Hip-Hop Lives Here
Hip-Hop Lives Here
When Jimmy Mallia released his first song at the turn of the year, it wasn’t to start a career. He wanted to put out some of the music he had been writing for 15 years for somebody to hear.
“I had no thought I would actually sing them. I thought I would sell my songs to someone. I just wanted people to hear them. First and foremost, I’m a singer-songwriter, so, my first time was just to get the music out there, just to say that I did it.”
Four songs later, he will release his sixth song, “Uncle”. Like most of his songs, it is a folk/country ballad written from a story from his life. It will feature his guitar and more instruments than his usual.
Most of all, it will feature his distinctive voice, a rich deep bass with a fine-toothed saw at the bottom edge. The voice and his music together make you want to sing along.
“This particular song is about an uncle I had growing up,” he said, beginning a story that one day, when she finally heard it, horrified his mother.
Uncle, which is all Jimmy ever called him, is one of those people out of a storybook, he said. Rich, retired at 30, a lifelong bachelor, living with Jimmy’s aunt and grandmother in the family home, built before 1900, in Galveston, Texas.
“We happened to live around the corner and every other Saturday or so, I would go stay with stay with them, and my uncle and I got kind of a tradition of getting up Saturday morning and getting in the car. He would take me around town all morning, and it’s the story of those Saturday mornings.”
Uncle took Jimmy, age 6 or so, on a tour of his banks to visit his money and show off Jimmy, sometimes to the Walgreens lunch counter, and always — the part that his mother found so horrifying — bars. Plural.
Driving home, Jimmy often had to tell Uncle whether the light was red or green. From the chorus:
He was loud, he was mean and fun
He loved me, this much I know
Saturdays were our day alone
Just Uncle, me, best day I’ve known
“I think people probably hear it and get mortified. But for me, what a great childhood memory. I was king for a day.” The song’s perspective is that of the 6-year-old king for a day, not the alcoholic uncle.
Alcoholism and Jimmy’s recovery after more than 40 years of drinking are the perspective of his first song, “Hey Hey.”
“A lot of my songs are, with my own personal experience, intended to be something that people can kind of relate to. I’ve covered mental illness, alcoholism, death of a mother. But this is a joyful memory of childhood. Everybody’s got a story, and, hopefully, it will help some people look back and remember childhood was fun.”
Looking forward, he will release his seventh song the day after Thanksgiving, “All I Want for Christmas.” It will probably be, he says, his one and only Christmas song.
“It’s a fun song, about wanting all my daughters with me for Christmas. It’s very much a throwback. Hopefully everyone who hears it will think Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. There hasn’t been a really good Christmas song released in a very long time. I think that’s how it started. Man, I miss that whole sound of Christmas.”
He says if “Hey Hey” had not done well, he would probably have quit. But that song quickly hit a hundred thousand streams, and three of the next four, did too.
“Which, you know, for beginners — not half bad. Especially considering there are like 8 million artists on Spotify. Then I’m like, ‘Well, heck, let’s try this again.’ And I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the process.”
The next mountain to climb for a singer-songwriter who never really thought about singing his own songs is live performances. He put his songs out on Groover to get the feedback, and he has received hundreds of comments.
“And people started complimenting on the vocals, and the timbre and what a unique sound. And I’m like, ‘Really?! Wow! Okay, thanks.’ I just wanted my song heard. Never did I think that the vocals would have anything to do with it, so, it’s kind of changed my direction a little bit. Now I’m like, ‘Heck yeah, I’m gonna sing ’em.’”
Take the Saturday tour and connect to Jimmy Mallia on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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While most high school students are figuring out homework and what to do with their free time, one rising hip-hop and rap artist out of Mississippi is busy making music on his terms. At 17, RAA Trey (born Alvin Peyton III) is showing up for his future self in a big way with the recent release of the new single, “Song of Da Year,” earlier in November. The track provides a preview of what to expect on his upcoming album 1OF1, featuring 14 songs that will drop this December.
RAA Trey, whose name is an acronym for “Respect Above All,” learned early on growing up in a family of entrepreneurs about putting in the work to make your vision a reality. He was only in seventh grade when he started his label, Take Money Records and Entertainment, which he still runs today, and began building a home studio to pursue his dream. The same drive and confidence remain, carrying over to his new work.
“Song of Da Year gives off a championship feel to it,” says RAA Trey. “I’m just letting everybody know to respect me as soon as I come in this game because when I’m coming, this is going to be over the top. That’s why it’s called Song of Da Year. Respect this.” Aware that his home state may not have a music scene such as other parts of the south like Memphis or Atlanta, RAA Trey shares he follows his own sound and whatever he feels at the moment.
Mixed and mastered by Shane Thomson with lyrics by RAA Trey, who writes all of his music, “Song of Da Year” features powerful lyrics of assurance with one particular part paying tribute to his mother: my momma worry / I told my momma she ain't gotta worry / evea' since I was young, you been nervous / I promise I'm gon' make it with these verses.”
As for performing, RAA Trey is a natural performer, gracing several stages, including a show to thousands featuring rapper a well known rapper from Louisiana, among other events over the years. Fans can expect to see him even more in the months ahead, as he plans to tour, expand his fan base and launch merchandise.
With “Song of Da Year,” RAA Trey, is manifesting, making his mark—and he hasn’t even graduate yet. Those who want to learn more and listen to his latest music can follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
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