KiNG MALA Lords Over the Entry

KiNG MALA rolled into town with the frigid winter air to a sold-out crowd at 7th Street Entry. It’s only the fourth show of her first ever headlining tour, and Minneapolis was ready to make it a memorable one. The line when doors opened was enough to fill a quarter of the room off the bat. Shout out to the First Avenue crew for allowing us to wait in the mailroom entryway instead of lining up outside and keeping our goth little legs warm!

The night began with DEZI. The LA-based artist brought a sizzling set of bold pop/R&B that had a cutting Cuban edge. Her stage presence was impossible to ignore as she danced around the stage. It made me feel invincible. Her latest single “La Fiera” had me dancing, “Lemonade & Cyanide” had me crying. The standout for me was “Rage”. It followed a political rant that united the crowd against wealth, power, and the violence we are seeing in the world right now. It was a powerful R&B moment that solidified her for me as one to watch.

“Mr. Government, leavin’ all your people for dead

But if we’re out in the streets, then that’s a major offense

They might cut my mic, put me under arrest
Because I don’t make music for the one percent”

KiNG MALA appeared on stage to an impossible amount of fog and bright LED light bars that turned our familiar little dark room into another planet. She was accompanied by her drummer and guitarist. Donning a luxurious faux fur coat and sunglasses, you’d think she’d blend into the dark corners of the stage, but she absolutely shone, even when dodging the lights and jumping around. The energy was exactly what I had hoped for. 

This was my third time seeing her and I have always loved her perfect balance of bubbly and creepy. That said, the headlining status of the tour after an immaculate album this year boosted her confidence on stage and made this one of my favorite shows of the year. 

She focused heavily on the new material from 2025’s And You Who Drowned in the Grief of a Golden Thing with songs like “POSSESSION”, “DEVOTION”, “SWEET LAMB” and “I STILL FEEL IT IN THE BONE”. For me, I was incredibly excited to hear “GØD” and it did NOT disappoint. 

“You say wanna be a god?

You pray for power in the dark

You broke it you bought it you own it

You want the world and you know it”

She didn’t leave her longtime fans high and dry. She got the crowd feral when she mentioned her opening Entry set back in 2022 before going into old favorite “sloppy”. “she calls me daddy” and “cult leader” also made appearances in the set. 

The crowd was friendly and focused. This was a night for them, and our queen did not let them forget it! She spent most of the set on the edge of the stage right in their faces. The energy didn’t fall once. The main set wrapped with a wild performance of “ODE TO A BLACKHOLE” right in the middle of the crowd. 

In my opinion, we got exactly what we needed from this tour. It was a few hours of rage, love, and dark fun that helped me forget the world. Anyone who went in as a causal fan left feeling like they got a close experience with a true artist. 

Setlist:

POSSESSION

SALVATION::VIOLATION

THE GRAND DECAY

GARDEN

LITTLE DEATH

DEVOTION

sloppy

SURRENDER

arms length

dirty dishes

YOU DON’T KNOW ME

SWEET LAMB

I STILL FEEL IT IN THE BONE

GØD

EAT THE SPOON

cult leader

FUN!

ODE TO A BLACKHOLE

Encore:

she calls me daddy

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW