Sharp debut from Spiky
While chatting up her Assmazing clothing line at a South Florida recording studio last year, Christine “Spiky” Malvasio had a lightbulb moment. She thought it would be good to have a song representing the product’s sexiness.
Jamaican producer JonFX, who was at the studio, agreed and came up with a track Spiky believed would do her designs justice. They suggested the diminutive singer add vocals to it, which she did with Jamaican singjay Honorebel, a mainstay of the South Florida dancehall/hip hop scene.
Their song, Assmazing, was released in July by her Diamond Distro company. It is produced by JonFX, best known for his work with platinum-selling rapper XXXtentacion.
“When I first heard it, I said, ‘Wow’! I can really feel this song. It turned out way better than expected,” Spiky told the Jamaica Observer.
Her recording debut came after years multi-tasking as a songwriter, marketer and publicist for pop, hip hop and reggae artistes. Her biggest success to date is co-writer of August Alsina’s I Luv This Sh.t, a double-platinum song released in 2013.
That single was produced by Knucklehead, one of Spiky’s clients. In the past three months, she has played dual roles of artiste and pitchman, working Assmazing in parts of Europe.
“I did six weeks in Barcelona, France, Rome, Naples, Sardinia. We went in different clubs and met a lot of the DJs who played my song. We’re slowly extending to different markets,” she said.
Born Christine Massa in Rochester, New York in a family of Italian heritage, Spiky grew up listening to the songs of dance mavericks like Michael Jackson and Madonna. The former dancer/gymnast eventually moved into the music business, working with Knucklehead, August Alsina, and rapper Trinidad James.
Her collaboration with Honorebel and Third World Don kicks off a series of similar monthly projects heading into December. Spiky’s next song is a jam “with a female hip hop act”, scheduled for release on September 15.
While learning the ropes of being an artiste, Spiky wears her marketing hat for Assmazing’s fashion line which will be launched in October. She also keeps her eyes on the numbers for the song(s) as a gauge.
“That’s important, because if we don’t see results we’ll take another avenue,” she said.
