18th year and I still have a long way to go, but I encourage everyone to appreciate every single experience and chose to accept and learn from them to carry themselves into the next phase of life 

What’s next for Malaika? 

I plan to keep creating and collaborating in hopes of releasing a second EP in the later months of 2022.