The road to Los Angeles

By Kate Hayden, khayden@charlescitypress.com

Malik Knighten’s after-high school journey is starting earlier than he expected. This week, Knighten packed his suitcase and caught a flight out of Minneapolis for Los Angeles, where he begins work as a signed Sony artist.

Knighten will join four other guys as the new musical group Next Town Down. Opportunity came knocking through a producer/manager’s direct message on Instagram.

“He told me about a big opportunity that they’re doing, and he wanted to reach out to me,” Knighten said. “We ended up Skyping and I sang for him, and they really liked it, so they decided they were going to fly me out and meet me in person.”

On his first Sony trip to LA Knighten met the guys who are now his bandmates: Terence Thomas, Leon Outlaw, Tre Waters and Chris Eisenberg. The group, which ranges in ages from 14-21 years, spent the first night hanging out, and found themselves singing in a studio.

“Everything was like crazy-magical, and that’s when we knew that this was the group,” Knighten said. “We all mesh together really well … They’ve all been in it longer than I have.”

“All of us guys in the group feel like there’s just something missing in music right now, something that kids can’t relate or old people can’t relate, so we want to make music that everyone can relate to, not just people who like certain genres,” Knighten added.

Knighten was in LA for an initial 12 days, recording demos and getting to know his bandmates. The night before returning to Charles City, Knighten signed a contract with Sony. He returned right in time for Christmas. On Jan. 1, Knighten learned he needed to be ready to move out west in one month.

“I had to make sure I had school, everything else like that figured out. It was crazy, the month went by really fast,” Knighten said. “They’re taking care of everything for me, I don’t have to worry about anything, just being the musician.”

Less than three months ago, Knighten was promoting his own music and his first single “Take My Stress,” which he recorded in Waterloo. Now, his focus will be on R&B and pop music, which the group hopes to spin to be accessible to all audiences.

“Leaving is sad. It’s scary going to a place like that, but I feel like it’s supposed to happen,” Knighten said, adding, “I’ve only been singing for two years and I’m already at this point –– it’s just crazy, especially being from Iowa.”

That hometown support that spread his music in early December has also propelled Knighten forward in his next steps. With the help of a tutor, Knighten will be taking the remainder of his senior year classes online through Charles City High School, so he will receive a Charles City diploma at the end of the year. With his family still based in Charles City, Knighten will be living in studio-provided housing and working with a daily class schedule of music theory, dance, studio work and his high school courses.

Knighten will also have a Charles City friend in artist Mars Muesel, who is also living in LA as a musician, as well as some family members in the area.

“Our managers are really great guys, they want to take care of us, they don’t want us to be taken advantage of. So that helps a lot too,” Knighten said.

It’s hard to leave Iowa, Knighten said, but it’s a decision he had to make. He’ll be in contract with Sony for the next three to four years.

“Everyone’s excited. It doesn’t happen a lot here, so everyone is the same as I am, this is actually happening,” Knighten said. “When I flew out, I didn’t realize it was as big as it was … but once I got out there and saw everything that’s happening, I was shocked.”

“For me it still hasn’t hit me yet,” he added.