Wedgwood's Coffee Break Conversation

Faith Driven Hip-Hop & Rising Above Trauma w/ Steven Malcolm

• Wedgwood Christian Services • Season 6 • Episode 1

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What happens when faith becomes the heartbeat behind the music? 

In this episode of Wedgwood's Coffee Break Conversation, host Hillary Kirkendall sits down with Grand Rapids recording artist Steven Malcolm to talk about his journey from a traumatic, fatherless childhood to becoming an award-nominated Christian hip-hop artist whose music has reached millions around the world.

Together, they explore how faith, vulnerability, and authentic storytelling have shaped Steven's music, why community and accountability have been essential to his growth, and what it means to use his platform to bring hope to others while staying true to his calling.

Drawing from his own experiences with trauma, redemption, fatherhood, and the music industry, Steven shares powerful encouragement for anyone navigating pain, depression, or uncertainty. He reminds listeners that no story is beyond God's ability to redeem.

Whether you're a fan of hip-hop, passionate about mental health, raising the next generation, or simply looking for hope in the middle of life's challenges, this conversation offers honesty, encouragement, and a powerful reminder that brokenness doesn't have to be the end of the story.

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Hillary:

Next on Coffee Break Conversation,

Steven Malcolm:

the bigger depression hits, the louder my praise gets, and yeah, I asked my mom, I was like, well, what do you do when you get depressed? She's like, I just praise God,

Hillary:

that's so good.

Steven Malcolm:

So my advice, yeah, with the frog in my throat and me holding back tears, is place your faith in God, and let your praise be louder than your depression.

Hillary:

Hey, it's Hillary. Join me at the table for a helpful and hopeful chat about mental health in our community. So often we get exhausted in our nervous system because we're in a consumption world.

Arlan:

Our culture has said men don't cry, and that has caused our society some major problems. I mean, I've had to learn how to do that. It's so important that we don't just do what we think is best for autistic individuals, but we do what they think is best as well.

Kali Jackson:

If I don't know about my own personality, how am I to show up for someone else? How will I meet someone else's needs if I can't meet my own?

Chris McKenna:

80 to 90% of kids ages nine to 17 are using AI regularly. Something we say now is AI is the new porn talk. I feel called to be a for real light in the darkness.

Hillary:

So, pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea, and take a little break with me. This is Wedgw's Coffee Break Conversation. Welcome to Season Six of Wedgw's Coffee Break Conversation. We've got a new setup making our coffee breaks just a little cozier, and we've got a whole season full of truly hopeful and helpful conversations coming your way. And I cannot wait for you to hear them all today. We are kicking things off with a very special guest, Grand Rapids-based recording artist who makes faith-driven hip hop that is as unique as his multicultural background. It's a sound rooted in rap's rhythmic delivery, pops, modern melodies, and God's word, all glued together by an artist whose music has earned seven Dove Award nominations and more than 70 million streams. Thank you so much for joining me, Steven Malcolm.

Steven Malcolm:

Hey,

Hillary:

so glad you're here today.

Steven Malcolm:

Great job, great job. No doubt, no doubt, no doubt. I love those. I love that podcast. Do that now. You know what I mean? It's like giving flowers, and so that's always encouraging. Yeah,

Hillary:

when you've got a resume like that, you got to start that off.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, God has been good to the boy.

Hillary:

I love that.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah,

Hillary:

so I pulled that description straight from your website, and I love it so much. Faith-driven hip hop rooted in rhythmic delivery, modern melodies, and God's word, glued together by a guy who clearly cares about his craft.

Steven Malcolm:

Yes, thank you, thank you, thank you. So,

Hillary:

why share your story, and why share it through hip hop?

Steven Malcolm:

That's what God has called me to do, man. It's really that plain and simple. When people ask me, "How did you get started with music? I literally say, "Jesus. It is not stereo, too. It's not, you know, cookie cutter. It's literally,"I gave my life to Jesus. And then, after a year of getting rooted and really like being about my faith, the pastor was like, "Hey, Son of Man came to serve, not be served, so it's time to get off your butt. And how you gonna serve God's people and serve the church that you, you know, gave your life to Christ to? And so he was really big about, you know, serving. And so I rapped a little bit, and he put me on the worship team, and so I led worship every Saturday doing covers of Lecrae, KB, Andy Mineo songs, and then writing my own songs, and we had an in-house producer, and so, yeah, it all started with the faith with giving my life to Jesus at a hip hop church here in Grand Rapids.

Hillary:

I love that. I mean, really, when you think about it, the reason for everything is Jesus, so that feels like a totally fair answer to me. Hey,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah, you know, plain and simple. Sometimes it could be that simple, you know.

Hillary:

Yeah, so, so why is it so important to you to share your story, whether it be through hip hop or connecting with people in the community?

