“The Smoky Mirror”:

Malev da Shinobi on peace, privacy, and his unbridled imagination

Malev Da Shinobi, whose family comes from Puerto Rico, is an emcee and visual artist hailing from the 801. His latest album Mind Blade, released in July 2024, stays faithful to the moody boombap sound and meditative lyrics his fans love him for. In this interview, Plumas Colectiva asks questions about Malev’s lore, his creation process, as well as what he got cooking next. 

Willy Palomo (WP): I'm opening with my favorite question for anybody who calls themself an emcee: Who are your top 5, dead or alive?

I truly listen to rap / hip hop so little. Most of the emcee's that have been influential for me are not exactly contemporary artists, but generally legendary ones! These are in no particular order. There are also not 5. Rakim, Mos Def, Krazy Drazy & Skoob from Das Efx, Q-Tip and Phife Dawg. Zion I,  Aesop Rock, Big L, Kool G Rap.

WP: You’re Da Shinobi, so I gotta ask, what are your favorite samurai and kung fu flicks? How have they influenced your work?

This is an interesting question. And I appreciate it, because the subject is rather crucial to my artistic expression.
So much of me, my person, the way I view and interact with the world is through what I could describe as an
'eastern interpretation' of strength and masculinity. My build is not physically imposing compared to the standards
that I was brought up with against in the west, as shown in popular movies and media. I love American football,
but I was always the one getting knocked down. Being physically strong wasn't something that I valued, and I
supported that by focusing on different elements. Just think of the way that Jackie Chan presents his characters in
some of his classics - he emphasizes that he isn't the biggest or the strongest in all of his encounters, and uses
other ways to achieve victory that are often unique, creative and unorthodox. But the end result is the same,
success. 

Many martial arts movies, samurai texts, ninjutsu books have impacted me creatively throughout my time, but
arguably the one that is at the peak is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. I can't go into detail why here, it would
take too long. Also note, this does not answer nor explain the origin or why of 'Da Shinobi' in my name. 

WP: Utah can be a weird ass place. Gorgeous mountains overrun by a theocratic far-right state. Whatever feats our vibrant and quirky counterculture attains are often overshadowed by our reputation of Mormons and whiteness.  Can you talk to me about your relationship to Utah and why you've remained?  

I think my relationship with Utah would ultimately be rather private, in a sense. When it comes to the expression of my music, and games, any thing I do really, it is not tied to Utah in any particularly strong way. When growing up, my best friend was Mormon, and his family had strong ties to the church. But I was so young and naïve that it didn't really mean anything to me. I think now about how all their decorations were different, and that they had images of Jesus on the wall, and my home had none of that at all! I am white passing, so I've led a comfortable existence going through school compared to others experiences I've heard. Combine that sort of luxury with an unbridled imagination. You had a little boy that just wanted to play and engage with his imagination, it allowed me the space to explore things that were not really tied to my immediate surroundings and explore other elements. I realized that early in my 'career' that I was much more interested in ways to engage people on the internet way more than I was interested in being seen on stage by locals. I grew up on the net, with long distance relationships, inside IRC chat rooms and playing MMO’s during their heyday. I feel way more comfortable there than I ever did locally or in person.

WP: In a scene full of big egos and rappers thumping their chest for attention, you stealth through a room with your hood low. I especially listen to your music as a way of clearing my head and centering my spirit in its purpose while practicing qi gong. Musically, the lo-fi, the jazz, the boombap, your rough but fluid voice are all really grounding. It puts me in my zone like incense, like meditation. Can you talk about your mission as an artist and the role you hope your music plays in the world?

Thank you for that my man. A simple answer is actually that which you just said. I hope to give to you. I've always thought about it and framed it as a 'reverse scrooge'. That is when Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the Ghost of Christmas present, and shown how his actions have negatively impacted others. I desire precisely the opposite. I know that in some forms my reach and impact is limited, but I hope that it can be powerful nonetheless for those that experience it. I know that I would be so endlessly inspired and moved to see people in their most intimate moments with my music. To see how my art lives among the details of their day. I wish that I could visit those spaces as a spirit to remind, engage
and experience why I do the things I do. I want to give and be given back to, in an endless cycle
of inspiration and creativity. 

I know that I can never experience it in that way. So I create with it in mind instead. Knowing that
I can be a part of peoples day in a positive way. Be a part of core memories for a father and son
with my games. I chase that. 

If I was to define my role, as at the time of writing it is a nebulous one, I would say I aim to be
like 'The Smoky Mirror', a character mentioned in the 4 Agreements books. I aim to reflect values
and clear the foggy smoke between us as reflections. A smoke which incorrectly convinces us
that we are so different in a way that we cannot peacefully coexist. I don't want to embody what
it means to be a man, or an American, but rather simply a human being.

WP: You move remarkably differently than most other emcees and creators I know. I feel like most people think that in order to find an audience and be successful, you need to be like Zac Ivie or like me, performing every second you get the chance. Especially for the more introspective, introverted creators among us, this can seem daunting, exhausting, or even impossible. I also want to acknowledge the financial aspect of success. Fans of small artists generally don't know the amount of capital needed to go into creating videos, buying beats, mixing and mastering, promotion, etc. Most artists need to invest a modest fortune to make a project launch successful. How have you found and grown your audience, especially going an untraditional route without a trust fund or label to back you?

