Born into a Gambian household in the London borough of Hackney, and with time spent in Birmingham and Ireland, Malick IV (formerly Skyhighdee) is already a well-travelled individual. The rapper prides himself on being a multi-faceted artist with musical influences ranging from Jay Z to Sade to Fleetwood Mac. Malick first tried his hand at writing lyrics at 13 and spent the next two years quietly honing his skill until he was spotted by a local group of emcees and invited to his first studio session at the age of 15. 

Malick IV’s first real solo attempt came in 2010 in the form of a mixtape he named Attention All Producers, which was recorded and mixed by himself in his bedroom while on campus at the University of East London. 

On 18th February 2013, after 2 years of work, he released his finest body of work to date, Blood Of A Martyr. The 12-track EP is a snapshot of Malick coming into his own as a man during his transitional early 20s and touches on themes of society, relationships and the trials and tribulations of ‘the come up’. 

A month after releasing the 12-track free EP it earned a feature in the MOBO Awards article February’s Biggest Underground Releases. In August of 2013 Malick collaborated with Watch Them Fall Down Films to produce a nine-part online series entitled The Blood Of A Martyr Interview, a recap of significant events in the recording process of the EP. 

Malick IV has been quite active on the live show circuit this year. He headlined Taxawal Gambia's second showcase event at Rhythm Factory, London. 

The 23-year-old describes himself as a modern-day rolling stone and the epitome of young, black Britain. With 8 years of perfecting his craft and a Music Industry Management degree under his belt, Malick now has his sights firmly set on cementing his place on the hip hop landscape and filling what he believes is a void in UK rap with his eagerly anticipated project Inhibitions due for a 2014 release. 

Special message from Malick IV 

I've been nominated for MTV Brand New Unsigned 2014. I NEED all my Gambians to stand up and be counted right now! 

I'm gonna be on BBM for the whole month of November to chat to everyone who VOTES for me to win. Make sure you let me know when you vote cause I'll be sending a copy of my free album Blood of a Martyr to your home address too! 

Voting closes 18th November. Let's make this happen!

HIT THIS LINK AND LOG IN VIA YOUR TWITTER/FB TO VOTE:

http://www.brandnewunsigned.mtv.co.uk/act/malickiv