Mali Music

Mali Music reveres and respects the power of his chosen art form. The singer, songwriter, and producer recognized music’s impact at a very young age, treasuring it as a gift. At only eleven-years-old and without any formal training, he would get behind the keyboard at a local Savannah, GA church and play for hours in front of a packed house every single Sunday. For the young performer, it became about inciting physical, emotional, and spiritual change with nothing more than a beat, a melody, and a smile.

Receiving Pro Tools and a computer as a gift for his fifteenth birthday, Mali divided his time between recording hundreds of songs in his bedroom and playing football at school. After casually making a MySpace page in 2008, he quickly developed a fervent following online. A flood of booking requests came in from around the country, and his statistics began to skyrocket. Fulfilling his fans’ appetite, he released his first independent album, The Coming, selling out the pre-orders from his family’s garage. Over the next year, he started playing sold out shows across the country leading up to the release of his sophomore effort The 2econd Coming in 2009. However, 2011 saw underground R&B’s “best kept secret” get out.

Delivering a seismic performance at the BET Music Awards on the “Music Matters” stage, Mali effectively got the entire industry talking. He found himself meeting with superstar Akon the next morning as other executives clamored to learn more about this burgeoning phenomenon. He finally found the right home in 2013 though, signing to Mark Pitts’ ByStorm Entertainment label at RCA Records—the home of Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Miguel. After another earthshaking BET Music Awards performance and his Essence Music Festival debut that year, the mainstream wholeheartedly embraced Mali’s undeniable and uplifting blend of soulful R&B, invigorating hip-hop, and inspiring lyricism. You’ll get it after one listen to Mali Is… Carried by his impressive vocal range and dynamic production, the album harkens back to what he fondly refers to as “the times of Stevie Wonder and the age of Aretha Franklin.”

“No Fun Alone” produced by Duplessis, begins with smoky jazz piano and bluesy guitar licks before giving way to the singer’s instantly recognizable croon. Lyrically, he takes the opportunity to remind everyone, “It’s no fun alone.” On the other end of the spectrum, “Heavy Love” skates along on upbeat percussion and tasteful melodic leads punctuated by a bombastic groove of live instrumentation. Meanwhile, the single “Beautiful” lives up to its name. Written and co-produced by Mali as well as Duplessis and Arden Altino, the track glides from an energetic verse into a heavenly refrain that instantly shines and soars—living up to its title.

Mali performed “Beautiful” on American Idol, and it immediately soared up multiple charts. It reached #16 on R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs chart and #36 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, heralding his arrival. Moreover, it clinched the #2 spot on the iTunes Top R&B/Soul Songs chart, while topping both the Gospel Digital Songs chart and Hot Gospel songs chart. Still, it’s only one piece of the album.