Malcolm Mays on Raising Kanan, Advice From The Late John Singleton and Red Flags Project
You discovered the arts at a young age. While discovering storytelling, Which creatives inspired you growing up?
From a young age, I think it was everything. It was everything from 70s soul music to the old Ella Fitzgerald my family used to play; my grandma used to listen to everything. Whatever I was consuming at the time. I used to watch a lot of James Bond movies, Indiana Jones, a lot of black cinema, like extremely black shit. I had a mixed upbringing in cinema. And then, at my local library, they had all of these classic 40s and 50s Hollywood movies, and they would rent them for free with a library card. That gave me the classics like Maltese Falcon, Gone With the Wind, and Billy Wilder films; all those films are like a part of my youth. My mother and father were big into the arts. They weren't art people but consumed a lot of good things.
John Singleton was a mentor of yours. Is there any advice or words that he's given you that guide how you navigate life?
Stay a real nigga. No matter what, how much money you make, or how much success you get, always be a real nigga. By that, I think he meant to stay true to your culture and stay true to your family. Stay true to yourself. So, stay a real nigga.
In the Hollywood Reporter, you talked about being, "almost for the longest" in terms of opportunities. What are the biggest lessons you've learned from rejection?
I've gained character from rejection. I've learned the strength of who I am. You know, it's hard learning yourself through success. You can, but I think it's more defining when you learn from what you're denied. You learn to strike the character, who you are, and what you're made of. I've had the privilege of finding out that I'm made some pretty strong shit. Or that I was built strong. It's my family and God, a little bit of whatever I was born with. I have a pretty good strong foundation. That's what I say.
How did you decide to pivot from pursuing directing to pursuing acting?
I never pivoted. I always did whatever opportunity that came to me. So I haven't pivoted one is just a more expensive thing.
Before joining Raising Kanan, you said you'd never watch Power, and once you got the call for the part of Lou Lou, you had to be convinced to say yes to joining the cast. While filming the first season, when did you realize that saying yes was the right thing to do?
On day one, when I met the cast and Sasha Penn. I knew it was on.
What was the inspiration for the Red Flags EP?
Just things in my life. Relationships, family, friends, and recognizing that a lot of green flags in my life were red flags. There's so much drama, just recognizing those and realizing my instinct and inclination was more of some jealousy shit. It just naturally came out, and I kept riding with this. I thought it was a good contrast, some nigga singing about real nigga shit.
You've done some writing for other artists, as well. What is your process when you're writing music with other artists?
My writing process is very organic, especially with other people. It's just been me in the studio, talking, knowing these people personally, and helping them express what they already have going. I've worked with people who don't necessarily write with other people, so that's a different exercise. It's more so I'm listening to them, and then I find something they say, they're like, ooh, nigga, that's what we don't you know, it's more highlighting a key term or situation from them. That's how I deal with other people. When I write for me, it's more so I go in like a journal and free write now because it's something conceptual, it's a little bit different.
Photographer: Marq Newman @marqnewman
Styling & Editor: Nigel Isaiah @nigel_isaiah
Additional Styling: Sean Mayers @thegentlemanslounge
Grooming: Crystal R. Smith @locdinstyle
Art & Production Director: Ammar Thomas @iam.ammarjamal
Location: The 9 Studios