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, honestly, because that's the only way people can really connect. I've found a lot of times, us as rappers, we can get caught into talking about lifestyle type stuff, or even like just typical mainstream hip hop. It's always just money, women, cars, clothes, and stuff like that. But if you really look at the songs that impact people, they're always songs that people can relate to, you know, with five senses, you know, what can people see, hear, smell through lyrics, and that all stems from people being vulnerable, like myself, and what I always say, like what makes us as artists special is like sometimes we have the courage to say what some people can't or won't, and get vulnerable with people, and so sometimes a lot of times it's when we as artists are in our most vulnerable state that we write our greatest music, because that's the tunes that people can relate to the most, and when I've dug into my story and put it all out there, that's when people come back and they're like, that's my favorite song. All, yeah, so the story's got to be in there,

Hillary:

yeah, and I, I have found that I appreciate Christian hip hop so much because I feel like artists talk about things that are actually happening in their lives, things that are real that people deal with, where sometimes other other types of music can feel really like flowery and over the top, and not real specific, sometimes. Yeah, and hip hop seems to feel like, here's plain and simple, what I'm dealing with, and that has always been most relatable to me. Like, you're saying you're being so real that other people can relate to it too, yeah. And

Steven Malcolm:

putting

Hillary:

words to things sometimes that once you hear it, you're like, oh yeah, I feel that way too. So, being able to even articulate things that other people haven't been able to quite put their words to is very cool.

Steven Malcolm:

Absolutely, that's how it works.

Hillary:

So, you've your very awesome description of your music talks about tying in your background, your faith, and hip hop all together. Yeah, so can you talk a little bit about what the process for tying all of those things together in your music looks like?

Steven Malcolm:

Um, honestly, it just comes out naturally, um, and that's the special thing about hip hop,

Hillary:

yeah.

Steven Malcolm:

Um, and the special thing about, I guess, just general as a songwriter, is the number one question when going to write a song is, How do I feel today? So it's just as simple as I'm going to write about my lifestyle, and then the way I write too. I'm not that artist who's in the studio every day, which I'm not saying that that's a good or bad thing. No teaches on I should be in the studio every day, maybe some way, shape, or form, but how I've mainly been going about it now, and the creativity is about is just living life, getting filled up with what's going on, and just getting poured into, and just going through the ups and downs of life, and then I'll be like, all right, let me set two weeks in Europe, or two weeks in LA, Atlanta, Nashville, and just pour out, and so everything that's just living in me, and what I'm about, and it just bleeds out, you know what I mean. So, yeah.

Hillary:

Well, and I think talking about being authentic too, when you're out in the world, like living your life, not in a studio all the time, then you are experiencing things, and you've got something authentically to talk about.

Steven Malcolm:

I've learned that too, just recently. Uh, man, my one of my, my manager, he came to me, he was just like wanting me to post every day, he's, I need you posting every day, and I'll get into modes where I will, but then, like, lately I've just been falling back, because I've just been realizing, like, certain seasons is appropriate, you know, and God, you know, waters certain seasons a certain way. And in this season, recently, you know, I've had a daughter who's one, and I've been raising my son, he's five, and I just been parenting, and just really working on my marriage, and working on my finances and multiplying my business portfolio, and it hasn't been a time to shoot content in a post, post, post every day. Granted, you know it is a necessity, but it's like those moments when I can just, you know, go in the studio and just pour out, you know, I appreciate, and just this season I just been being a dad, you know, so yeah, it all, it all culminates, and I always trust in God's timing with things too.

Hillary:

I'd like to talk a little bit about faith in the hip hop space. I think you've touched on it a little bit, that I mean, a lot of times in mainstream hip hop will focus on, you know, cars, women, money,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah,

Hillary:

and sometimes faith in that space can feel a little off to people, yeah, for one reason or another, and so I, how do you kind of balance those things about, like, the love of hip hop, yeah, but also the love of Jesus. Yeah, those two things can work together. Yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

and that's been probably the stickiest part of my career. I'll just tell you that off rip, bro. I didn't grow up no Christian. Like, I come from the brokenness homes. Like, my mother went here. My mother spent time in Wedgwood.

Hillary:

Wow, she

Steven Malcolm:

grew up in the foster care system, and my father was an immigrant from Jamaica. And so, yeah, man, it's like I grew up on Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Lil Wayne, you know. Then came the Drakes, and all that stuff, and so here I am, you know, 19 years old, you know, Dad is, you know, gone. He got deported when I was nine, so I grew up fatherless, and my mom, you know, from trauma growing up, you know, she turned to alcoholism, so I had to watch her battle that, and so 19. Years old, uh, you know, at this hip hop church, and you know, that's when I gave my life to Jesus, and so the hip hop culture has been instilled in me. There's, you know, certain castle or hip hop is like I literally, I can do graffiti, I break dance, and I'm a rapper for a living, and I'm black, so if that don't say hip hop, I don't know what does.

Hillary:

Yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

um, and then you know I turned Christian, and so you know, I at first I did, for the first literally, like I want to say probably first three to four years, I did not listen to mainstream music when I first was like, I'm giving, like, giving my life to Jesus, you know, 19, and so my early 20s was all Reach Records, Lecrae, C H H, so shout out to them boys, but even me being called to be Christian, I never felt called to be confined to preach in them four walls, I'm a dude from the ghetto who came from the projects I should be speaking to them, young men who are fatherless, who were just like me, who came from trauma, who got mamas who are alcoholics, and so I feel called to be a for real light in the darkness, like you know, preach, Pastor, we gotta be light in the darkness, and then everybody, yeah, you're right, we got to be salt to the earth. Yes, you're right. Jesus sat with the sinners, yeah, right. And so me, here's little old me, you know, God has blessed me to, you know, be surrounded with upright brothers, like my pastor. Shout out to Pastor Troy, he's got the dopest reputation in the city, ex vice lord general turned super Christian. I've, he's been.. I've known him for over a decade. I've never seen him like sin, and that's crazy, because he does, but it's like one of them people, he's like, 'What's your sin? He's that guy for me. And then my brothers, they were like solid, and then it's like we were so solid, so we're like, if we were young, so like, of course, we would slip up. Pastor comes by, all you got to sit down, bro, you can't leave worship this Saturday, you got to get right, you got to take some weeks off. Like, accountability was like that. And so I spent years with that around me. There'd be sit downs, we would slip, like one of my bros slipped up, got Shorty pregnant, and he sent a mass text out. He'll send a paragraph out talking about how our souls are in jeopardy and need to be saved, and he's like, there's 1000s of people depending on y'all. If y'all fall, they fall. Get together this time at this place. Literally, we'd all meet. There'd be like eight of us in like four ogs and we'd all have to like confess the dirt we be was doing, not let bro be alone, and then we'd all have to pray for him and all pray together, like stuff was like that coming up, so I got a real encounter with Jesus, like some people whom I'm a Christian, but that wasn't my goal, like my goal was, like, what does it look like to follow Jesus, and I was blessed to have brothers around me, just like, alright, this is what this looks like, you know what I mean, and so I was solid, I say that to say I was solid, I am solid to this day, like, there's no compromising, there's no, like, you know, crazy sneaky linky going on, and so with that I'm like, all right, and then I'm in the music game, and I'm putting out these albums, and I'm not compromised, I'm never like, you know, is there certain Christian artists that like fake cuss on songs, you know what I mean, like I don't know, which I feel like is the corniest thing, or some Christian pop artist has dropped the N word, you know, I'm saying, it's like, okay, it's cool, that's for them, but just like, not even me, like, I know, like, I want five year old Gerald, and I want 30 year old Harold to all listen to my music, so let's keep it all the way clean, no compromise with that, and then the opportunity comes to be a light in the darkness, a song with Snoop Dogg,

Hillary:

which, by the way, is an excellent song. A

Steven Malcolm:

song with Snoop Dogg with a video attached, because he likes the song, and he is interested in me, in meeting me. And it was my opportunity, I felt called to be like, here's an opportunity to be a light in front of the one of the biggest hip hop icons ever, I literally had my mom take me to shoe carnival and bought some Chuck Taylors because of Snoop Dogg. I grew an afro out as a kid because of Snoop Dogg. Yeah, video in, uh, so hip hop has always been engraved in me, and now Christ is engraved in me, so now let me go out, you know, and boom, and man, I lost shows when I put the cover work out, you know, saying Stephen Malcolm, Summertime Snoop Dogg, literally, like my management hit me, like, hey, we've had like a couple shows pull out, you know, they don't want you to come no more and. So we got like that, and then I would always distinguish, I'd be at a show, and the youth pastor, there'd be two expressions, there'd be Snoop Dogg, tell me about that, and then there'd be Snoop Dogg, so tell me about that, and so I would always know you didn't say the temp, and I would have to explain to them, like, okay, just how you trust me enough to come and preach to your kids right now, bro. Trust me with what God has called me to be, and the ambassador that I am for the kingdom, to go out and to do my thing with Snoop, you know what I mean. And granted, he's gonna do what he wants, but.. and sorry, I'm going on such a long tangent.

Hillary:

No, that's but

Steven Malcolm:

even just recently, in like a Bible study, the story of the sower is just like, okay, rocky ground, birds eat it up, you know, thorny. But what if you stop focusing on the ground but focus on the consistent sower, how he's not discouraged that it fell on the ground, and the birds ate up, but what if he just keeps on sowing? You just keep on sowing, because that's what God has called you to do. And so that's what I do, I just, you know, just keep on going, and boom, I sowed my seed in front of Snoop, and I let God do the rest, you know. And then I got backlash from it, so there's been conflict with I love hip hop, I love the culture of hip hop, yeah, it has some crazy stuff, but so does the church, and I love Jesus, and that's where it's blameless, and that's where I don't feel bad,

Hillary:

yeah, it, it reminds me a little bit of in the Gospels, where Jesus says, like, well, the healthy don't need a doctor, it's the sick, so being a light in the dark means you have to go in some,

Steven Malcolm:

somebody needs some medicine, or somebody needs to be guided to the doctor,

Hillary:

yeah, somebody needs a

Steven Malcolm:

ride to the hospital now,

Hillary:

yeah, preaching to the choir over and over again is not going to expand anything,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah,

Hillary:

um, yeah, so I think that is, I also love that you talked about the accountability that you put a lot of intentionality in prioritizing making sure that you're surrounded by strong people, so that when you go into these quote dark places, you're strong, and you can be the best example that you can be in those situations. Yeah, that's so cool. I love, I love, I love that about Christian hip hop. I think that it is such a powerful tool, it is for the Kingdom of God. Also, the music is just great. There, yeah, so many..

Steven Malcolm:

we've came a long way.

