Interview by Andrew Ondara and Ariana Phillips
Here's a snippet from a sit-down with native Houston R&B artist Ejay Mallard on the Black by Popular Demand show! Ejay talks about his musical journey—from singing in church to becoming the "Frank Ocean of Baylor"—as well as the deep gospel influences in his sound. He shares how pain fuels his music, his inspirations, and the impact of growing up on Houston’s northside on his artistry. Ejay also dives into the themes of love, relationships, and personal growth that shape his music, including his latest EP and how he crafts his sound to reflect both nostalgia and modern R&B.
Check out the full episode on Spotify at Black by Popular Demand Show Podcast!
BBPD (Andrew): Okay. So, EJ, you recently performed here at Rice, and we're really excited to have you here today in the studio. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to come do that.
Ejay: For sure.
BBPD (Andrew): So first off, we really just wanna get to know you and where you came from, how you started making music. So, yeah, just take us back to the beginning. I guess my first real question is, how'd you get into making music?
Ejay: So my name is Ejay Mallard. I'm an R&B artist from the northside of Houston, Texas. I got into music through my mother. She is a preacher at a church, but growing up, I was in the choir. She was also leading the choir, so it was kind of just faith-based religion, music, and stuff like that. I never really professionally pursued it; it was more so just church and choir and school as well. Shout out to Atascocita High. But, yeah, we did that for a while. And then when I got to college, I was like, man, I really wanna start professionally pursuing this in a more organized fashion. So I released my first single professionally, which is Drake and Drive, and the feedback I received from that was super great. I kind of notoriously became the Frank Ocean of the Baylor campus because it was few and far between when I would release a song. So when they got one, it was very special because they knew I took my time with it. So, yeah, that's just kind of how things started. Since then, it's just been a whirlwind of releases and ups and downs, but I think I've finally gotten to a point now where folks are coming to me for answers, and it feels good. Sometimes you'd be that guy, but I'm excited for what's to come. To me, it's more about the journey, the way I got here and how I arrived at this exact point has been the most fun part for me.
BBPD (Ariana): I could tell you were in the church. Yeah. I said that to Andrew while you were performing. I was like, he definitely been in the church.
Ejay: Yeah. I love it. A lot of my music has a lot of gospel influence. In choir, we would do a lot of operatic songs, so I would take elements of those and try to embed them in R&B. I feel like it made a lot of sense to give people an authentic version of myself. I didn't wanna stray too far from what got me into music anyway. I feel like even in the Black community, when you hear those gospel elements within R&B, you can automatically recognize them. Nostalgia helps with that as well. I've done renditions of different songs where I've taken gospel elements or gospel lyrics and embedded them into my lyrics to make sense for me, but then I also live vicariously through others, so they have the opportunity to reflect and relate to it as well.
BBPD (Ariana): Alright. So what I'm wondering is, what is the inspiration for your music?
Ejay: Pain. Pain is the biggest inspiration for me thus far. I think pain creates passion. You have some experiences to look back on, and you can take those and create art, in my opinion. In terms of musical inspiration, I would say Frank Ocean is probably one of my biggest R&B inspirations growing up. I'm a 90s baby myself, so a lot of what I was introduced to is 90s R&B, like Marcus Houston, B2K, Usher, and even further back, Boyz II Men, John B. A lot of what I do now reflects that, but those gospel elements come into play as well. I just try to do my own thing and add my own little sauce to it…
BBPD (Andrew): In doing my research, listening to one of your songs, Frequency, you say, turn on the radio or “Put on UGK, baby. Yeah.” So to that, Houston has such a rich musical legacy. So how's growing up in Houston, especially on the north side, influenced your sound and the stories you tell through your music?
Ejay: I want people to know I think that's probably one of the hardest things. A lot of people when they hear music, they don't really get an idea of where the artist is from or what kind of influence their sound in terms of societal impact. So I want people to know when they hear my music that this is Houston. This is what we can produce because, like you said, Houston has a very, especially in the hip-hop scene, a very slowed down, very grunge-y sound. When you think of Houston, you don't think of R&B. So when people hear my music, I want them to be like, oh, they have some talent out there. So you always hear me even in my music. I'll say, like, the north side kind of references just to give folks the idea, like, this is where I'm from. This is what has shaped me and made me the man I am today. But it also just lets listeners know that there is talent out here. If you dig and find it, you will find it. And then for me too, it's also just this is the city that made me, the city that raised me. Everything that I know and have been introduced to has been by way of Houston. So it's like I just like an ode to my city, I guess, in every song. So I definitely want folks to know that this is I'm doing this not just for myself, but for a representation of my city, especially within the R&B lane. I don't want people to ever feel like Houston is only known for one thing, and I feel like me doing this, the way that I do it at least, allows folks to see that.
