Malik ' Yoitsmalaki ' Kweku was born on July 30, 1989 in San Jose, California, now residing in Fairfield, California. He started his career in music at the early age of 7 years old learning drums and piano with his next door neighbor. Until highschool he picked up guitar and joined his first hardcore rock band called ' Blackbox Benefits ', which he performed rhythm guitar/back up vocals and toured with local bands such as 'The Subtle Way' and 'Hail The Tragedy' until his senior year. In 2010, past member of 'Blackbox Benefits' Joesph Friedlander had reached out and asked Yoitsmalaki to join his new band 'It Starts With Alaska' which was founded by audio engineer/guitarist Nick Loiacono. 'ISWA' released their first single "Every Time We Touch" which was a cover made by Cascada and uploaded it on Youtube. The cover song became an over night success reaching over 376k views overall. 'ISWA' landed their first gig at The Boardwalk in Sacramento, California selling out the first night. Thereafter, performing with bands such as Arsonists Get All the Girls, Attila, The Chariot, Haste the Day, just to name a few. It Starts With Alaska disbanded in 2014. Since 2018, Yoitsmalaki independently performed shows, produced and released 5 albums digitally through streaming platforms. Giving a new taste of the Bay Area hip hop rnb and a blend of his rock influences.