Smooky MarGielaa Talks To Interview Magazine

In an era flooded with rappers who only seem to be getting younger, the 15-year-old Bronx star Smooky Margielaa stands out. He’s emerged in a cluttered New York rap environment, where artists and collectives from every borough are striving to become the next Bobby Shmurda or Cardi B. His local contemporaries include the artists in Brooklyn’s drill scene, the lo-fi Slums crew that stretches from Crown Heights to the Bronx, Staten Island’s Squidnice, and Queens’ Flee. Amid the competition, Margielaa’s got a rare ability to render emotionally resonant AutoTuned melodies in sharp detail, recalling the late Speaker Knockerz.

Margielaa credits his style to the West African music he encountered during his youth. His dad is the famous Malian musician Abdoulaye Diabaté; Margielaa grew up playing the balafon, a West African instrument similar to a xylophone. “When I play the balafon, it has melodies in it,” he explained to Pigeons and Planes. “Sometimes, you can hear that melody in my voice.” This experience lends a depth to his music lacked by many of his peers in the realm of teen-centric internet rap.

Continue reading on Interview Magazine.