A matter of trust for Malekuu
MISTRUST of law enforcement in the United States is at an all-time high following a number of controversial incidents involving persons of colour in that country. Stevie Malekuu is among the millions disturbed by this trend.
An American of Costa Rican heritage, he expresses his concerns on Don’t Trust Dem, a recently released song.
“I was inspired to write Don’t Trust Dem because I feel like the level of distrust out there is getting greater and greater and showing up more in areas like racism and law enforcement. Don’t Trust Dem was written to make people more aware of the situation and think about their own experiences,” said Malekuu.
Don’t Trust Dem is the first song he recorded for My MM Productions, a South Florida-based company owned by Jamaican Orville Marshall. That label also produced Malekuu’s follow-up single, What Will Be.
Malekuu is a descendant of the Maleku, indigenous people from Costa Rica. He lived in his ancestral home for several years but while the culture there fascinates him, the singer also developed a love for Jamaican music and artistes such as Garnet Silk and Cocoa Tea.
“My journey in the music industry started at the age of 12 when my father sent me to learn to play guitar. I started singing at age 15 when Richard Mair, a godfather to me, introduced me to my first vocal coach. Shortly after, I progressed into songwriting,” he revealed.
My MM Productions has released several songs since Marshall launched it one year ago. War A Gwaan by Luciano and Wayne Armond’s cover of Chris Stapleton’s Tennessee Whiskey are some of the company’s projects.