Photographer DRAKE HACKNEY @drakehackney
Creative Director/Cinematographer JOSHUA M. CHÉRIE CHERY @m.cherie._
Stylist JESSE J GUILLEN @sixkla @jessejcollections
Grooming TATIYANA ELIAS @tatiyanaelias
Producer ANNA VOLKOVA @volkacreativespace
Production Assistant CASSIDY COCKE @cassidy.ac
1st A.D. KATE JINAKUNWIPHAT @katejinaa
2nd A.D. ANTHONY “ACE” THOMPSON @girlsloveace
Words by Kiani Belgrave
Born and bred in Los Angeles, Malachiii is all about that pure hustle. This multi-talented artist shook up the scene in 2024, infusing house and dance genres with his dynamic approach to artistry and flipping pop music on its head. Raised in a household brimming with inspiration, his father an actor, and his mother a seasoned Broadway dancer, Malachiii quickly learned to shape his skills as a performer. With dance as his first love, he spent his childhood moonwalking and mimicking the iconic moves of the late great Michael Jackson, setting the stage to eventually land a role as a professional back- ground dancer on global tours. Now, after years of evolution, Malachiii has developed a distinctive sound with a whole new style of his own.
This year, his infectious single “Move,” with Adam Port and Stryve, has put Malachiii on the map as an artist with a knack for anthemic dance bangers that resonate with the club scene, earning co-signs from the likes of Travis Scott, David Guetta, and a remix by pop superstar Camila Cabello. With his follow-up single “Back 2 Me” on the way, Malachiii is only just getting started.
Shoes FRESHY @freshyworld
Jewelry THE TREND HAUS @thetrendhaus
You come from a very creative family, with both of your parents in the entertainment industry. Can you share how their professional lives may have inspired you as a creative?
Yes. My mom was a dancer on Broadway. My dad’s an actor. So, I was really born into it. I wasn’t pressured into it, but it was kind of inevitable. It was always all around me, everything from music to dance to acting. I got my start in dance around the age of seven. My first love was dance. All I wanted to do was dance like Michael Jackson and I’ve been entertaining since I was a kid. In musical theater, you have to know how to sing, dance, and act. Eventually, over time, music became my strongest passion of the three.
How have your parents supported you on your creative journey?
The support I’ve had from them is the craziest. They have been the most amazing support system and they fully understand what it means to be a creative. That helped me to be free to explore all the different aspects of music and other creative things I wanted to do. I started playing the piano when I was really young, and then I wanted to play drums. I did drums, and then I wanted to do guitar, and I was supported through it all. I had the best coaches and the best people to help me. I just picked the perfect parents to help me be what I was born to do.
What was your first professional gig in the entertainment industry?
When I was 14, I went on tour as a dancer with this guy named AR Rahman, a huge composer from India. It was my first professional gig and I was performing in front of thousands of people in stadiums. My first professional job was at 14. I was around all these musicians who were playing in the live show. That shaped my creativity, and the way I saw it seriously set the bar for me creatively in terms of performance. So, right around that time, I started to take music seriously and I told myself that the next time I come back to the stage, it’s going to be me. That was exactly 14 years from my first performance in New York. That’s kind of my origin story.
Pants THE TREND HAUS @thetrendhaus
Gloves DOLCE & GABBANA @dolcegabbana
You appear on Adam Port’s latest single “Move,” one of the year’s biggest singles. Can you give us some insight on the creative process of making this song?
I wrote that song as an idea about a year ago and I wasn’t sure where it was going to end up. When the opportunity came up to work on it with Stryv and Adam, they really gave the song a whole new life with their style of music. I originally recorded the song on more of a dancehall typeof beat. It wasn’t like the big afro-house track that it is today. That’s a song that I had in the vault for a year. It’s kind of like a crazy testament to songs that you have, that you think are special, but always need the right timing, you know?
One of my favorite tracks of yours is “Hold On.” The anthemic hook and triumphant lyrics, matched with the grandiose production, make for one hell of a song. What can you tell me about this record?
I actually produced that record also, so thank you. Yeah, it’s definitely one of our favorite tracks. I don’t know, I just caught a vibe one day in the studio. I don’t know what hit me, but it just flowed. Obviously, it started with the beat, and I just knew I wanted to spit on that. But, yeah, it’s a really epic song.
Shoes FRESHY @freshyworld
Jewelry THE TREND HAUS @thetrendhaus
How does it feel to have a hit record out?
We struck gold. It’s not often that something you make becomes a big record. Sometimes it takes a while to get to that thing that you really feel confident about. But we went into it without any expectations. We didn’t go into creating this new music with the expectation of creating something with the purpose to create a hit.
You also contributed to Marvel’s short film The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story. What was it like contributing to such an iconic franchise? How did this come about?
It was always a dream of mine to have my song in a video game. Spider-Man is my favorite superhero, so it was definitely a super fire dream come true moment. I’m happy that my music has translated into that world because I feel like a lot of the music I make is very epic, cinematic, and stadium-esque. I feel like a lot of the music I make is a perfect fit for film and TV. I’m super honored.
Shoes MARS MELLOW @marsmellow_universe
Who are some of your biggest creative influences?
There are obvious ones like Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, and then the newer ones would probably be Kanye, Labyrinth, Ryan Leslie, Pharrell, and Timberland. That’s too many, but those are my favorites.
What’s next for Malachiii?
We have a lot of new music coming. I’m going to be teasing a bunch of new records. I’m just excited to get new music to the people. My next single “Back 2 Me,” is coming soon, as well as other exciting things towards the end of the year.
