Welcome to Series 8 of The DOD45 Show! We’re continuing with strong with Minneapolis rapper/educator MaLLy, whose new album The Sweetest of It All is pure reflection, smooth delivery, and grounded lyricism.

💿 It’s a full-length collab with Last Word (produced in NZ!), and it sounds like grown-ass rap with heart. Think: soul grooves, boom bap roots, and lyrics soaked in gratitude, clarity, and lived experience. - https://open.spotify.com/album/0CUZqw7vCDDh6ojz9Da9y7?si=lPykOl5qTR2IO-2Ef7cMBg

🎧 Highlights from the album:
• “New Year, New Wave” – a reset anthem with thunder beneath it
• “Dreaming” – soft-spoken self-awareness over a mellow glide
• “100 Heartbreaks” – quiet devastation in controlled bars

💬 “This album exhales,” Tai says—and MaLLy confirms, it’s a project made to be felt in motion. Preferably in a Toyota 4Runner.

🗯️ Absurdity ensues as we drop into:
• The Mall of America vs Giant Squeaky Necklace dilemma
• Whether Mally prefers being named after Spike Lee or Bruce Lee
• Why he hates the question, “So what do you do?”
• Drawing an elephant with three heads
• And why the Deep Ellum lady thought Tai was hired help

🎬 Movie Recommendation: Mallrats (1995)
A 90s slacker cult classic from Kevin Smith, filmed in Eden Prairie Center Mall (Minnesota shoutout!)
• Comic book nerds, food court crises, trench coats and Jason Lee in full flight
• “That kid is back on the escalator again!” — just pure cinematic joy

🎶 Song Shares:
• All We Need – Raury – Adrienne’s pick, a lush, hopeful track with gospel leanings and a teenage wisdom beyond its years
• Rapture – Zoot – Tai’s eerie, lo-fi choice that feels like Burial and DJ Screw fused in an abandoned arcade. A beatmaker’s fever dream.

🎧 Don’t miss the DOD45 Luvs Playlist – a running vault of every song shared on the show.

🤝 Support Mally at his website or Instagram. Don’t just stream—buy the vinyl.
🌐 Connect: ArtByTai | Strange Famous Records

💥 New music also out now from Aesop Rock, Slugghead, and others worth diving into

🙏 If you dig the pod, leave a rating, a review, or tell your mall security officer. It helps the show more than you know.

🔚 Final thought from Mally: “We’re all connected. Be kind to one another.”