Singer following grandfather’s inspirations

Freshman singer Ahmad Madlock used to laugh at his grandfather’s operatic voice, but now Madlock respects his grandfather and said, “I have my moments” where he considers himself to have an operatic voice. Not only does Madlock look up to his grandfather because of his raw talent in singing but how he uses his voice. Madlock said that his grandfather has a bold voice for social change. Madlock admires this and said he hopes to utilize his voice in the same way. The young singer currently sings in Peet Junior High choir and their show choir ‘Melodies” and is prepping for his performance of ‘She’s Out of My Life’ by Michael Jackson at the Cabaret Show this weekend. Madlock plans to take choir at the high school next year and continue singing to make others and himself happy. 

When did you start singing? “I’ve been kind of singing my whole life, but I guess I really started to do more performing in second grade.” 

Do any of your family members sing? “My mom sings a little bit, but my grandfather is really the big singer in our family. It is believed that is where I get my vocal talent from.” 

Who is your inspiration and role model? “I think role model-wise it would probably be my grandfather because he is so bold with his voice, not only musically, but socially. You know, he is not afraid to speak his mind. I guess my inspiration is … honestly, anyone who uses musical talent as a platform for good. A lot of times we do see musicians not giving the best representations of the things you can do with your music. 

What is your first memory of singing? “My first memory of singing is probably me imitating my grandfather. He has a very operatic voice, so it was always funny to me as a smaller child, but as I got older it became more of a sophisticated thing.” 

What is your biggest accomplishment regarding singing? “I have to say my biggest accomplishment is being able to record with a church member of mine. We ended up doing a song called ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing,’ which is considered the black national anthem. With the same group I was able to perform in Vegas at the Stellar Awards, which is a gospel awards show that takes place in Vegas every year. So that was pretty cool.”

After high school do you want to pursue a singing career? “I don’t know about a career because that’s kind of a shaky business, but I definitely want to continue to sing and continue to perform, whether that’s a way to make money or not, but that’s definitely a passion that I have, so I definitely want to continue that.” 

How would you say music   and your role models/inspirations have impacted your life? “As for music, it has given me not only an outlet to express my feelings, but a way to share emotions and share events with people and share my talent with people. As for my inspirations, pertaining to my race, music was a way in the civil rights movement and before. Music was a way to overcome things. Music is a way to overcome, but also a universal language. To me that means everyone can understand some type of music, so it can reach all people no matter the circumstance.” 

What genre of music is your favorite? “I like R&B. R&B, soul, gospel, in that kind of realm. It all kind of ties together.” 

What are three words you would use to describe yourself as artist? “I guess I would say opinionated, soulful and trying.”

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