Carolyn Malachi, Singer/Songwriter
Age: 32.
Grew up in: Brookland.
Now lives in: Ivy City.
Elevator pitch: “As we are the sum of our thoughts, I would play ‘Introduction: I Wish,’ the first song from my new album, Rise: Story 1. The lyrics start, ‘I wish for happiness. I wish for world peace. And shit, I wish for relevance. I want to be ubiquitous. Right now. So I can savor it. Right now. To save my people with it. Right now. I want to be rich.’ ”
The moment that changed everything: “Leaving my full-time job in corporate logistics to work as a full-time artist.”
The surprise of her life: “Finding out I was nominated for a Grammy.”
What the future is like: “I am in love with life and love itself. Anything is possible.”
DC Roll Call
Fave coffee shop: Dolcezza.
Teahouse: Calabash Teahouse & Café.
Bar: Harold Black.
Restaurant: Ethiopic.
Spot: The red pagoda near the National Arboretum’s Asian Collections.
Hero: “Omrao Brown, who for years made the Bohemian Caverns stage available to me to develop my craft.”
Memory: “Yasiin Bey’s concert at the Kennedy Center. Slick Rick joined him onstage. That would have been enough, but then Talib Kweli and Robert Glasper made guest appearances as well. What a magical moment!”
This article originally appeared in the February 2017 issue of Washingtonian.
Amanda has contributed to Washingtonian since 2016. She has written about the right-wing media personality Britt McHenry, chronicled her night with Stormy Daniels, and come clean about owning too much stuff. She lives on H Street. She can be reached at [email protected].
