There’s always been something about music that felt like home to me. It was never just a sound — it was a space. A space where dreams didn’t feel too far, where pain had somewhere to land, where I could just be. Every time I felt like I had a dream to chase, music was what I ran toward. Always.

In 2021, I made the decision to actually chase it. Not because I was trying to be cool. Not to become “a rapper.” It was way deeper than that. I was going through one of the darkest mental battles of my life, all while trying to keep up with my responsibilities as a student. I burned myself out trying to stay on top of everything. Eventually, I dropped out.

It wasn’t a moment of giving up — it was the beginning of trying to figure out who I really was.

I had to sit down with myself and face things I had buried for years. And music became that mirror. That journal. That therapist. That voice. I started expressing everything I went through — slowly, painfully, truthfully. And what came out was real. I can’t explain it any other way. I just pour my soul into everything I make. If it doesn’t come from the soul, I don’t want it.

That’s why my name — MaalisDead — means everything to me.

People hear it and think it’s just a grim statement. But it’s not that. Not even close. It’s about transformation. It’s about shedding who I was in order to become who I’m meant to be. If you listen to my upcoming project, you’ll understand what I mean. I’m not hiding behind a name. I’m showing you everything — even the ugliest parts.

This project? It’s my life. And that’s what makes it the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I feel vulnerable, like I’m handing people my open journal and saying, “Here. Read it. Judge it. Feel it.”

But I also know that somebody out there needs to hear it. Somebody who’s been struggling silently. Somebody who doesn’t know how to talk about what they’ve been through. Somebody like I was.

I’ve got the heart of a dying poet. And this project is my heartbeat.

This isn’t just music. It’s healing. It’s pain. It’s growth. It’s me.

– MaalisDead