Daily Inspiration: Meet Aiden MacDonald-Malcom

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ay Jay Em.

Hi Ay Jay Em, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Since I was little, I’ve always been in love with music, but it wasn’t until 2020 when I took it seriously as a career for myself though. Me and KA$H made a mixtape that released in June of 2020, and after that is when we both realized this could be a career for us instead of just a dream. Eventually, later that year, we broke off into doing solo music as well, instead of just exclusively our duo, now known as KAYOS. Throughout the years, I’ve taken so much inspiration from different a ton of artists over many years, from Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, IDK, Denzel Curry, Joey Bada$$, and many more to achieve the sound that I’m going for today. Over time I’ve been able to work with so many producers to help me find my own sound as well. MC CUBED was my first-ever producer, and eventually, I met Saint. (Who I just dropped an EP with titled ‘Evolution’) and another producer who goes by engless. Both Saint. And engless have been helping me with the production on my album and have helped me take the style I have today to a new level. 

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Both my life and career have had smooth parts and rocky parts. The biggest factor when it came to the rocky parts for both sides of it was always money; money was never very present in my life, my family has always struggled a lot with it, so when it came to me doing music and buying studio equipment for myself, it was very difficult to get good equipment due to the price, which means it was harder to get people to want to hear me due to poor quality. Before the proper equipment I have today, I used to screen record all my beats and export them into iMovie, then I would use skull candy headphones to record from there. As of lately though, I’ve been taking in local artists and mixing vocals for them at my home studio. 

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and vocal mixing/mastering engineer. I’m most known for my own songs though. I’m not necessarily most proud of anything specifically, but I think what sets me apart from others is my vocal engineering style, my overall sound, and lyrical drive. I love to tell stories and paint pictures in my music, whether that’s told by me, the production, or the mix of the song as a whole. I have a very unique style with all of those things combined. 

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
I learned how things that seem difficult already can get a lot more difficult. I started music right in the middle and peak of COVID, so it made promotion a lot easier since everyone was bored and more willing to listen, but every other aspect of it harder, like getting money for better equipment or going out to try and do shows, or even just go in public to help promote myself. 

Pricing:

• Mixes ($50)
• Features ($50)
• Studio Sessions ($50/HR Mixes Included)

Contact Info:

• Website: li.sten.to/ayjayem
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ayjayem_/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/real.ayjayem/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/ayjayem_?lang=en
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@AyJayEm
• SoundCloud: https://m.soundcloud.com/ay-jay-em

Image Credits
J Moose
Michala Stocker