malia dishon is the first daughter of the legendary Dungeon Family, but the multi-hyphenate talent has been forging her own path for more than 15 years. From video direction to social media management and digital marketing, dishon has been pulling the strings of Atlanta’s music industry.
Now she’s determined to be the star and director of her own show with her upcoming EP “The Star,” set to release this summer.
The Atlanta Voice talked with malia dishon at Stankonia Studios about growing up in the music industry, navigating different creative mediums, and how she feels about debuting what will essentially be her musical introduction to the world.
The Atlanta Voice: At the end of your song “You See Me,” a voice tells you you’re “The star of your own show.” What would the name of that show be, and tell us the journey of how that show started?
malia dishon: “Oh, that’s such a great question. That voice is my grandma, and I didn’t record her on the track. One day, she said that to me, and I was like, ‘Wait, can you say it again?’ And I just voice memoed it. It fit so perfectly because she said, ‘You’re the star of your own show. You’re the director.’ And I’m also a music video director, so I was like, this is perfect. But I think my show would be self-titled or ‘The Star,” because that’s truly how I feel. I grew up around stars and am one myself, so I feel like that speaks to me the best.”
AV: I love that. Okay, let’s get a little bit into malia dishon, because you have navigated the entertainment industry from social media to digital marketing to directing. What has it been like navigating those different mediums, and how has it influenced your own artistry as you’re gearing up to release your first EP?
MD: “I think that every part of music that I’ve worked in so far was a stepping stone to the next phase. Learning about social media and digital marketing helped me to be a senior marketing director at LVRN, and doing that opened my eyes to so much more because I was on music video sets and album cover shoots. Being in those spaces and having the exposure of all of that is what really motivated me.
“As I got deeper into creative direction and directing, it just opened up a new layer of creativity within me, and then that’s when the songwriting came in. I was actually on tour with Summer Walker as a set designer for her tour that year, and I watched her perform in front of 40,000 people at Wireless Festival, and they sang every single word. It touched me so deeply. I came home and wrote ‘King of Lies’ right after that and was like, I’m gonna put out music. Being in all of those spaces is just very full circle for me, because now as an artist, I’m able to also pull in some of those skills and apply it for myself.”
AV: You’re the first daughter of the Dungeon Family. Your dad is Ray Murray of the legendary Organized Noize. Can you talk about what it was like growing up in the music industry — in the studio — and what lessons you took away from that upbringing that have now pushed you forward as you’re creating and forging your own path?
MD: Growing up as the first daughter of the Dungeon Family is such an honor. I knew, even then as a child, that something special was happening, even if I didn’t fully grasp it. It started to kind of hit me more during middle school age when people were recognizing some of my uncles. My friends would be over and they’re like, ‘Was that Sleepy Brown coming in and taking some popcorn out the pantry?’ And I’m like, yeah [laughs]. I would hear something on the radio and go, ‘My dad produced that!’ It was just so cool to see the impact that it had on my community and it was just always really inspiring, even to the point where they have shot parts of music videos at my house.
“That inspired me as a director, because I’m like, eight, nine years old on the set of ‘Skew it on the Bar-B,’ and I’m like, wow, this is amazing. I was just very vocal, always asking questions. And gratefully, they were always answering my questions and being open to my ideas.”
AV: With all of those legacies and legends surrounding you, did it feel like pressure or more of a road map?
MD: “It was a road map because they never pressured me to make music. I didn’t know I was gonna do this. I didn’t start writing songs until 2022 after using songwriting as a tool to grieve the loss of one of my really close friends. I had never thought about it before then. My family and my dad were always very supportive of whatever I wanted to do.”
AV: You’ve made your own impact in the music industry from working with Summer Walker, DRAM, Latto, and 6lack, to name a few. You also helped shine a light on Raury when he was coming up by sharing his music with your uncle, Andre 3000. What has it been like for you to have that knowledge that you’ve made an impact in the Atlanta music scene and that you’ve helped them grow as artists?
MD: “I think it’s wonderful to witness. That was a way for me to forge my own path in music. It just started to happen naturally. That’s what artists do. You see somebody doing something, and you’re like, this is great. I want to support this. I want to be a part of this. With Raury, that opened up some doors for him; he got to open up for OutKast. They just all really loved it. And then from there, I was friends with the LVRN guys for a whole year before even working there. But gratefully, things lined up, and I was able to come in as the social media manager. As they grew, I grew. It eventually led to me being senior marketing director and leading the team with Summer Walker’s ‘Over It,’ and that was game-changing. I knew that album was gonna be something big, and I also told him 6lack was gonna be big too.”
