Photos by Saint / OGM Creative Director
Legendary SoundCloud era producer Maaly Raw may be known for his undeniable sound, but is also responsible for some of our generation’s favorite tracks in recent years — implementing his ear-catching, unorthodox production style for Lil Uzi Vert, Playboi Carti, Meek Mill and more.
While fans may have heard his now-classic “That be Maaly Raw!” tag, putting a face to the name gives a whole new meaning to tracks like “Shoota,” “Dark Queen,” “Money Longer,” “Teen X,” “Ball Player” and many others. At the cusp of his career, Maaly Raw continues to prosper with every beat he bounces — always finding new ways to stand out amongst the industry’s plethora of star beatmakers.
“That’s Uzi on the tag. He was in Philly a while ago and we were in the studio. I told him, “I need a tag.” He went in there, I put the beat on, then he just took a minute to just say anything. It was a bunch of different tags actually, but ‘That be Maaly Raw,’ that’s what stood out.”
Maaly Raw on how his tag was created, OGM
Based in Philadelphia, Raw first linked up with Uzi in 2014, layer connecting for a handful of tracks off Lil Uzi Vert vs. The World. However, their first documented collaboration is on Uzi’s SoundCloud, titled “Monee Del Rey,” with Raw’s likeness soaring alongside Uzi’s as his popularity reached bonafide superstardom. After the release of “Money Longer,” Raw and Uzi knew they had a hit — previously predicting his success in the early stages of his career by giving beats out for free to promote his skills early on. Time would prove him right as he produced hits off of other critically-acclaimed albums like Championships by Meek and Whole Lotta Red by Carti.
By his own admission, Raw’s specialty is concert music, as each instrumental he crafts is made with the vision of a big stage performance. This concept became evident with WLR, with many fans disliking it at first, but soon coming to appreciate the project once it was performed. With big plans in motion, the Philly producer divulged his goals outside of music — also revealing a classified project in the works.
“Right now, I’m just working on getting more footage and more content. I got my cameraman with me too. Just trying to put out more… I’m about to get into the weed business too, I wanna get my own strain and dispensaries [in the future].”
Maaly Raw to OGM
While Maaly Raw looks to bolster his brand in the coming years, he sat down with OGM host Hakeem Rowe to discuss everything from Uzi, Carti, travel, the music industry and more in our latest Our Generation Music exclusive.
Check out Maaly Raw’s OGM interview below!