Hillary:

Yes, there are so many talented artists like yourself that really put the intention, intentionality in their lyrics and their craft,

Steven Malcolm:

and we have to. I was just telling somebody the other day that I was at a video shoot when I shot a video, and the videographer, he only mainly shot mainstream videos, and on set he's like, yeah, man, I just really had to be creative, because you know, we can't just throw women in cars in the video in cash, it's just like, man, it's that simple, but we have to be that creative, because we can't just, oh, here goes eye candy to look at, you know, I'm saying, so yeah, us Christian arts, we definitely are more creative. I found from the stage to the music, everything, and I've tried Pandora, or you know, Spotify, play hip hop. I will, you know, check out what's popping these days, and I don't know, I'm not with

Hillary:

it. Yeah. Well, if this isn't a plug for everyone to listen to more Christian hip hop, I don't know what is, man. Come on

Steven Malcolm:

now, yeah. It's fire. We got so many fire artists now. From even, like, I'm like a decade in, not to age myself, but I'm a decade in Christian hip hop, and we've come a long way. We've come so far that it's okay to rap Christian lyrics over mainstream beats. Back in the day when I used to do it, you know, can't mix milk and oil, everything scripture, and I was like, listen, just stop, relax, just relax,

Hillary:

yes, just yes,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah.

Hillary:

So, I mean, I guess we've talked about this a little bit, but you have gone all over the world. You've collaborated with some really big names, Snoop Dogg, Drop One, but you're still really active here in Grand Rapids. You do a lot of local shows, events, you volunteer, you get involved with organizations like Wedgwood. Why is that so important to you, and why is being local and being engaged here in your community important?

Steven Malcolm:

I feel like it's, it's vital to 95% of artists' career to start their foundation with the backing of their community, like Broski said when I came in here, he's like, yeah. I was at the release party. He was like, there was a lot of people there, like, there was, and I'm proud of that, because that's how it should be in your hometown. If you can't, this is my philosophy, anyway. If you can't make a splash in a pond, how you gonna make a wave in the ocean? How you feel like, if you can't make noise in little old Grand Rapids, how you gonna go to Atlanta, where everybody is light skin with dreads and glasses and a hat, and think you gonna pop?

Hillary:

Yeah, it's

Steven Malcolm:

gonna be even harder. So, I love Grand Rapids, I love my village, I love my community. That's one of the reasons why I haven't left. And then, being an artist, like I said, you, it always starts with the community, and so I've, yeah, I've even, I mean, I was disobedient, honestly, for a long time. That show that I did for y'all at the studio park,

Hillary:

yep, was

Steven Malcolm:

it? That was like my introduction to starting to be obedient to God, so it's pretty cool. We're sitting here now, but for the longest, you know, respect to Grand Rapids, and I love it. People come up to me all the time, literally, like by the grace of God, a lot of times when I go out, I get recognized, and it's cool, but people be like, I love your music, all that song with Snoop, or like, you know, all your music is dope, but God put it on my heart within the last two years of, like, okay, what is your ministry look like? Because there's a difference now,

Hillary:

but

Steven Malcolm:

a lot of artists, like, and some artists have ministries, some don't, but just as vital as I thought, always coming up in the game, you always got to be plugged into your local church, connected to the vine. I feel like now, as a seasoned person in the music industry, because I've come, it's coming on a decade now for me, and I'm still in it. Praise God, but I've met a lot of people, I know a lot of things, I know everything there is to know about the Christian music industry, and so God has been telling me it's time to pour that out in the where do you start is in your community,

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

with people who you see yourself as, and like I said in the beginning, it's just like I grew up here, fatherless in trauma, in poverty, and so just like those are the people who I speak to the most in my music, and want to speak to, but how can I turn it from music to a ministry? And so, yeah, God is soon as I was starting to be obedient with, and then did that show, literally just doors just started opening, and and now, yeah, I'm in the midst of starting a mentorship program for young adults in Grand Rapids, so yeah, you always had to be tied to the community, you know, it's very important. So, I find it funny when I see these local guys screw Grand Rapids, or Grand Rapids is full of haters, and just like, no, it's not. It's just like every other city, you just gotta be a mass, that's your craft, my dog. Yeah.

Hillary:

Well, and since that accountability piece is so important to you, having a community is important, and if you're bouncing all over the place, where are you going to find that, except for here,

Steven Malcolm:

right

Hillary:

at home?

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, and I've heard, I've asked around Nashville, and you know, Atlanta, LA, just, you know, the music spots, and you hear the same thing. There's no community,

Hillary:

you know,

Steven Malcolm:

relationships are often transactional. Yeah, that's the exact word I was looking for. So, yeah,

Hillary:

yeah. Do you think community and hip hop kind of go hand in hand?

Steven Malcolm:

Absolutely. that's what's so beautiful about it. Yeah, they go hand in hand, and they fit like a glove. Yeah, yep. Um, and I would say, if I had to give a reason, I mean, because it's so relatable, and one thing that I feel like everybody, even in this room, can relate to is the struggle. Some way, shape, or form, all of us have been through a struggle, whether personal, physically, financially, and hip hop was bred out of the struggle. So,

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah,

Hillary:

so you've talked a little bit about your kids, and I've seen you perform a couple of times, and almost every time you have your son, it is the cutest thing ever, because he

Steven Malcolm:

steals the show,

Hillary:

does the sound check with the mic and everything. Yeah, it is the, it is precious. So, but you've also mentioned growing up fatherless, so it would appear to me that being a present dad is super important to you.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah,

Hillary:

so why, why include him in the music part of your life and not just like at home? You bring, you bring your son to work pretty much every time, yeah.

