Malachi Has Big Plans for 'Beautiful Dreamer'

When Carolyn Malachi was a child growing up in Washington, D.C., she was a bit different from her peers. Now standing as a tall, striking figure with a sensuous singing voice, Malachi says she was a bit "chubby" and her cousins used to tease her for it. 

"[They] used to roll me down the hill -- like wheelbarrow style," she says with a big laugh. 

Then there was the time in elementary school when Malachi's music teacher suggested that she had no future as a singer.

"He said, 'You know, some of us shouldn't sing," she recalls. "That stuck with me. I thought I couldn't sing." 

Perhaps that was the motivation for Malachi's new single, "" and its video, which finds the singer playing the role of a mystical guardian angel, helping 9-year-old Niya Bell embrace her academic potential. In the video, Bell is bullied by classmates after making good grades in school. As of Friday, "Beautiful Dreamer" had more than 11,900 views on YouTube.

When Malachi first started performing in college, she wouldn't sing. Instead, she chose to rap to get her point across. In 2008, she released Return of the Smart Chicks II: Ambitious Gods.

In 2010, Malachi released the Lions, Fires & Squares EP, which included the breakout single "Orion," an electro-soul love story between a mermaid and an astronaut. The song would eventually be nominated for a Grammy award in the now-defunct Best Urban/Alternative category.

Still, Malachi is not resting on her laurels. While she appreciates the immediate impact of "Beautiful Dreamer," Malachi wonders if it could eventually lead to world peace. Sure, it's a lofty goal, but not impossible, the singer says.

For instance, there's the Facebook message she recently received, which detailed how a listener's autistic son was inspired by the "Beautiful Dreamer" video. "She said he pointed at the screen, then pointed to himself," Malachi recalls. 

Her full-length album, Beautiful Dreamer, will be released next year, and she continues to headline performances in Prince George's County and beyond. This Saturday, Malachi performs at the Bluebird Blues Festival at . The festival begins at 12:30 p.m.

"When I'm done, I want people to say that Carolyn Malachi was an intimate presence, a global presence, and a universal force for good," she says. "I hope that's what they will say, because that's what I'm trying to be."