MALIKA INTERVIEW: “AN OPEN HAND RECEIVES MORE BLESSINGS THAN A CLOSED ONE” – THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC AND PROTECTING HER CREATIVE POWER [VP.2026 / 011]
MALIKA INTERVIEW: Few anthems define the sonic landscape of UK underground club culture quite like ‘Go’. Originally Released in 2007 during the peak of the UK Funky movement, the track’s enduring magnetism has crossed generations, recently experiencing a massive second life driven by viral digital rediscovery and a brand-new live orchestral reimagining. But behind the iconic vocal is Malika—formerly known as Meleka—a vocalist, songwriter, and businesswoman whose roots in the UK music scene run extraordinarily deep.
Born into a music family with lineage spanning pirate radio operators and Lovers Rock icons, Malika’s journey is a masterclass in creative patience, industry literacy, and artistic evolution. From navigating contract law as a teenager to retaining 100% ownership of her master recording, she represents a rare bridge between the physical era of UK club culture and today’s algorithm-driven landscape. VIPER caught up with Malika to discuss inheriting the culture, the true meaning of legacy, and why she is only just getting started.
MALIKA INTERVIEW: Your relationship with music began before your own career—from your father running Time Radio in North West London to your aunt Sonia Ferguson recording Lovers Rock. Looking back, do you feel you chose music, or were you inheriting a cultural language passed down through your family?
100%, I inherited it. There was no choice; I had no choice [laughs].
UK Funky grew through clubs, pirate radio, DJs, and communities before the mainstream fully understood what was happening. Having lived inside that movement rather than discovering it retrospectively, what do you think gets misunderstood when people tell the history of UK Funky today, and who or what risks being erased when an underground culture becomes a documented genre?
That’s a big question. I think the misconception is partly in the idea of it being “mainstream.” Funky has always lived in a space of penetrating the masses without ever fully crossing the line into a mainstream ecosystem the way Grime or Garage did. There are maybe five core Funky songs that everybody knows, but even within this resurgence, there are so many tracks. The misconception is that Funky “made it,” but it really hasn’t had its full moment yet. It’s very interesting that ‘Go’ has been at the forefront of this new resurgence for me personally.
The first life of ‘Go’ required you to physically travel around the country promoting it, building relationships with DJs, radio stations, and audiences. Its second life has seen it reach number one on TikTok and surpass 120,000 daily streams. Having lived on both sides of that technological shift, have artists gained greater freedom through algorithms, or lost something important in how cultural movements used to be built?
In my opinion, it’s all the same. The way people discover music now is the same way they discovered it back in the day. You might get hot on pirate radio or in your local area, and then that filters through to other areas. Now, you might get hot on TikTok or Instagram, and it filters through. One is digital and one is physical, but both require you to put boots on the ground and do the work repeatedly—whether handing out CDs back then or posting online now.
You’ve said ‘Go’ truly belongs to the culture, which creates an interesting paradox because you also wrote, sang, and retained ownership of it. What has 17 years taught you about the difference between owning a record legally and allowing the community to own it emotionally?
What I’ve learned is that my personal experience of ‘Go’ and Funky House isn’t the important part. The only thing that really matters is that because I own it 100%, I have 100% of the responsibility to honour how important it is to everybody else. The journey of ‘Go’ hasn’t been simple, but it taught me that I’m just a conduit for the song for everybody else.
There comes a point in an artist’s career where understanding contracts, publishing, and licensing becomes as important as understanding the studio. When did you realise that protecting Malika the artist required developing Malika the businesswoman?
I grew up in music, so my brain has always been focused on business; I just happened to have a really good voice. Everything worked in tandem. I went to university, studied Music and Media Management, and got my degree. While studying, we covered contract law, so before I had even released anything, I understood its importance. On top of that, my dad was instrumental—he brought me to studios, taught me about rewriting, and had me register with PRS and PPL when I was 13. So those foundations were planted in me very early.
Beyond simply changing the spelling of your name, who did Malika have to become that the younger Meleka couldn’t yet understand?
When I first came out, I was doing more writing and behind-the-scenes work, so I used a pseudonym (spelling it with an ‘e’ and an ‘i’). When I became more of a solo artist, I wanted to return to the real spelling of my name, which confused people! But younger Meleka had to learn patience in a way I didn’t have back then. There are things I navigate now that I couldn’t have done at 20 when ‘Go’ first came out. Patience is understanding that everything happens in its own time.
The new version brings together composers and a house gospel choir, placing UK Funky alongside Afrobeats and live musicianship. When revisiting a defining record 17 years later, how do you honour the woman who originally created it without becoming creatively imprisoned by your own nostalgia?
I don’t feel I need to “honour” her, because she was simply the foundation for the woman I am now in so many ways.
Seventeen years ago, you were traveling around Britain trying to convince people to believe in ‘Go’. Today, a new generation is discovering it. If you could put the young woman who first recorded ‘Go’ in a room with the woman who owns her work, negotiates her own deals, and advises others today, what would you tell her about the difference between success, ownership, and legacy?
Success means different things to different people and changes over time. For a long time, I felt like a failure, and only recently have I acknowledged that I’ve done successful things. Legacy is a currency you can always trade on; maintaining your reputation and legacy is deeply important.
As for ownership, 100% of nothing is still nothing. It’s about knowing when to hold space and when to share space. In business, you have to understand that you sometimes give up a piece of your personal time, image, or creativity to reach the next level. An open hand receives more blessings than a closed one.
What top three albums helped shape your mindset?
‘No More Drama’ by Mary J. Blige, ‘Voyage to India’ by Arie, and ‘Stripped’ by Christina Aguilera.
What do those three projects mean to you in a few words?
They are stories with incredible vulnerability and different messages. Mary J. Blige represents pain and fight-or-flight; ‘Voyage to India’ is peace, alignment, and trust; and ‘Stripped’ is raw female empowerment and taking ownership of oneself.
What do you embrace from the area you grew up in that helps you navigate music?
I’m originally from North West London (Harlesden, Wembley, Kensal Green). But I wouldn’t say I took my sound strictly from my area. My music is inspired by the blended nature of my family—specifically my grandmothers. Having one Black Jamaican grandmother and one white English grandmother from Yorkshire, and the equal love they gave me, is my main inspiration.
Do you feel like you are still transcending?
For sure, I haven’t even fully started yet! I’m only just getting off the ground.
Interview by Dejee Baptiste
The curation doesn’t stop here. Explore vipermag.com for your full dose of lifestyle, music, and culture.
Follow us to stay ahead of the curve: @vipermagazine
Explore the site to grab the latest issues, and join us in the Viper+ Vault for uncut artist interviews, definitive cultural deep dives, and exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the future of the scene.
