Malcolm London • OPIA

Ever awkwardly catch eye contact with someone you don't know for more than five seconds walking down the street, on the train, or at a party from across the room? How intrusive it may feel to have someone staring you directly in the eye & yet simultaneously how vulnerable it feels like someone can see into your soul. Internationally recognized poet, activist & rapper Malcolm London wants you to feel exactly that when listening to his new project titled OPIA. Opia - which means the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eyes which can feel both invasive and vulnerable. When asked about what the unique name of his project, he says "I just want people to feel like they're staring me in my eyes when they listen." The project is executive produced by Save Money producer EB & features poet & songstress Jamila Woods, Donnie Trumpet, Vic Mensa & more. Malcolm London who is recognized all over the world for his activism & poetry via TED Talks & trending internationally (#FreeMalcolmLondon) is now taking a chance in the music realm. BIO: MALCOLM LONDON, called the Gil-Scott Heron of this generation by Cornel West, is an internationally recognized Chicago poet, activist, educator & musician. London brings vim & vigor to his energetic performances tackling tough contemporary issues head-on. He has appeared on PBS for the first ever televised TED Talk with John Legend & Bill Gates & has shared stages with actor Matt Damon & rapper Lupe Fiasco as a part of the The People Speak, Live! cast. He also appears on Season 2 of TVOne’s Verses & Flow. In 2011, Malcolm London won the Louder Than A Bomb youth poetry slam in his native Chicago, scooping the top award as both individual performer & with a team. The poet, performer & activist recently wrote & directed a spoken word infused play responding to the Zimmerman verdict called Two Years Later at the Goodman Theatre with an ensemble of five youth poets. As an organizer London was apart of a historic youth delegation to the United Nations in Geneva to address police violence in Chicago. In November of 2015 London was targeted & arrested by Chicago Police who claimed London assaulted a police officer but due to a international outcry via social media & hundreds of people's presence at Cook County jail for his court hearing to address false claims all charges were dropped the very next day(#FreeMalcolmLondon). London, who runs the largest youth open mic in Chicago alongside friend Chance The Rapper, sees art as the intersection between justice & poetic imagination. Malcolm is now taking what he's learned from teaching & becoming an artivist & transcribing it into music. His new project OPIA released Oct 17th will be available free on Soundcloud.

Malcolm London's reach and impact on the city of Chicago go way past music, and the activist, poet and artist has put his money where his mouth is every step of the way. Chicago's trials and tribulations resulting from the criminal failings by city government and law enforcement required citizens to stand up, something Malcolm London unequivocally did, facing threats, jail time and lord knows what else throughout. But when it comes to spreading his message, music offers a way for Malcolm to break through the ceiling of accessibility, making it possible to get word out to even those who didn't think they wanted to hear  (such is its power).

OPIA is the brilliant title of his debut project, describing the feeling of dissonance and discomfort when looked directly in the eyes by another.  You'll find matching artwork, inspired by images of protest from last November, and tracks that conceptually fit the title. Malcolm London isn't staring into your eyes - he's challenging you to stare into his. What is his life like? How does he find normalcy in the chaos? Can he ever go back to it? Malcolm London has always made his listeners ask questions they didn't know they had, and OPIA is no different. Empathy and understanding are everything. With a heavy hitting list of features on the project (Vic Mensa, Jamila Woods, Donnie Trumpet and more) and eclectic production that gives London a wide range of terrain to travel, OPIA is a project that offers nuance, variety and some beautiful song-writing. Malcolm London's way with words are worth hearing, whether or not they're over a beat, but OPIA demonstrates London's true potential as a musician.