BBPD (Ariana): I just wanna say you ate down with that song. It's definitely been on repeat.
Ejay: Yeah. Definitely put some people onto it, and I think it's very funny. It's a true story, but we've watered it down a little bit. So I was driving, and not this is my current girlfriend, but I had a past relationship, and we were driving, and she decided to grab the steering wheel, and we were going on 59.
BBPD (Ariana): Oh, no.
Ejay: Yeah. Very, very so, again, we've watered it down a little bit, but it's more so the concept was because I was playing songs. Like, you know, guys play songs or a woman will play songs to her, like, you're trying to subliminally get them to take a message from this song. I've done that before. Exactly. So, I was playing a song, and, yeah, she was not a fan. And we turned into an argument and, you know, one thing led to another. But we watered it down a little bit just for the sake of simplicity and relatability as well. I feel like just keeping it very neutral and very simplistic, less toxic, but still on the comedic factor, it allowed folks to see the ebb and flow of the music that women listen to and then the music that men listen to and then the subliminal messages that kinda come out of those. So, yeah, it was very reflective, and a lot of people related to it because very similar story. Like I said, I live vicariously through others. So when you do stuff like that, it kinda just is like, oh, I'm just telling my own story. And then, yeah, you just be like, oh, yeah.
BBPD (Ariana): The steering wheel's a little crazy. Very. But I would definitely play Frequency to throw some subliminals at somebody.
Ejay: Yeah. It's one of those songs. I like it. I enjoyed it. Shooting the video was crazy, but, yeah, when I was recording that song, shout out to John Allen Stevens. He's the producer of that record and the engineer for that record. But, yeah, when I was recording that song, a lot of it was just like when I was writing it, when I was recording, I was like, how can I make this very relatable? How can I make this so simple, but very, like, oh, I don't have to stray too much away from the story? So it helped. And I'm a great storyteller when it comes to writing, so that kinda helped too.
BBPD (Andrew): And I have a follow-up question for you. So I know you mentioned that some of your musical influences are Kanye West and Frank Ocean. I was wondering if you have any Houston-specific influences.
Ejay: Houston-specific influences, definitely gotta start with the north side, J Dog, the young hog. In terms of musicality, that's what I grew up on, when I was in middle school and high school. So, like, we would always play J Dog, but I think even beyond that, my uncle was the first person my uncle Jeremy was the first person to introduce me to music when I was a kid, and just seeing how he became kinda like the Tupac of our city, was very inspirational, but it's also like you go other places, they also know who he is and his demand, his demeanor. So, yeah, like, even just how he puts words together is the most that he donned freestyle probably was, like, the most epic thing that I heard in my youth. And then from that, I just kinda like that's kinda where I started in terms of trying to get my rhyme patterns and stuff going, because it was just all freestyle. So I was like, okay, how can I quickly just put thoughts on paper without having to really contemplate over them and commit to them when I do? So that's why I say, like, when I'm writing, I just, you know, first thing that comes out is what's going on paper. And then after that, I'll do some more reflection of, like, is this actually gonna be a good song or not? And then I'll make the decision there. But, yeah, he gave me a lot of influence when it came to writing.
BBPD (Andrew): And so I guess, like, overall, tell us, like, what sort of your process or thought process when making a song?
