IN A WORLD where the very existence of R&B is threatened by the dominance of hip hop, it is refreshing to get a new crooning voice every now and then. We may have the usual suspects, like Chris Brown and Trey Songz, but when newbies like Sam Smith step on the plate to make a difference through pure, non-pretentious soul music, it’s refreshing.
Add Mali Music to that list, because he’s a phenomenal songwriter, guitarist and singer. He is as big a deal as Musiq Soulchild was when he first came out. He has songs like Beautiful which is making the ladies go berserk – he knows the right things to say and how to turn them into songs.
“It’s amazing the effect music can have on people. I write to express myself and I have loved music all my life, but I never knew that it would have this impact on people,” said the humble artist.
While most South Africans will probably only get his upcoming album, Mali Is..., as the first offering from him, Mali Music has been at it since 2008 and he has two albums under his belt.
“I independently released two albums, The Coming and The Second Coming which all did better than what my team and I had expected,” he said.
It took his performing at the BET Awards, as the first inspirational artist, for RCA Records (Sony here) to take notice and sign him to their label. The collaboration has given birth to Mali Is...which is available on iTunes and will be available in stores in a matter of days.
“I am happy that you are talking to me from South Africa, a place I have never been and yet my music is there. I am just a boy from Savanna, Georgia, and I love making music. This success that has come with it is truly a blessing from above,” he said.
Before signing with Sony, Mali Music was rumoured to have signed with Akon’s label Konvict Muzik, a thing he vehemently denies.
“I have never been signed to Konvict Muzik. What happened was Akon and I are good friends and he liked what I did and we talked about me working under his label. As time went on we both discovered that we were going in two different directions and I had to break away and do my own thing. He remains a good friend of mine but I never signed to him.” So what’s to be expected on Mali Is...
“Mali Is... music, laughter, happiness, sadness and all the feelings we go through every now and then. It’s just me giving myself to the world through song,” he said.
• Look out for Mali Is... on iTunes and in music stores.