Meeting ‘Malone’ the alter ego of Gabzy [@itsgabzy]

We caught up with Gabzy to talk his latest EP Malone and more.

Gabzy is a name that should be on your list of ones to watch. Sonically he sits in his own space and drifts between R&B, Alte, and Afrobeats and despite having been around for a little while it wasn’t until 2020 that he cemented himself on the musical landscape. A big part of that was due to his 2019 Summers EP with melvitto picking up traction before following it up with his solo project Malone towards the back end of 2020. With all of this happening it was only right to catch up with the South London native.

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Zweli: How was 2020 for you?

Gabzy: 2020 for me was you know, ups and downs. I feel like it was the year that a lot more people heard about my music, my sound, but then you know obviously covid and all these restrictions it was kind of bittersweet.

Z: Yeah, so obviously like you said, a lot more people came onto your sound last year. Dropped your project with melvitto. You went over to America for that, what made you even go over to America in the first place?

G: To be honest I actually recorded it here. Me and melvitto met in like 2017 when I was working with a label out there called One Nation. We just kept the connect from there. He would send me beats. I would send him ideas, he’d make the beat around my ideas and yeah that’s pretty much how Summers came about.

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Z: Malone is obviously your most recent EP. Where did the name Malone come from?

G: I’m not gonna lie to you, it came from my brother. We was in the chicken and chip shop and  I was going to order something and he asked me to pass the ketchup. But when he said it he said “Gabzy Malone pass the ketchup” and I just felt like you know that name stuck for me.

Z: So then EP is kind of centred a lot around romantic relationships, and not even always the most healthy elements of them. What made you go with that theme?

G: To be honest, I feel like everybody has another side to them. Malone isn’t exactly, you know, isn’t Gabzy it’s a side to Gabzy. And I feel like a side to a lot of other guys and it relates to a lot of other guys. Yeah so, I felt like the things I’m talking about in the songs are just so relatable that you know it will just click.

Z: So if people take one thing away from Malone EP what’s the one thing you want them to take away from it?

G: If you want an ‘As Friends’ situation, just you know, make sure you know what you’re signing up for.

Z: Obviously the project still bit fresh but have you got anything else planned for the future already?

G: Definitely I got more videos, more songs, more features. Hopefully, ‘cause you know they said June 21^st we outside – shows, so yeah, let’s go.

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Credits:
Words & interview – Zweli Chibumba
Photography – Shenell Kennedy
Styling – El-shaddai Nyagodzi
Brands Used – A Cold Wall, All Saints, ASOS, Casablanca, Clarks, River Island, VSMINE