Steven Malcolm:

No, that's him, that's him engraving himself in. To my profession. Oh,

Kali Jackson:

that's he's

Steven Malcolm:

killing it. So, yeah, it started off with him just seeing my stuff on YouTube, and then me, like, working on my music. I'm listening to it in the car, like the mixes before they come out, so he's hearing them before they come out 100 times, and then he sees them on YouTube, and so I thought, I think he got the gist of, okay, Daddy, you know, does music and be rapping, and yeah, he's.. we got to a show, and he's like,"Where's my microphone? Okay, so got one microphone for him, and I'm pacing, doing my pre-workout. He starts doing the pre workout next to me,

Hillary:

so cute,

Steven Malcolm:

and yeah, and it's a thing of what I love is like, because I'm an introvert, you know, when I just like to chill, I'm quiet, and I could tell he is very much so as well, but on the stage, nah, you know, he lights up and he's into it, and yeah, he's got the all the mannerisms, and yeah, I love it. So he, he includes himself, and then there's been times where, like, I didn't like pull him up, I was expecting him, maybe to come up, and he, like, I did the show, or one time I forgot, and he passed out, yeah,

Hillary:

passed

Steven Malcolm:

out one time, he punched me. I'm not gonna lie, it was in the midst of me teaching him boxing, and things anger got the best. Forgot, you know, punch dad, like next time, no gave me a little little knocking. It's all good. We love him.

Hillary:

Oh yeah, I love that he's.. I mean, you're creating a space where he can like explore what he's into, and you're welcoming him into that with you, which, yeah, and that's

Steven Malcolm:

one of the things, too, that I took from, like, being fatherless. One of the things is, like, I look at myself like I really am, like, a ball of talent, I'm one of them dudes, like, I'm like, you know, I can play tennis, I'm good at chess, I can play basketball, I can box, I can rap, I can sing. You know, and so with him, or with.. I feel like if I had a dad that, like, seen it was like, "Oh man, you're talented, let me put you in AAU, let me have you doing push-ups at 15, you know, saying, and let me, you know, handle this ball of talent the right way, steward it the right way.

Hillary:

Yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

um, yeah, I got daddy issues still, but, uh, with my son, yeah, I, man, he knows how to shoot. I had him training with Big Nick, she's like a basketball legend here in the city, um, just see, I'm already like investing a lot of time and money into like just him when he gets to the age of like just figuring out his body and what he loves to do, it's like he'll already have some tools,

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

Daddy doing it with him, so

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

that's been a yeah low key goal of mine,

Hillary:

yeah, investing in whatever his talents may be,

Steven Malcolm:

for sure,

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah.

Hillary:

Do you hope that that is your legacy? What, what do you hope is your legacy? A

Steven Malcolm:

lot, man, a lot.

Hillary:

I mean, I know that's a real big question, yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

but I guess the foundation of my legacy is showing the redemptive power of God through my story of being fatherless and now having a family and being a faithful husband. Boom, that's not Chat GPT, by the way. Um, and that's gonna be passed down. I just feel like, yeah, like my legacy will be everything that I've learned from God passed down to my kids, into my kids' kids. One of the dopest things I seen one time is I was driving downtown, and I seen just like a 70 year old granny, just, you know, coming out the restaurant, and then I seen a slightly younger lady come out and kind of help her, and then a slightly younger lady come out, and a slightly younger person come out, and I'm just like, "Dang, like, and they were like kind of catering to the granny, um, the cornerstone, the pillar, it's just like they just looked like they were just treating her like, like a gem, and I was like, that's what legacy looks like, is when your kids, kids, kids is just like, no, man, that's that's OG, OG Steven, OG Malcolm, you know, he paved the way, and so, yeah, that's a legacy to me,

Hillary:

yeah, breaking the cycle, so that is possible, yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

for sure,

Hillary:

yeah. Why, why is that so important too?

Steven Malcolm:

Huh, because where I came from, sis, listen, yeah. yeah, what I mean, it was a struggle, but, uh, you know, God has done some things, um, and yeah, like, like I said, man, like, and I even look back, I was telling my wife, like, maybe, like, last month, I just wet, I didn't, I was in the car listening with my. Long as I just started crying, just thinking about my family dynamic, starting with my dad, you know, my dad didn't know his dad, who knows what he.. I don't even know my granddad's name, I don't even know my grandpa's name.

Hillary:

Wow,

Steven Malcolm:

I just know he was a Jamaican police officer, that's it. My pops busted when I was nine years old, selling drugs, weed at that in Michigan. Deported him back to Jamaica. He died before I ever got to see him again. My mother, like I said, she was sexually, physically, verbally abused growing up, so she ran away and was in multiple places, including here, and you know, raised me and my sister as best as she could, as best as she knew how, which I love her to death for that, because she had every reason to be like, I don't know what love is. Bye, kids.