Ejay: So, yeah, it starts off with sometimes it starts with a beat. Sometimes it starts with just lyrics, and then I'll try to find the beat or I'll make the beat to match. But my thought process primarily is telling my own story, be as vulnerable as possible, be authentic as possible. I don't I used to, at least, be in the position to where I would write for others to make the song popular, I guess. But now it's more so just being honest with myself and the things that I've experienced. About to be 29 years old in February, so I've had some ups and downs, been through a couple of things. So I think I have a lot to say still even to this day, that I haven't had an opportunity to say. Even in my writing now, it's more positive, and a lot of my previous music was more, like I said, came from pain, a little bit more toxic, a little bit more heartfelt. And this music now is more focused on affection and love and devotion themes that I've never really explored, but it's by virtue of being in a great relationship that I have an opportunity to do that because I was very self-sabotaging a lot, and I kinda pushed a lot of people away, especially her. But once I got to a position of acceptance of, like, okay. This is actually a good time to actually start reflecting on affection and devotion and stuff like that, then I was like, okay. Like, how can my writing change to match that? So it starts with just being vulnerable, being honest, very romanticized, I would also say. From there, I don't really do much else. I just try to put as much on paper as I can, and then I'll groom it, tweak it here and there. Some songs come quicker than others. Like, I could have, but I didn't. We wrote that and recorded it in about 30 minutes, and that's probably one of my biggest songs to date, this year that well, I released it last year, but it blew up crazier this year. And then, you know, other songs like, the leading single, When A Black Man Gets Vulnerable, that took a little bit more time, about a month and a half, but it's because I took my time to shape it and groom it to be a little bit more vulnerable, a little bit more open about my experiences. So, you know, some come quicker than others, but once I have it, I can instantly tell when a song is going to be a hit and when it's not. So, like, I don't spend too much time dwelling on stuff that isn't going to be something that I would put out. Once I've come to the conclusion, like, oh, this is not a good song. I put it in my backlog on my phone, and if it ever comes back up later, it will. But at that time, I just move on to the next.
BBPD (Andrew): I feel like as a black man, I can resonate with talking about vulnerability and affection. So especially from that perspective of a black man. So what inspired you to focus on this theme? And what do you hope listeners take away from that message?
Ejay: Yeah. So When A Black Man Gets Vulnerable, the EP was basically an embodiment of the black male experience, as it relates to vulnerability. So my hope is that listeners will get an understanding that it's okay to be vulnerable, especially as a black man in society because oftentimes, it seems as if that's not the case. And we're just literally having this conversation last night while we're watching Love is Blind, but it's literally so frowned upon these days for men, especially black men, to open up and be honest about the experiences and the pains that you have because it often seems as if you open up, and then a reaction or response is met with that, and then you're apologizing for opening up. So it's like, damn. I didn't know that my word or how I felt would have an impact on someone else and make them feel a type of way to where you're now in a position of it's kind of this victimization kind of position starts to introduce itself and that you're in the position of suppressing your vulnerability, suppressing your moods and your thoughts, and you go through this world thinking that you can just take on everything. And I don't like when men do that. I don't do that at all. I feel like pain is supposed to be felt, but it also supposed to be presented. But then in this next project, and it's a series. So this first project was When a Black Man Gets Vulnerable, and then this next project, like I said, it's more focused on devotion and love. So this next project is titled When a Black Man Gets Affectionate. So it's now a little bit more upbeat tracks, a little bit more songs focused on love and focusing in on the woman and embracing your woman, showing her attention, showing her affection. Even there's some sexual desires on there to where you just kinda shaping what the black male experience looks like from that lens as well. So you have the vulnerability aspect now, and then you also have the affection aspect now to where folks can really see there's two sides to this coin. There's a soft side to this man, and sometimes we have to embrace some femininity as well. I think that's a key part of it. But also too, you have to get to a point to where you can also show affection, and it's not you can put down the masculine rugged masculinity and really see, like, I can do certain things that doesn't compromise or jeopardize how I'm seen in society. Like, a lot of people say, like, oh, this is sassy. You're doing this. I was like, I'm doing this for my woman. I could care less about what the world thinks. Like, this has nothing to do with me. If that means I'm gonna watch Love is Blind, like, not my favorite show in the world, but after a couple episodes, I'm in it, and she can tell you, like, I'm screaming at the TV because, like, man, I'm in it now, and I'm doing this for her because it makes her feel like he wants to be here. Like, it's not forced. And I think that's just an appreciation of where I am now and appreciation of the trajectory of my life and relationships. I feel like it took a lot of time to get to this point, but it took a lot of time to start to write in this vein because, like I said, everything was toxic up until this point. So it was very hard to make that transition, but now I'm happy, and it's good to write about happiness. It's good to write about things that make you feel a little bit more positive. I think the girls are definitely gonna eat that project. Oh, yeah. It's gonna go crazy. It's for the ladies. This is something that I feel like women would love to hear, especially coming from a black man of things that they don't necessarily or often hear from black men in terms of how can we be affectionate, what they're looking for in expectations, providing proof when there is little to none being shown that you actually want to be in this relationship. So I think that is the biggest thing for me.