Unabashed Confidence «Cult Leader» from King Mala

King Mala is an alternative pop artist based in Los Angeles. AKA Areli Castro, the El Paso born musician is not afraid to spill her guts.

Setting out with the hopes to spark confidence in both herself and her listeners, she creates music that will make you walk taller and speak louder. Both her music and visuals experiment with masculine tropes, sharing «There’s something about taking something traditionally masculine and wearing it as a woman that makes me feel really powerful». These masculine threads weave throughout everything she does, hence King rather than Queen and «Mala» which roughly translates to «bad bitch» in Spanish. Sharing her feelings from the bottom of her heart King Mala encourages you to dig deep and connect with your inner-self. Life is messy and we shouldn’t feel ashamed to show our emotions and speak our mind.

Dark, provocative and perhaps a little twisted, the new single «Cult Leader» has an empowering and confident disposition. Manifested with a «fake it till you make it» mindset, the track was actually written when her confidence had taken a hit, though the song writer decided that instead of leaning into the sadness, she would be overly confident and a bit narcissistic to try and boost her self-esteem. Reverberating with a distorted driving beat and haunting vocals, the track oozes with a bold and daring energy.

In pure King Mala style, the song is a display of her fearless character, with the artist revealing, «I want this song to be two minutes of pure unabashed confidence. I want people to let themselves get lost in the fantasy of the most confident version of themselves (even if it’s a bit toxic). I want this to be a song people turn to when they want to feel like a badass!».

King Mala has a significant and dedicated following across her social media, with over half a million followers on TikTok. Having amassed millions of streams, she has been featured in Showtime’s The L Word and has garnered praise from the likes of Billboard, PAPER Magazine, SPIN, Live Nation’s Ones to Watch, Wonderland Magazine, V Magazine, Refinery 29, Flaunt Magazine, The Line of Best Fit, LADYGUNN and American Songwriter to name a few.