We’re so proud to have the blessing and opportunity of introducing you to our cover artist, Maleke O’Ney. I’m thrilled to have had the pleasure of getting to know her through our radio platform, Indie Soul Saturdays. Her music is just what the world has been looking for. The realness she provides in her vocals is unmatched, an it’s amazing to see what she is delivering to the world on an independent level. Based in Atlanta, she’s grinding just like the rest of the world, but I feel like she’s taken that grind to a whole different level than what we normally see.
In our feature, we talk about her new project, Confessions of a Pentecostal Girl, the work she’s putting in with her new band, and the many things she has coming up the pike.
U.G. Digital Mag: This is so amazing. Thank you so much for this time you’re providing. Let’s get right into it by talking about all that you’ve had going on?
Maleke O’Ney: Well since we last spoke, there’s been quite a few things going on. I released the single Pentecostal Girl, which is now available on iTunes. So now I’m pushing that campaign. I joined a band, and I’m the lead vocalist for that band. We’ve been working on some writing projects. Just really working hard on the campaign for Pentecostal Girl.
U.G. Digital Mag: I love Pentecostal Girl. What does that mean for you?
Maleke O’Ney: For me, it means that I am OK with who I am. I had a lot of things happen over the years that made me question who I am. What I learned in church, at home, and from my experiences along the way taught me that who I am is OK.
U.G. Digital Mag: I think it’s something that we push is being true to yourself, and Ok with who you are. You have to love yourself.
Maleke O’Ney: That’s what it’s all about. That’s my motto is to be loved. Good things will follow.
U.G. Digital Mag: It’s a great message all day long. I really wanted to ask you about your music in general. How do you craft it to be helpful to others, in love, and life as well? With all the things going on today
in life, racially and beyond. How do you seek to help the people dealing with that?
Maleke O’Ney: That’s an awesome question. Because I grew up in church, and I was so sheltered and things were so strict, I already had developed a way to get around these things. For someone like myself coming straight out of church, the language can be difficult to interpret. I think just being human, and creative, and knowing that what I learned from my grandmother: you catch more flies with honey. I have to craft my artistry this way. If you strip us all down, we are all the same at the core. We all want one thing, and that’s love. If you talk to everyone on a level that they can understand and not feel offended, or judged, then you’ve won. That’s what I do.