Hillary:

Sure,

Steven Malcolm:

and you know, then with all the trauma and stuff, you know, it was me and my sister having to make decisions, and I made a decision to play basketball, and she made a decision to, you know, do other things, which led to her having a baby at 14, stripping at Parkway Tropics downtown. My cousin stripping to my other cousin dope dealing join a gang, the GDS, and bagging up dime bags in my room one day. My cousin Mike, he's got like seven felonies, seven baby mamas, 10 kids. That's my family dynamic. Never had a relationship with my grandma on my mom's side because she grew up racist. um, and don't really know anybody from my dad's side, and then even now today, what made me weep is my sister, you know, she always, you know, had it rough, you know, and raising kids and stuff, and now she has, like, an eye disease, and so she's going blind, like, right, like, if we were like this, like, she really couldn't see the features of your face, so it's like it's like deteriorating slowly. Uh, my mom, she's had four back surgeries, and she's kind of confined to four walls, you know what I mean? Like, she can't really get out at all. Uh, Dad's dead. My stepdad, who my mom married for a little while, he's in like an old folks home, you know, saying like pooling and getting fed Jell-O, and you know, my auntie, she's like job to job, you know, paycheck to paycheck, kind of struggling, and my uncle, one's dead from cancer and the other's dead from AIDS, so talk about the power of God in my life, it made me weep.

Hillary:

Yeah, yeah, I mean it's such a powerful story of God's redemption, and how He can use your story to help others, yeah, and help you and your family and others flourish. I mean, it's just such a beautiful testimony of what surrendering your life to Jesus can look like.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, script in the best way. So, yeah, yeah, lot of responsibility, but I feel like I'm built for it. That's why God, you know, set up dad being there, like I said, I play basketball. I always tell people Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan raised me, because I've watched all their documentaries and shot, you know, the 100,000 jump shots, so I think the determination, you know, the ambition, the hard work, and dedication, and discipline came from, you know, the Lord putting a basketball in my hands to keep me out of a lot of things, and then introducing himself to change everything.

Hillary:

What encouragement would you give to kids here at Wedgwood, or people who find themselves kind of without direction, or in similar situations to maybe what you had growing up? What encouragement would you give them?

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah,

Hillary:

to keep going,

Steven Malcolm:

man. So, I mean, I was just with my mom, my mom today. I have a great relationship with her. She ended up, she was actually my first glimpse of God. I remember real young her calling my aunt. I was standing at my aunt's and she called and she was crying drunk and she was like, God told me if I don't go to rehab and get sober, I'm gonna die, and she went to.. I forgot the rehab. Yeah, went to the rehab, and yeah, really spent time in the rehab, and it was bad because I was left with stepdad who was not treating me right, but she got sober, and yeah, been sober ever since. And then, like, she started, like, going to church after the rehab, and that's what, like, I gave the church a shot, but they pick up your pan, take your head off during prayer, yeah, I walk right out of

Hillary:

them mug, and

Steven Malcolm:

so, but she, you know, stayed sober, and then once I gave. My life to Jesus in 2010 a year later, like, she, like, rededicated her life to Jesus at the edge, and I got to baptize her.

Hillary:

Oh, that's so beautiful. I was like,

Steven Malcolm:

full circle, and yeah, we got a really great relationship today, and so I would say, if I were to speak to kids here, I would pull from a source who was a kid here, and now that I see every day, and love, and know, and get advice from, like I said, my mom has had a rough life, I couldn't imagine, you know, beat on by men, too. You know all that stuff, and then you know, even now, like not even really being able to be present in my kid's life, because she just always just has to stay home in bed. I asked her one time, I was like,"What keeps you going? And she just said my faith in God, and it's just like, you know, sometimes as cliche as that may sound, and it sounds cliche when she says it, but that's where, like, I got a song called Even Louder,

Hillary:

that is one of my favorites, and

Steven Malcolm:

yeah, I wrote that inspired by her. Oh, sorry, I'm getting like emotional. I got the frog in my throat.

Hillary:

Oh man, yeah, it's that is such a moving song. Thank you. I, yeah, that is, I think, a great depiction of your story.

Steven Malcolm:

And so one of the lyrics I have in there, and it was the lyric that everybody to this day was like that lyric, you know? I swear, I'm gonna get it tattered on me someday, but um, I say the bigger depression hits, the louder my praise gets, and yeah, I asked my mom, I was like, well, what do you do when you get depressed? She's like, I just praise God,

Hillary:

that's so big. So

Steven Malcolm:

my advice, yeah, with the frog in my throat and me holding back tears, is place your faith in God, and let your praise be louder than your depression, because we all get depressed. Um, the struggle is inevitable, you know what I mean. Life is a roller coaster, but it's like we're always stronger when we survive the low, you know,

Hillary:

and in the midst of the struggle, I think praising sometimes doesn't feel great, but helps you focus on more important things, helps you keep moving. I think it can sound like a cliche, too, to like, oh, I'll praise you in the storm, and I'll praise in all things, and that can feel really hard, and honestly, kind of sucky sometimes. Yeah, but it is truly a lifeline, and I'm going to be honest, I was also thinking about getting that line as a tattoo, so maybe we'll have matching tattoos someday. What is something you want to make sure people take away or understand from this conversation today

Steven Malcolm:

that we serve a God who can take anyone, anything, no matter how broken, no matter how twisted, scratched up, abused, abandoned it is, God can take it and make it fly and inspire everybody who sees

Hillary:

it. Amen.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, that's simple. That's simple. Because people ask me all the time, Steve, I'm so humble? I be chilling at shows sometimes, and I be seeing some of the Hollywood brothers of mine. Shout out to the brothers of mine that I won't name the CHA Stang, that stay in the green room sometimes and be late to the VIP meet and greets and be chilling people like Steve, why are you so humble? It's like, bro, I've lived in a hotel, you know, like the hotel off Alpine over there, like right off the exit. We lived there, and Sis was at Parkway, so we could pay for that room while I had to catch that bus to Wyoming Park early, you know what I mean, so I can get some shots up in the gym before class, you know, yeah,

Hillary:

yeah, recognizing where you came from and how what it took to get there,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah, so we, we've, you know, we've been to the bottom, and yeah, so there's, there's nothing to be Hollywood about, man,

Hillary:

yeah, God can do it all

Steven Malcolm:

through that,

Hillary:

if people are new to your music, because I think you and I did a great sales pitch for Christian hip hop, so if they're new to your music, what album or song or playlist would you recommend they start with?

