Our boy Steven Malcolm is in the building, chopping it up with Neal from the BOOST Afternoon show. Steven went from growing up in a messy home, living that street life, to having his whole world turned upside down by one seemingly random church invite. We’re talking divine intervention!
God showed up big time in Steven’s life, and if you’re going through some tough times, feeling like there’s no way out, take this as a sign that your story ain’t over yet. God’s got plans for you too, my friend. So keep your head up, stay strong, and remember, you’re just getting started. Trust in Him.
View this video with Steven Malcolm, and other interviews with BOOST artists videos on the BOOST Radio YouTube Channel.
Steven Malcolm:
I come from a mother who grew up in the foster care system, had a troubled, troubled childhood due to sexual abuse, physical abuse. It was rough. Grew up on her own. Met my dad in her twenties. Pops was in his forties, immigrant from Jamaica, not a lot of education just here for work. They get together two months, she’s pregnant with me. Abortion was in the question. My mom decided to push through, have me. Here I am, boom, God is good.
But with that man, my pops got busted for drugs when I was nine years old. Last time I seen him. Grew up fatherless. My mother just hooked on vices, substances like crazy. I would come home from high school, she got the 40 ounce in her hand, she buzzed already. It’s 4:00 PM, Mom. It’s crazy. So Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant raised me. I turned-
Neal:
So you a hooper, huh?
Steven Malcolm:
I was a hooper back in the day. I turned to the basketball course to just keep me focused, kept my grades at a C+.
Neal:
Average.
Steven Malcolm:
And just did my thing, and had my street brothers, in the streets, who I ran with. And I was 18, 19 years old and graduated from high school. No pops around, no moms around, just negative influences. A lot of chaos going on in my life. True story, I was no license, dropping my sister and cousin off at the strip club for work, picking them up at 2:00 AM. That’s a true story. With no license because I needed to borrow the car to make my runs around while they at work. So just a crazy, hectic hood lifestyle. I’m just going to be honest with you. Then my freshman year of college came and like every young man probably does, they look in the mirror and they’re like, “Yo, what am I here for? What am I supposed to do? What impact am I supposed to be leaving?”
At least that’s what I said. And it was just, there was nothing there. I didn’t have no job. I was wearing the same shirt every day, just going to school and partying. And I really felt like I stayed away from all this violence, I wasn’t locked up, I was on this good path, but I feel like who am I? And really had that moment. And in that moment, surprisingly, “Hey, what do you know about this hip hop church?” One friend-
Neal:
Did you say a hip-hop church?
Steven Malcolm:
Hip hop church, my brother.
Neal:
Wow. So you weren’t gang affiliated, it was more like you was running around, gang-adjacent. And then somebody introduced you to a hip-hop church.
Steven Malcolm:
Yeah. And I’m like, “Hip hop, Jesus. How does that mesh, my brother?” Because there’s a lot of craziness that goes on around here, but it looks a little different in the church. So let me see what this looks like. But I didn’t even think like that at first. That was the first time.
And then the second time, somebody comes up to me, “You should check out this hip hop church.” I’m like, “All right, that’s two.” And then the third person comes, “Steve, what you doing tonight?” “None.” “You should check out this hip hop church.” So I’m like, “All right, God trying to do something. I ain’t never really talked to him, but I feel like he’s trying to say something right now.” I walked into this hip hop church and I see young black and brown people that look like me, that dress like me, that talk like me. But my mans is up on stage, krump dancing for worship. He gets off-stage. I’m like, “Bro, that was the illest…” He looked just like Tight Eyez. Just like Tight. He looks at me and he says, “Glory to God, bro.”
Neal:
Let me ask you this, was this one of the first times you’ve ever been in a church?
Steven Malcolm:
First time I ever really stepped in and paid attention and knew what was going on, yeah.
Neal:
In a hip hop church, where they do hip hop worship.
Steven Malcolm:
Yes, sir.
Neal:
Hip hop dance.
Steven Malcolm:
Yes, sir.
Neal:
But they’re glorifying Jesus.
Steven Malcolm:
Yes, sir. Mans walks off stage, young. He’s still in high school. Dreadlocks, sweaty from krumping, “Glory to God.” I never seen that. Never seen that, never heard that. I’m like, “That’s ill. That’s lit.” And I just kept on going. It was a situation, true story, where I’m taking the bus. I don’t know anybody. I just kind of knew my boy [inaudible 00:04:50], didn’t really know Mark at all.
