The Joyous King: Malik Lindo-Ireland on Developing as a Multi-Hyphenate Creative
WITH MALIK LINDO-IRELAND
crowns are the signature look for his King Lindo persona.
Photography, Julio Nuno
Words, Cole Habersham In Conversation with Malik Lindo
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When New York fully reopened after a months-long shutdown imposed by the pandemic, a few uncovered gems made their introduction to the city’s evening scene: Ding-a-ling in the East Village became a must-be-seen-at locale for the downtown crowd. Saint Theo’s opened to a frenzy and Toronto-born Model, Malik Lindo-Ireland was crowned one of the DJs of the moment amongst the I'm-here-to-dance set.
We’re sitting on the rooftop of his Bushwick apartment. It’s just barely above freezing, but he loves his view of the Manhattan skyline. Trying to compete with his Canadian blood, I join him on a stool against the glass railing, enduring the breeze and taking in the admittedly impressive scene. “It’s so nice up here,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll come up just to walk around.” Or even run, with the end of the roof and its track just barely visible to the eye.
Meeting settled rooftop Malik is almost an entirely new introduction.
A king is someone that wants to see his people succeed. He wants to spread the wealth, uplift and create spaces for others.
I first saw him DJing downtown, wearing a bright red crown—crowns are the signature look for his King Lindo persona—completely living off the crowd’s energy; a crowd so enamored by him I couldn’t discern if they were longtime friends or loyal fans. Possibly both.
Rooftop Malik is just as magnetic, but lives off his own energy and the dozens of ideas he shares over the course of our hour long discussion: his childhood, unlocked memories of playing the keyboard, a life-changing trip to Sydney, and the impact of the legendary Virgil Abloh.
CH: Let’s start with a classic – what brought you to New York?
MLI: In my last year of high school, I signed to a modeling agency [in Toronto]. I needed a summer job to make some money to help me pay for my first year of university and then within the first year of [modeling], I got signed by an agency in New York and was flying over for shoots. I was like, shoot, if I can actually work as a model without even living there, maybe I should try and spend some time in New York and see if I could pick up some more jobs. That summer between my last year of high school and trying to start university, I decided to take a semester off.
CH: Was modeling ever the career you considered as a kid? Or was it something else?
MIL: It was my dream to be a news reporter. Every morning before school, my mom would have on breakfast television. It was our version of Good Morning America. I just loved how every day it would change.
CH: I’d imagine that’s a similar feeling to your first few months in New York as a teenager. The consistent change. Every day being something new.
MIL: It was a whirlwind. One of the first models that I met introduced me to a promoter. I started going out and then from there, it was like every day you could go out — Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. It was crazy to me.
THE LOOK
Thom Browne
CH: All that exposure to New York nightlife. Is that where your appreciation for DJing started?
MIL: I do remember one specific moment when I was way younger, like ten years old. My mom got me this keyboard and you could make different sounds with it, like play different instruments. And I specifically remember telling her, Hey, I would love to be a DJ one day. And she was like, absolutely not. *laughs* But I’ve always loved nightlife, music and going out.
Years later in New York, a friend got his first pair of turntables. I remember going over one day and seeing him and another friend messing around with it. They were just playing music and mixing songs together and showed me how to do it. That was the first time that I learned how to do something that I had completely no knowledge of before. I felt like I could do it for hours.
CH: There’s a natural talent there. At what point do you say, I’m a DJ?
MIL: In January 2020, I signed to an agency in Australia and I took a trip to Sydney. The first weekend, I was there with my friend Chris, who’s also a model and DJ. We went to a house party and there were some DJs there who had the same setup as us.
We were the only Black people there. I think to this day they were super stoked to have us because they knew that I came from New York. They gave us so much respect. Within a few days, people that I met at the party invited me to come DJ at their club.
THE LOOK
AE77 Denim
I can do all these things at once, because I've seen other people that are capable of doing it Whilst giving back to their communities Respectively.
CH: When you’re DJing, what vibe are you bringing generally?
MLI: Just positive, good energy that doesn't feel forced. It’s just natural. That’s why I love smells and fragrances. I read somewhere – smells don't ask permission to be felt, you know what I mean? I love the feeling of when you walk past someone who was wearing a really nice fragrance or shampoo in their hair and you just sit in it and they just walk past you for a moment. That's the type of vibe that I want to bring: comfort.