Steven Malcolm:

Wow, start with The Second City. Yeah, I'm to the point, I'm working on my fifth album. Know, I think, yeah, fifth album, and so people are, you know, to the point where it's like, yo, the second city, man, that was a classic album, and it did have some really big songs, like Even Louder was on that one, Fuego was on that one, Good Love, yeah, yeah, so I would say start with The Second City, and then you know, yeah, just there's artists like myself, Lecrae, KB, Andy Minio, no big deal, John Keith, yeah,

Hillary:

yeah, all some of my favorites. Where can people catch you live? Hey,

Steven Malcolm:

well, in Grand Rapids, man. When did I say my next show was gonna be? Maybe at Foodie Fest? Maybe. Yes, yeah. I don't really have a date. I, my goal was to have my album out in August and throw a release party, because I think for King is dropping their album mid-August, and our song, is going to be on their album too, and I was like, man, it'd be cool to drop like a week after them, but um, I've been having to be obedient to the Holy Spirit, and, uh, just, yeah, keep on working on some things, which I'm glad I did, because, man, I just had the greatest news the other day come in musically that might change my life, might level the boy up again, and we already leveled up, so we'll see what God does now. I mean, yeah, I mean, can I break it right here? I'll break it to y'all.

Hillary:

Yes, I

Steven Malcolm:

haven't told, when does this interview come out?

Hillary:

july, 1 part of July,

Steven Malcolm:

there we go. I think, yeah, I can share

Hillary:

it. Yes.

Steven Malcolm:

No, those who watch it the full interview get this treat. Um, but don't use it as we won't use it as a snippet,

Hillary:

okay? Coffee break exclusive.

Steven Malcolm:

Yo, I'm Jamaican. Like, the my earliest memories of music was my dad with the cassette tapes popping them in the car and Bob Marley, you know, and in interviews, podcasts, you know, who are some dream artists of yours, Steven, that you want to work with, and I always say, like Big Sean or a Marley, and ladies and gentlemen, I have a song with Soul Rebel Marley, who is Bob Marley's grandson. He is so Bob Marley's daughter, Sedella, has sons, and two of them do music, Skip Marley, which he has a big hit called Slow Down with her. I'm a huge fan of his, but then there's like another third-generation son who's even younger, named Soul Marley, and yeah, I cooked up this amazing Jamaican record. A lot of my new music is leaning more towards Caribbean sounds because I feel more comfortable singing in Pots, which is cool. And so I cooked up this amazing record called Holy Water. It's amazing, and my A&R, who just knows everybody, coincidentally, he's like, 'Yo, I'm about to have a Facetime with Skip Marley's manager, and he FaceTimed her and showed her the song. She's like, 'Yeah, I'm gonna put soul on the song. Skip's working on an album, we're gonna put soul on it and blow it up, it's amazing. And we're gonna release it on Bob Marley's Sirius XM. We're gonna have Malcolm come down to the to the Marley compound and have them shoot a video, the whole nine with the Marleys,

Hillary:

that is incredible.

Steven Malcolm:

And then coincidentally she's from Lansing. Oh, and so yeah, she met with her mother yesterday in East Lansing, and yeah, like, so I'm like connected with her. See, I've drove East Lansing yesterday and met with her, and she's just telling me all these Marley stories, talking about Steven Marley, which literally he created one of the most amazing albums ever, called Mind Control, and like they're talking about him and talking about how I'm about to meet him, and I got a song with a Marley now that we're gonna shoot a music video for in July, and she's like, we got to put this in the Grammys. This is going in the great Grammy category for Reggae Song of the Year.

Hillary:

That is so cool. And so

Steven Malcolm:

my next step is to have her manage me, and then you know, maybe the Stephen Malcolm brand goes fully reggae.

But yeah, breaking news:

Holy Water featuring, not even featuring, because it's his song too, Soul Marley, Malcolm and Marley, it is official. Ladies and gentlemen,

Hillary:

is cool.

Steven Malcolm:

God is good. Yeah, I wept when I heard his verse, because he sounds like Bob. Oh, crazy,

Hillary:

that is awesome,

Steven Malcolm:

crazy.

Hillary:

And what another cool opportunity to be a light,

Steven Malcolm:

absolutely,

Hillary:

for for the Marley family, for all of their fans, that is super cool.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah, it's way to go. It's amazing, and they thought it like the manager, Christy, she thought it was the coolest thing, that there's this Christian who does reggae, so and then knowing I got to know her. Yesterday, yeah, you know, she's Christian, loves Jesus, got to pray for her mom. It was dope. It was dope. It just feels like a God thing.

Hillary:

Oh, a lot of

Steven Malcolm:

times in this industry things can feel like industry things and playing the game, and yeah, took a lot to get through it, but things that feel like a God thing, even louder, feel like a God thing. Like, so this feels like a God thing. Shout out to God.