The answer is simple and unglamorous really. The more interesting side involves my diversity in the ways that I reach people. There was a time when I sequestered my audiences into different parts of my mind, but I no longer do that. I've combined them all into the same space as simply people that are interested in what I do, in my creations. Instead of thinking of people as liking either my music, or my games, or my miniature painting, and other contents. It's all just one thing now. That one thing is just me now. The unglamorous side I mentioned is that I've been able to do it the way that I have because of a few crucial things, my support network, and life goals. I live at home with my elderly parents as an integral aspect of home life, and many of my most important friends still live here in the state and provide me with important community interaction and support. I don't have any children, and I am not married. I no longer work a 'traditional' job, but when I did that was how I supported a lot of what I was doing. The money I make would just go into my projects. It does take a modest fortune, but I live a very modest life. Now I have positioned myself to be a working artist and my income is diverse, but still everything that I earn goes right back into it. If I had a child to take care of, my own home or other important life responsibilities I don't know how I would adapt to the situation! But a lot of what I do is because I have the freedom and luxury to focus on it. And I am grateful for that. 

WP: Your rhymes flow seamlessly between the slick pugilism we expect from emcees and soulful bluesy singing. I swear sometimes it feels like you're about to go full Lyfe Jennings. Can you talk about how you found and developed your singing voice and where it's led you? 

I am really not all that archetypical as a 'rapper' or 'emcee' in any regard. Even when I'm at my peak performance in those sorts of roles. My actual interests in music are more centric around the fundamentals of classic human expression. Community, and love. I like to imagine that what I do is not different from what was done many thousands of years ago. Singing and celebrating. The art of rap, rhyming and lyric writing and all of the cultural touchstones that go along with the hip hop / rap life and culture are things that I have a deep respect and appreciation for. Even the terrible things, like what environment and social and racial factors that impacted and became centric to hip hop in the first place. But I recognize that I love them as an outside observer, and admire them from that position. I truly appreciate it. But it is not my life. That's why the topics of my songs and the things that I write about, and end up singing started out much more traditional, but today, I do not think about writing 'rap' or bars, or any thing of that sort. I listen to the song while searching and asking what it needs. What I feel it deserves. In this way I think of the sorts of things that I want to put out are actually more 'universal' in nature. Not so contextually specific that it only makes sense to people in those contexts. I would like for someone in Indonesia and Japan to have the same feelings and interpretations of my music that someone in Mexico and Brazil would. So in that way I have shifted to a lot of singing and less complicated rhyme schemes in an effort of having it be something that anyone could learn and absorb easily.

WP: I was surprised to hear you rap about police brutality on “Peace,” mostly because most rap songs on the subject are necessarily angry and energetic and you consistently push us towards finding inner strength and peace. I was impressed by your ability to move through the grief of the subject in a way that honored the anger without being consumed by it. Can you talk about the inspiration for “Peace” and how and when you choose to use your voice to speak on more political topics? 

The most painful thing about that song for me is that I cannot remember why, or what it was. I know it was something terrible, but it was also several years ago at the time of writing this. (the album sat finished, but unreleased for a while) But now it's meaning is all the same, and for the same reasons. There are wars being fought, and genocides being committed as I comfortably type these words into a word processor. 

Speaking very specifically about certain events, naming names and times is something that I avoid naturally without trying much, but I find it is helpful in a few ways. One of them being that it doesn't really date the song by having an integral core theme that can lose meaning without having been there. The second being that a lot of events that occur in our country are rooted in social and racial environments that I don't have the proper understanding to be able to communicate effectively. 

What I can speak on how I feel about things though. And that when you zoom out, it is clear to see that evil is international, and without prejudice. I struggle to think of what I can personally do in the face of what feels like insurmountable odds. Peace is kind of like my 'Man in the Mirror' sort of song that speaks plainly on what is, and plainly on what I think is at the very least, the beginning of the solutions. It starts with you, to be a good person. To be love and kind, introspective and caring. Sensible and responsive, honest and responsible. All to the best of your ability. 

We may be unable to change, or impact the entirety of world all the time. But we can find out place, our environment, our community and people and work through that to impact and change that which is important to us. Those goals should be reflective in love and inclusivity. Any notions that are undertaken as a means to defend yourself from something should be scrutinized and explored deeply. Our thoughts do form our reality in some ways, the things we focus on become important. We have to ground ourselves in the reality of our present moment at the same time as transform to become more open and responsive to the myriad of complex issues that affect all of us in our countries and on the planet. 

WP: What's next for Malev in terms of music and art?

We are entering a new phase for me really. So many skills and frameworks have been unlocked for me. I can lay out my own books now, and have a platform to reach people interested in my projects. I intend to focus on game design and community building through content creation, mostly centered around general artistic self expression but presented through the tabletop hobby as a whole. And I never stop writing. I don't know when I will compile and release a new album, but there are more than a dozen singles with different producers that I have unreleased and many more in the works. 

I don't intend to stop anytime soon!