Neal:
And just to clarify, Mark’s now you’re…
Steven Malcolm:
Now my DJ. That guy krumping on stage that is saying glory, now he’s my DJ and best friend. And I just kept on going. I was catching the city bus to the church. You know how it is when you go, especially to a church by yourself, you don’t know nobody. But bro, the word of God, it was something else. Come back Saturday night. And I just kept coming back for two months straight. Next thing you know, I’m getting conviction. Next thing you know, the Holy Spirit’s on the boy. Yeah, took a year to really get a solid foundation. This was in 2010 that I gave my life to Christ.
And the question was, are you going to rap now? And I’m like, nah, I got to build a foundation. I got to know Jesus if I’m going to boast about him. And that’s what I did. I took a year to just absorb the word, what is discipleship? What is fellowship? What is staying in prayer? And what does staying in your word look like? I walked that out and a year later the pastor is like, “How you want to serve? You know what I mean? Get up off your butt. It’s time to serve God’s people. Serve the church. How you going to do it? You can lead worship, you can run the soundboard, run the lights, you can clean the floors, stack chairs. How you want to serve?” And I was like, “Let me hop on the worship team.”
And the rest is history. Finding something that impacts people, my words, and I’m leaving a legacy for my family. Now I’m a faithful husband, present father to my two-year-old son. God really took a broken stick and made a straight path. And the tree is refined, and the Malcolm name now has new standards and a destiny that will be walked out. We’re there.
Neal:
Yes. Yes. That’s pretty amazing. That’s pretty amazing to-
Steven Malcolm:
God is good, man.
Neal:
Break the generational curses. If you look, the math was not mathing your favor, how you grew up and to have not have your dad around, to have your mom on substances and things of that nature. And then everything around you was pulling you into the culture, pulling you into sin. And off of some invites, you decided to take a step of faith into the church and literally it turned your life upside down. And now you’re here with us as an artist representing Jesus in your music. Is incredible. And now you can pass that down to your family.
Steven Malcolm:
Yeah, everybody. And like I said, I never seen a church like that, when I walked in. I’m put in situations where it’s like God is using me for a lot bridging gaps and just new experience. I never seen something like this before and then now I do it. And even with 4 against 5, they never had any rappers, but now they do. I was the first. Something new.
Neal:
That’s incredible.
Steven Malcolm:
God is… He did it.
Neal:
What would you say to people that are newly saved? They got the fire of God, they’ve been converted. You took time to learn about who you were, who God is, of course, and to develop and get discipled and then start serving and walk that thing out. What would you say to somebody that maybe wants to do music, maybe wants to get involved in whatever industry that they’re in, but they need to take that next step. What would you say to somebody that wants to do that, that they’re newly saved?
Steven Malcolm:
Continue to build that foundation. Build a solid foundation because I done seen many come and I done seen many go, and I done seen many fall in this road. This journey, as we probably all know in this room, is like this. Nothing pretty about it with… There’s glory about it, but sometimes there’s nothing pretty about it. We got to fight. And I was reading this morning, in Matthew, Matthew 7, build that house on the rock, not sand. Because when the storm comes, and it will, you’ll get blown away. And it says in the end, great is the fall. Great is that fall.
Who was it just recently? In this day and age, you can be at the top and then just nobody hears about you anymore. So just build that foundation, be solid in your faith so that way, you could put out a record and it could flop, nobody can rock with it. You can step in a place, nobody even cares about you, but you still solid and you know what you’re doing this for. There’s been so many situations where I could have compromised, I coulda did this, I coulda did that. But it all boils back down to, nah, my mentor still hitting me up. I still am looked at as a man… This is my lifestyle, so this is my music. It can’t change, it can’t waver, and it won’t.
Neal:
That’s amazing.
Steven Malcolm:
Because of the foundation and the work put in to build that foundation.
Neal:
I think that’s good. When we talk about finding help, finding some hope in the society that we live in, it’s very difficult. And a lot of people are struggling with, even as artists struggling with depression and anxiety and a lot of dark stuff. And sometimes you don’t know who to turn to. Who do you turn to when you need some help in your life or you need some hope to get out of a tough situation?
Steven Malcolm:
Outside of the prayer life, obviously, but mostly my pastor and Mark. My pastor, he’s not pastoring anymore. He moved on now and somebody else pastors the church, but he’s my spiritual pops. Anything, any questions, any time I need something, anytime me and the wife are arguing or something, he gets that call.