CH: Outside looking in, whenever I’ve seen you out, that’s the energy you’ve put out. If I had to pick a word it’d be joy.
MLI: Maybe that's the word that I was looking for. When I’m DJing, I want you to leave with a smile on your face. For me, the nights that I remember are literally when the DJ was killing it. When people are shouting the words. People are getting on people's shoulders. You might hear a song you never thought you would hear.
CH: Do you recall any nights like that when you’ve gone out?
MLI: One very, very vivid, specific one—and it almost makes me emotional, even talking about it, especially now—I went with my friend to the Boiler Room in Brooklyn. This was maybe six years ago and Virgil [Abloh] was playing. Just based on the crowd and the other DJs that were there, I expected the vibe to be Hip-Hop, which is lit. I love Hip-Hop. People are getting down, getting ratchet—it’s a vibe. But then at one point he starts playing Electric Feel by MGMT. I had never seen or heard a Black DJ like that. All I knew was like Black guys and black DJs, they played just Hip-Hop, you know what I mean? And then he played this Indie, rock, Electric Feel and hearing that on beautiful speakers, everyone could just appreciate it. He probably played a ton of bangers that night, but I just specifically remember that moment.
CH: That’s the mark of a phenomenal DJ. Being able to read the room and elevate the vibe.
MLI: I DJd at a party with Isaac [Hindin-Miller] this past summer. The vibe was disco and throwbacks. He was playing ABBA and something possessed me to go from ABBA to Travis Scott. And I just played No Bystanders. I kid you not, people were going insane. You know what I mean? People were like losing it. And they were still losing it to the Abba. There was still a vibe with ABBA, but Travis Scott is the complete opposite of the spectrum. Sometimes it's good to shock people. Personally as a party goer, I love that when I get surprised.
CH: Isaac loves a good pivot too. I think I was out one night and he went from Dancing Queen to Nicki’s verse in Only. And everyone was into it.
MLI: Sometimes that shock is good.
CH: Absolutely. So that moment of seeing Virgil was obviously an impactful experience for you. Would you say he’s one of your inspirations as a multi-hyphenate person?
MLI: One hundred percent. He was just proof that you can do a lot of things. You don’t have to put yourself into a box. I love doing photography and I'm going to incorporate that into DJing, but also do it separately from DJing. I know that I can do that. I can make films. I can model. I can be a photographer. I can do all these things at once, because I've seen other people that are capable of doing it and whilst giving back to their communities respectively.
CH: Switching gears for a bit, can I ask you about your image? Why the crowns?
MLI: When my mom was pregnant with me, she had a friend that was Muslim and she, at least this is how she told me, she said she always wanted to name me something to do with royalty. Malik in Arabic means king. So when Instagram started becoming more of a thing, I tried to identify with King Lindo more. There’s definitely people who think that it's just me being cocky, but it's not that. I want to give my own definition of what a king is. We're all kings as well.
THE LOOK
Shaggy Dog Sweater, Todd Snyder x J Press Clothiers
CH: What is a king to you?
MLI: A king is someone that wants to see his people succeed. He wants to spread the wealth, uplift and create spaces for others.
CH: Are there any other people you’d consider kings in your kingdom?
MLI: Where do I even start? Igee [Okafor] is a king. For having this magazine BOND OFFICIAL and working so hard. For introducing us and telling people's stories. My friend, Ives is a king. He’s a dancer and he dances like he’s dancing for his life every time he goes out. I feel like because he's so comfortable with himself, it helps bring other people out of their shell. He’s such an inspiration for me. He fights for every oppressed person. He’s incredible. The kings are people who are using their platform and their voices to shed light on others.
CH: How many do you have now?
MLI: *laughs* That’s a secret.
CH: As many crowns as titles, I’m sure. Are there any titles you’re excited about? I saw you’ve been experimenting with video on Instagram.
MLI: Yeah, I want to make documentaries one day. I've just been watching the Kanye documentary. I think it's amazing all the footage that they had from his life. I don't want to just record myself. I want to record all the people that I’ve been meeting — to be able to look back on that and reference where we were at a certain point. Then ten years later, look back on the growth. If there's anything that I've learned from this whole DJ thing, it’s that you just never know how something could take your life in a completely different direction.
THE LOOK
Trousers, Incotex (from Slowear); Sweater, ZANONE (from Slowear); Sandals, Ferragamo
The kings are people who are using their platform and their voices to shed light on others.
THE LOOK
Boots, YSL; Denim, AE77
