Rising Stars: Meet Malaika Jules of Inglewood

Today we’d like to introduce you to Malaika Jules.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?

I’m Malaika Jules- a comedian, storyteller, producer and former hip-hop artist from Inglewood, California. I got started when I was born!

I performed as the underground hip-hop artist Eagle Nebula with the legendary Leimert Park Afrofuturist crew Ras G and the Afrikan Space Program for many years. We often performed at the Low End Theory night at the Airliner, all over the city and in Europe too! We really lit the underground music scene on fire and I had a blast until Ras G sadly passed away in 2019. With my rap days behind me, I continued to use words and story as my creative outlet. My specialty is personal narrative and myth building.

Words are my primary tool of expression. Ultimately, that makes me a writer. I started out as a poet writing poetry to pay homage to my hometown. I love Inglewood and wanted people to see the beauty that is often overlooked.

I created The Inglewood Poetry Project, a public art project that highlighted stories of my neighbors as well as my own. If you go to the Inglewood Senior Center, you can see excerpts from that project etched into the wall. I recently performed my one woman show “90’s Hip-Hop Raised Me” at the Hollywood Fringe Festival where it won the producers’ encore award.

After years of writing and performing poetry and rap, my practice expanded to writing scripts which led me into comedy.

Now I perform stand up comedy around the city and engage community through teaching “The Right to Write Now” writing workshops at Universities and community organizations. Storytelling is in my blood and it manifests in many ways.

Photography is a way of telling stories without words. It serves as creative meditation for me. Growing up in LA during the late 90’s, I was really into film photography and darkroom. I took pictures all around Leimert Park. Those photos, taken in 1998 are the foundation for my latest project.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

I see myself as creatively fluid and refuse to choose one lane. Many people have a hard time wrapping their head around that. I own the fact that I am multi talented and recognize that different stories require different forms. Some things are better expressed as a poem or song. Other things need a film or TV show. A lot of things just need a good joke!

After covid, a lot of performance spaces in the neighborhood closed so getting stage time as a comic is tough now. I would love for there to be more comedy clubs south of the 10 freeway.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?

Currently, I am focused on my forthcoming book, Leimert 98. We’ll be selling the book along with prints and some cool merch to go along with it. I’m excited to share the old photographs and talk about the culture of Leimert Park during its golden era of the late 90’s. This project is only a piece of me, but it’s a very meaningful piece. It tells a story about Leimert Park that is being lost to the sands of time. It will be released by my Inglewood based publishing firm Alter Destiny Press.

What sets me apart from others is my range. I’m able to be excellent in whichever form I focus on at the time. I’m not afraid to charge my own path or switch course when necessary. It’s fun to be able to do all this, to have such a rich creative history and then go up on stage and be totally unserious doing stand up comedy!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Favorite books- Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. Song of Lawino, Song of Ocol by Okot P’ Bitek, Olio by Thyemba Jess. Favorite Podcast- The Ancestors Were Messy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.malaikathewriter.com or www.leimert98.com
• Instagram: @malaikajules

Image Credits
1. Ceraun the Diva Nun 2. Tanessia Sprull 3. Dominique Clayton 4. Helen Lessick 5. Unknown