Hillary:

Yes, amen. That is so cool.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah.

Hillary:

Oh, that is so exciting.

Steven Malcolm:

Thank you.

Hillary:

Um, I'm gonna switch gears for our Insta Brew questions. This is our a new little rapid fire segment. I'll ask a question and you just quick brew up your answer. Let's

Steven Malcolm:

go, all

Hillary:

right. What is your coffee break drink of choice?

Steven Malcolm:

I used vanilla latte. I'm on now, like clockwork. I'm going on three a day. I need to chill out.

Hillary:

Over caffeinated, Steven.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah,

Hillary:

best season.

Steven Malcolm:

Oh, summertime. Come on, summer, summertime. And I feel like Air Day

Hillary:

with Snoop Dogg. Favorite movie.

Steven Malcolm:

Wow, I'm a movie guy, so that's a very hard question, but I will give you my top three. Okay? Are you ready?

Hillary:

Yes.

Steven Malcolm:

Den of Thieves.

Hillary:

Okay,

Steven Malcolm:

love it. Pursuit of Happiness, love it. Third, it's hard, but it's just something about the Matrix. It was very revolutionary,

Hillary:

interesting.

Steven Malcolm:

Oh, and a what do you call the honorary mention?

Hillary:

Yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

Pulp Fiction.

Hillary:

Ooh, yeah. What an interesting combo.

Steven Malcolm:

Tells you a lot about my personality.

Hillary:

What's the thing you're recommending most to people?

Steven Malcolm:

Jesus,

Hillary:

amen,

Steven Malcolm:

all day, every day, man. It ain't got to be all you know. I'm, I am, I'm not no cookie cutter Christian, trust me. So look at me, you could be cool and be Christian. Perfect example,

Hillary:

favorite self-care practice.

Steven Malcolm:

Oh man, man, probably the gym, yeah, the gym.

Hillary:

And where are you finding hope?

Steven Malcolm:

Hope, oh man, see, I'm, I'm so like transparent now, I'm just gonna give you the real sense of man, marriage counseling, lot of that, man, it's been a season of keeping my marriage alive and well, while I've watched a lot of brothers walk out, man, and as a man, it's up to me to lead, man, and so yeah, marriage counseling has been doing its thing, so I've been finding hope in that to therapy,

Hillary:

yeah, no shame in asking for help.

Steven Malcolm:

Yeah,

Hillary:

I mean we talked about how important community is anyway. So you need other people,

Steven Malcolm:

true, that they help every time.

Hillary:

Well, thank you so much, Steven. This was such a fun conversation. Absolutely, that's a treat to just take a little break with you.

Steven Malcolm:

Absolutely, yeah, I feel like I've known you for years, you know, vicariously, you know, I know you through the spirit, and, uh, shout out to what y'all do. Um, funny story. So glad I remembered this back in the day when I was probably in middle school, yeah, because I lived, I lived in Wingate for a little while, and I was going to Crestwood.

Hillary:

I also lived in Wingate.

Steven Malcolm:

We all, at some point, and I'll just.. I was that type where I dribbled my ball everywhere, and I just looked for a hoop, any and everywhere. I done hooped at the.. I think it's like an autism center, they got like a hoop back there.

Hillary:

Oh yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

still back there, but it was back there, back our

Hillary:

transitional living program. I dare, yep, look at that. I

Steven Malcolm:

knew about that. And then one day, I mean, there was cars over there, so I'm like, okay, I see one over here. So I come walking over here like I own the spot. Here's how I'm walking on the campus. I didn't really realize it's like private property.

Hillary:

Yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

y'all, I'm making myself at home. And then I see, like, a group of kids come out, and a few of them came up to me, and they're like, "Who are you? I'm Steven, and another, like, another, like, younger, like, girl came, "Who are you? Like, what authority? I'm like, "Why doing something wrong? I'm like Steven, yeah, like I like they made me feel like I was like, oh yes, guys, and then finally, like, a you know, a grown-up came, was like, yeah, you can't be out here, you could find somewhere else to hoop, that'd be great, you know, they were, it was polite, but they, I could tell, they could tell I was like, you know, oops, my bad, you know, it really.. I, it really didn't, I really didn't know yet. This was Wedgwood,

Hillary:

yeah,

Steven Malcolm:

Christian Services. I just thought it was a building, a business building with some moves.

Hillary:

Yeah, I love how many like full circle moments you have in your story, that is gotta. So good,

Steven Malcolm:

yeah, it's it continues to amaze me and makes me look forward to the future and the more full circle moments there will be. So,

Hillary:

amen, amen.

Steven Malcolm:

Do that,

Hillary:

you can listen to Steven's incredible music on all major streaming platforms, and you can follow him on Instagram, or head to his website, Stephen malcolm.com would recommend following on Instagram. You do lots of fun updates there. You can go to his website for where his upcoming shows are, and you can keep connected to Wedgwood and all the ways we are brewing up hope. And make sure you're subscribed to the podcast on your favorite platform or on YouTube. You can visit wedgwood.org to learn more. Stay hopeful, stay helpful, and let's have another coffee break soon. Bye.

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Hillary Kirkendall

Host
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Josh Manuel

Editor
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Steven Malcolm

Guest