Arizona artist Chicho Malo is no stranger to adversity. His emergence into the AZ hip-hop scene brought with it a very talented pool of dynamic artists, and ultimately, the heaviness of self-doubt and comparison.
However, that pressure formed his most recent gem, a sentimental yet powerful track entitled No Heart. The 5th single from his debut EP, No Heart shows just how deep Chicho’s bag of tricks is - while previous releases feature elements from his days in the Hardcore scene or from “cholo rap” (Chicho is bilingual), No Heart proves to the world that the rapper has range beyond his years.
I had a chance to chat with Chicho about the making of No Heart and his desire to take his artistry to the next level:
SC: What inspired you to write No Heart?
CM: “at the time a friend of mine was showing me all his new songs… he took me out of myself. Made me feel like you either have it or you don’t, and made me question whether I should keep doing the music thing.”
SC: So you’d say No Heart was your way of digging deep and finding the answer to “should I keep going?”
CM: “yeah. It surprised me in that aspect -- it did exactly what I needed. It reminded me that I need to keep going.”
It is always amazing to me the resilience of the human spirit. The song may be called No Heart, but Malo proves to have plenty of it. The lyrics bring the listener into the character’s mental struggle, “Why do I compare myself to everyone else? How can I sleep when everyone ‘round me has more heart than me?”
The song possesses ample bounce and feel and flows through incredible melodic sections before landing in the apex of the song: “I need an escape/can you fall in my arms/can you lead me away from the thoughts in my head?” Chicho’s vocal delivery leads with grit through the pain of this lived experience.
The song summates in the words of it’s final chorus, “I don’t want to wait for a tragedy to make me see I have something worth living for.” The character portrayed in the song awakens to the reality that tragedy isn't the only source of inspiration, that inspiration exists both around us and inside of us.
Chicho Malo should relish in the victory of a song that isn’t just a hit, but has something to say about how we persevere and find inspiration through trial. An incredible, must hear track from Sorrowcircle available on all streaming platforms.
- Jay