KiNG MALA ( also known as Areli Castro), is an El Paso-born musician who is not afraid to spill her guts. Setting out with the hopes to spark confidence in both herself and her listeners, she creates music that will make you walk taller and speak louder. The artist’s music and visuals experiment with masculine tropes. She shares, “There’s something about taking something traditionally masculine and wearing it as a woman that makes me feel really powerful.” These masculine threads weave throughout everything she does, hence King rather than Queen and “MALA” which roughly translates to “bad bitch” in Spanish. Sharing her feelings from the bottom of her heart KiNG MALA encourages you to dig deep and connect with your inner self. Life is messy and we shouldn’t feel ashamed to show our emotions and speak our minds.
Dark, provocative, and perhaps a little twisted, the new single ‘Cult leader’ has an empowering and confident disposition. Manifested with a ‘fake it till you make it’ mindset, the track was written when her confidence had taken a hit, though the songwriter decided that instead of leaning into the sadness, she would be overly confident and a bit narcissistic to try and boost her self-esteem. Reverberating with a distorted driving beat and haunting vocals, the track oozes bold and daring energy.
Cult leader is the song is a display of her fearless character, with the artist revealing, “I want this song to be two minutes of pure unabashed confidence. I want people to let themselves get lost in the fantasy of the most confident version of themselves (even if it’s a bit toxic). I want this to be a song people turn to when they want to feel like a badass!”
KiNG MALA has a significant and dedicated following across her social media, with over half a million followers on TikTok. Having amassed millions of streams, she has been featured in Showtime’s The L Word and has garnered praise from several popular music publications.
For further information on the artist, visit her social media feeds:
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