AV: Your first EP, “The Star,” comes out this summer. Can you talk about the creative process behind it?
MD: “Those songs started to come together at the end of 2022, so I’ve been working on it for quite a bit of time. And the first song that I actually wrote for it was a song called ‘You See Me.’ I was just driving to my friend Pat’s home studio one day, and I was like, I want something that kind of feels like the Black Eyed Peas or Nelly Furtado or Cassie.”
AV: The cadence of the album definitely reminded me of the 2000s with a mix of deep house.
MD: “Yeah! I wanted something that felt like a 2000s pop girl or a group from around that time. I didn’t even tell him anything. I just pulled up, and he had that already loaded up that he just made. And I was like, ‘Pat, this is literally the type of song I wanted to make today,’ and the words just came out so effortlessly. And it felt like the first song that felt like me. That was the goal, to create something sonically like that, and then everything else just kind of came together over time. I was able to open myself up to a point where I could find other things that fit there.
“It was even me just being at the right place at the right time, coming up to Stankonia, and then hearing my dad play the ‘On His Mind’ beat for the first time. I was like, ‘Send me that right now.’ But it took me a couple years to write that song too, because the words sometimes don’t just come right all at the same time. Sometimes you have to step back from the song so that more new ideas can come. And with the song ‘Say You Love Me,’ I was up here at Stankonia too. One of my dad’s friends played that beat, and I’m like, ‘I need that.’ I love songs that feel like a journey.”
AV: What is it like to have so many different parts of yourself in this EP? You wrote every song on here, and then also your dad helped produce the final track on the EP. What is it like to give parts of yourself to something that’ll be your first full introduction to the entertainment industry as a singer-songwriter?
MD: “It’s very personal to me because I’m writing about my life experiences. At first, it actually made me really uncomfortable to play some songs for people, but I’m over that now. It feels really freeing and like I’m seen for who I am very deeply. This is like your diary being played for people’s ears out loud.
“I’m just really grateful to be seen in this light, because I’m operating in all of the areas as a creative. I’ve had to incorporate all of my skills that I’ve used over time for other people, now for myself. And I think it’s a very, very beautiful thing to be able to do. I’m making this because I like to do it, but the fact that people actually like it means so much more to me. It’s like a cherry on top.
AV: I love it. Your birthday was June 15. As you grow older, how do you want your music and your artistry to evolve?
MD: “I look at Beyonce and a lot of the things that she does. She also is a director, producer, creative and songwriter. I look at how she does a lot of those things at a high level. And I’m like, shoot. I want to do that. I just want to be able to grow as a creative and as a songwriter to the point where I’m making things that feel very high level so that I can open up doors for myself and be performing in stadiums and arenas around the world. The possibilities are literally endless now that I’m operating as a creative in all facets, so I’m just ready for it.”
AV: And what’s the best advice you’ve gotten from anyone in your family or anyone you’ve been blessed to grow up with in the music industry?
MD: “Gratefully, I’ve been able to receive a lot of great advice from my family, my friends and the whole Dungeon Family too. I was able to ask my uncle Rico Wade — RIP — some advice when I was playing him some of the early demo cuts of my music. He said, ‘What you’re doing is great, but you need to sing this song like you are the artist, not like you’re the songwriter.’ That’s something that I had to learn over time, but that shifted things for me and opened my eyes to creating my voice as an artist. I had to really develop who malia dishon sounds like.
“Also my Uncle Big [Boi] gave me some advice, because I felt like I was dealing with writer’s block. And he was like, ‘Just step away from it and listen to another genre that isn’t the genre you’re operating in.’ I listened to a lot of jazz, and that helped me to make my mind go somewhere else, so that other sources of inspiration could trigger certain melodies or certain words.”
AV: Do you have any advice for up and coming artists, especially as someone who’s seen so much of the music industry behind the scenes and now in front of it?
MD: “As you’re finding your way, just know that there are different phases of artistry. We want to do so much as artists, and some of that is not possible. So, we have to kind of be present in each phase of life and acquire whatever skills and meet whatever people we need to meet at that phase of life. Then, naturally, you’ll know when to transition to the next phase.
“I feel like a lot of artists are good at a lot of things, and so it can kind of be overwhelming for us. Hone in on one of the things you’re good at, and then once you’re really good at that, let’s move on and acquire another skill set. Let’s take it one day at a time, one phase at a time.”
This interview was edited for length and clarity.