Malina Moye: Thriving in Song

To know guitar player, songwriter, and performer Malina Moye is to know her positive torrent of energy. Truly, the expression “lightning in a bottle” fits Moye aptly. Born into a musical family, the left-handed Moye got her first guitar at 9 years old and flipped it over and upside down so she could play it comfortably. At 12 years old, she started a family band with her siblings. Her bass-playing father and singing mother taught her what to look for when seeing other artists on stage or when parsing their writing. 

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Santana, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, and Mozart were all early influences. But with all that, Moye knew that one day she wanted to find who she was as a solo artist. So, she moved to Los Angeles with just $20 in her pocket. She slept in her car and hunted pennies to have enough for sandwiches. But she made it through. Today, she’s a Billboard chart-topping artist and a killer national anthem player ahead of Minnesota Vikings football games. And Moye’s latest accomplishment is her new album, Dirty, which dropped officially on March 17. 

“The bottom line,” Moye tells American Songwriter, “is that to me, it’s not about who gets there first. What matters is that you finish whatever your journey is.”

Moye works. She’s the type to arrive first and leave last when it comes to a session, gig, or practice. She knows that as a Black woman in America, the world is not made for her, so she has to strive as hard as she can to manufacture waves. Her mantra these days? Take the high road. The phrase has come to be especially important after a recent traumatic event during which a company she’d had close ties with began to threaten her work and place in the music scene. While she’s not yet ready to give details about that rift publicly, she has dedicated Dirty to the process of coping and managing that professional heartbreak. It’s her revenge album, in so many words. 

“You’re the master of your fate,” she says. “Knowing that—that’s when you’re really going to live. Take the high road. Forgive those people who’ve hurt you. That’s what moves you to the next stage. You don’t do it for them, you do it for yourself so your spirit can shine.”

Fans of Moye know her status as one of the premiere lefty guitarists. She still plays her instrument backward and upside down. But while lefties represent just 10 percent of the general population, they’ve had a big impact on music, from Kurt Cobain to Jimi Hendrix and Paul McCartney. And Moye continues to find herself on industry lists that include her as one of the best lefty shredders. She’s come a long way from sleeping in her car in LA with a knife and a Bible by her side. 

“I never want to forget where I came from,” she says. “But I also never want to go back there.”

As a rock star, Moye is humble. She never takes audiences or accolades for granted. To date, she has her own signature guitar strings (the first woman of color to ever do that), she’s performed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, played NFL pre-games, and topped charts. Regarding her new album, it’s a nine-track surge through emotive blues instrumentals like “F.I.N.E.,” flirtatious songs like “Obsexxed,” nods to past greats like her cover of Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Mak’er,” and pronouncements like “What Do You Stand For.” Moye, who is from Minneapolis, even gave a few musical nods to the Purple One—Prince—on the LP, too. All in all, it’s the sound of someone standing on her own two feet in the face of whatever the world can throw. 

[RELATED: Malina Moye Shares Story of Struggle to Songwriting, Singles, Success]

“Life is too short,” Moye says. “And there’s too much life to live. You have to pick certain times to fight battles, but it doesn’t mean you’re forgetting anything. But right now, I’m going to push this album. Because I love it.”

Looking ahead, it comes as no surprise that Moye has many goals—and lofty ones, at that. She released a new single and video in January, and on the horizon are trips to Europe to perform, along with possible dates in the United States and a string of festivals. But she also wants to get more involved in television and movies—perhaps even a Malina Moye biopic. Why not? The joy from all this action comes from her knowing that she’s done everything she can to honor herself, her talent, her drive, and her music. She has a true relationship to the art of the song. She doesn’t just play, she breathes with it.

“Music has changed my life,” says Moye. “Who would think that these simple notes could be so powerful, but they are. My God, they’re incredible.”