And then Mark is that accountability where… I have tendencies, because I didn’t grow up a Christian, to snap back and want to go back to the hood ways in certain situations. But Mark is that dude who’s like, “Hey bro, we don’t do that.” For example, I was on a tour one time and I left my charger in the van. So the guy’s “All right, I’m on my way back.” And I had to check in on my wife, the son is sick, my phone’s dead. And bro never came back. I stood outside for two hours waiting for this man. And at Mark, I’m like, “I’m about to blow. I’m about to [inaudible 00:11:29].” Mark’s like, “Hey, we don’t do that.”
Neal:
You mentioned your mom had a rough time growing up and was on some substances and things of that nature and trying to navigate through life with you as a single mom. How does she go from where she was to where she is now, finding Christ?
Steven Malcolm:
It was honestly a dope situation because when I gave my life to Christ at this church, I’m going consistently. I’m the only one in my family that is living for Christ, not wilding out now. Little things like not even cussing. I’m that one guy in my family, and I think my mom’s seen that. I think she truly, genuinely seen the light. And she’s always been a believer because to this day, I remember she was the first one who I heard say “God told me.” I was in middle school and she actually went to rehab. And I remember her calling, it was middle of the night. I was over at my auntie’s house and my mom was just crying drunk. She’s like, “God’s telling me to go to rehab or else I’m going to die.”
And she went to rehab and got clean. And when she got clean, you could tell there was more humility about her and she’s just more calm, definitely. And then when I got saved, yeah, I think that was just the fuel on the fire, because that light was always coming around. I’m reading scripture in front of her and next thing you know, she asked me to baptize her. So we was having baptism at the church and she got up there and told her story a little bit. And another full circle moment. I got to baptize Mama in the church that I got baptized in.
Neal:
That’s incredible.
Steven Malcolm:
Special, bro. Because I seen that woman go through a lot. To this day, she goes through a lot. But it’s her faith that she always says keeps her fighting. She’s got arthritis in her spine. She’s had four back surgeries. It’s crazy. But she always says it’s her faith that pushes her through when she’s just confined to four walls all day. I like to think I had a part to play in that as God’s light was shining. Turn out.
Neal:
It’s pretty in incredible that she was encouraged to get an abortion and she did not. And full circle, you were able to lead her to life itself.
Steven Malcolm:
Oh, I ain’t think about that. That’s powerful. Yeah, glory.
Neal:
God is good. Glory. So Steven, you grew up in the streets, but not doing what the streets do, right?
Steven Malcolm:
Yeah.
Neal:
Your family was partaking in this and in that, and the people around you were probably encouraging you to go to the similar path they took, but you decided to go a different way. You made it out. What would you say to encourage the people that are maybe still in it, that are looking for hope right now, that don’t know what to do, but they’re looking for a change in their life?
Steven Malcolm:
That’s a complex question, and it’s so good though. The best way I can answer this, I’m going to be just as real as I can, I think it’s a 50/50 thing. I wish everybody in the world had an open heart and a discerning open mind. A discerning open mind. Because that’s needed. I walked into churches when I was younger, just because I stayed the night at my boy’s crib and I didn’t know what’s going on. But “Pick up your pants, take off your hat.” And there’s just these misconceptions because not every church is like that. But if we as a people can continue having an open heart and an open mind. And then the next half, which I lean more towards, is that’s our job. I’m sorry, but we were given a great commission. And God said, “Go, bro.”
It’s not the great suggestion, it ain’t the great maybe. Lord said, “Y’all got to go and make these disciples, Teaching them.” He’s telling you we got to do something. We got work to do. It’s 50% us putting in the work. Once we know truth in life, how we going pass that on? It’s up to me. And one of my things with my cousin who… Shout out Peanut. Peanut. He’s been one year sober. I had to take him out to Uccello’s with the family and celebrate.
But one thing he said to me one time, because I was so busy when I was touring and everything, I was like, “What you need from me?” And he’s like, “I just need you to be here. Just be present.” Because when I am, my life shines and it gives glory to my heavenly Father, and sometimes that’s all it takes, is be present. Be in these streets. That’s what I love about people like JSun. They’re out here in these streets making a difference. And Christ was in them trenches. He wasn’t in the green rooms.
Neal:
Shots fired.
Steven Malcolm:
50% open mind, open heart, as a people, as children. And then it’s our job. He appointed her to us before he left.
Neal:
That’s good.
Steven Malcolm:
Keep on doing what he did.
Neal:
That’s good.
