Meet Al Mal Aka Adotwake

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Al Mal Aka Adotwake. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with AL MAL aka AdotWAKE below.

AL MAL aka AdotWAKE, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

A strong work ethic was instilled in me in several different ways since a very young age. I remember watching my mother sacrifice and work several jobs to take care of my sister and I while my dad was incarcerated. My dad was locked up for most of my life before he passed away tragically when I was 15. Seeing his struggle also inspired me to have a strong work ethic as well. I also grew up surrounded by a lot of substance abuse so watching people I cared about destroy their lives until their dying days was very impactful on my work ethic, showing me what I did NOT want for my life.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

My name is AL MAL aka AdotWAKE I am an internationally touring, tiny home based, full-time hip hop artist streaming my journey live everyday on twitch. My sound is said to be similar to Immortal Technique, Vinnie Paz, Action Bronson, or ILL BILL, but I’m still known for my own raw, signature east coast style and unique freestyle ability. I’ve made music and toured the world for over a decade, but music has been my full-time career since January 1st, 2020. That was the day I walked away from my successful career to pursue my music full time. Shortly thereafter, as we all know, the pandemic hit, and it drastically changed everyone’s lives. I had to cancel all my tour plans and start to figure out different options for sharing my music online, which is how I started live streaming. Through daily live streaming I’ve built a cult like following around my music which enables me to continue to work full time on my music goals. Right now, I am constantly working on new single releases, music videos, and shows, including an upcoming festival performance in the United Kingdom. This is my first time being booked to perform in the UK and I’m really looking forward to performing at Bonesfest in Bradford England on November 30th. All of this I accomplished independently with no label, just word of mouth from loyal supporters in the AL MAL ARMY!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

1. The Leap of Faith – At some point you will be faced with a choice to stay on the dock or get on the boat. Getting on the boat is filled with uncertainty, fear, and doubt but staying on the dock means certain death. No one knows when this choice arises, but your goals will at some point require you to fly without a net and take a large leap of faith that there will be something better on the other side.

2. Keep Going – The only thing ALL successful people have in common is that they all decided to keep going. The only way you find out if it can still happen, is if you keep going even when it seems like all is lost.

3. Sacrifice – On my journey I have had to sacrifice more than I ever could’ve imagined, and I still do every day. Both good and bad parts of my life have had to be sacrificed in exchange for the unseen magic to keep going. Everything that I used to be, has been sacrificed on the altar of who I must become.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

There are several books that have helped shape me into who I am but one of the most notable is 8 Minute Meditation by Victor Davich. (A close second is The Tao of WU by the RZA)

8 minute meditation showed me the most approachable, easiest meditation techniques that have really helped me in a lot of different ways. After learning the 8 meditation techniques, and further studying meditation as well, I realized how much I enjoy sharing easy to understand meditation techniques. I regularly share these on my live streams, and in person with the belief that pretty much anyone can meditate. This has also even led me to teaching meditation at large music festivals like the Gathering of the Juggalos for 2 years in a row now.

Everyone can meditate, it’s easy. Focus on your breath wherever you feel it most strongly for 1 inhale and 1 exhale. Then do it for the next breath, and the next after. All you need to do is focus on your breath and allow everything that is, to be. When you inevitably get pulled away from your breath, just practice catch and release. Catch that something has pulled you away from your breath, then release it by returning your focus to your breath once again. Repeat as often as needed. Now you can meditate too.

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