Toro Y Moi - Mahal

I feel like I’m bold here: I’m in a place where I’m confident in what I have to say and how I’m going to say it. [I’m reading the room:] there’s several audiences that I’m trying to cater to as I grow. It’s all about being intentional, things may take a little bit longer, sometimes even making the right lyrics or sounds. It has to feel right and be an example of progress. I want to give to all of these themes and more.

[Mahal means either “expensive” or “love” in the Tagalog language, something I’ve inherited from my identity as an African-American of Filipino descent.] Even naming a J Dilla-esque song after a Filipino word, I didn’t have the vision or didn’t know where it was going at the time, but taking time to build these worlds, feel out what I want to say. That allows me to explore who I am and put that on paper in a way that best represents my thoughts and feelings.

– Toro y Moi, via Bandcamp Daily