Diversity Rules Magazine

4 Diversity Rules Magazine May 2017 Davis Mallory is a singer- songwriter, DJ, actor, and for- mer reality TV star. Born and raised in Marietta, GA, Davis grew up in a musical family and sang in his church choir starting at the age of 5. It was obvious Davis would pursue a career in music, yet the result is a storied and eclectic career. In 2006 shortly after graduating pre-medicine from Stetson University, Davis was cast on MTV's e Real World: Denver and went on to star in subse- quent MTV Real World: Road Rules Challenges: e Inferno 3, e Duel 2 and Rivals. is relation- ship with MTV lead Davis to a role as a music news correspondent for the MTV-owned NewNowNext. com where Davis curated playlists, reviewed live shows, promoted new music and interviewed artists including Ellie Goulding, Janelle Monae, NERVO & Graffiti6. Davis was always a singer, but he began learning to song write in 2012 by writing over instrumentals given by producers and co-writing with other art- ists friends in New York and Los Angeles. In 2013 Davis began to focus solely on songwriting and re- cording music. For more information about Davis, go to his web- site at www.davismallory.com. (Photo Credits: Derrick Lipschitz) JRK: Before getting into the interview, can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you are from and all that good introductory stuff? DM: I'm from Marietta, GA. I currently live in Nash- ville, TN! I am a singer-songwriter, DJ, TED Talk speaker and formerly was on MTV's e Real World (Denver) in 2006. JRK: You launched your career with MTV on "e Real World." How did that all come about? DM: I auditioned to be on MTV's e Real World my senior year of college. I had just come out of the closet that year and told the story of my family's reac- tion and my classmates response which got me on the show. Since it was my last year of college and I was trying to figure out what my first job was going to be, I thought that if I didn't get on the show, that perhaps I could meet someone at the audition that could help me get a job at MTV. JRK: What were some of the more memorable ex- periences you had while doing "e Real World?" DM: Going to ailand was one of the best parts of the Real World. I did 3 challenges e Inferno 3 in South Africa, e Dual 2 in New Zealand and Rivals in Costa Rica. e travel was definitely a perk of the job. JRK: Do you still keep in touch with your fellow cast members? DM: roughout the year different cast members come in and out of my life at random times. I am friends with Mike Manning from Real World: DC who came to Nashville last year and saw me sing. I am going to LA this summer to songwrite and record and will probably stay with him. He's a great guy. My cast Davis Mallory Singer-Songwriter, DJ, Actor, Former Reality Star by Jim Koury, Editor/Publisher

• Cover