Mal Maninga Kuri is the musician breaking away from the traditional music norm of Enga Province.
His journey began a long way from Port Moresby, in his home province in the highlands region.
A young Engan, with a passion for writing and music, he began composing songs at age 12. His style of music was influenced by locals like Gedix Atege and international bands like Michael Learns to Rock and the Backstreet boys.
He moved to the big city – Port Moresby, still holding on to the dream that one day he will be a singer.
By 2006, he had at least three singles out but distributed only among the small group of family and friends.
“But my music at that time was more Engan local style with one beat,” he says.
Noticing the competition among local artists from Enga, Kuri decided to take on a different trend.
He released his first official album under the Roots Vibration studio in 2013, bringing a new sound.
His hit song Mali pulled the spotlight onto the Engan dialect. The first song ever to have Engan rap.
Late 2015, he met up with Bata Rods, with whom, he did the win song Alawake, released in 2016.
His journey in the industry so far has taught him one thing; that is not to journey alone.
“Who has the interest? I want to work with you. The music industry here is struggling and it is better to work together than to compete with each other,” he said.
He is currently working on his second album, still with the dream to promote Engan dialect in his music.