A good friend of mine put me on to Mali Music a couple of years ago when his Mali Is… project came out. Immediately, I was drawn into the way that he used modern-sounding production and contemporary songwriting to spread a spiritual message. As it stands, Mali Is… was a transitional album from gospel to R&B.
Songs such as “Royalty” referenced verses from the bible in a subtle way, but also focused on self-image: “Would you give them everything?/Would you let them call you those things/If you knew you were a queen/And my brother would you be out there risking your life for green paper/If you knew you had it all already/If you knew you were a king…”
When I dug deeper, I found that Mali was receiving a lot of flack for a perceived change of sound. Comments on YouTube and other social sites with his music constantly questioned why he dropped spreading the good news for “secular” music. Although his previous projects did cater to a more traditional gospel sound, I didn’t understand the uproar. Kirk Franklin has overtly mixed soul music with his gospel songs to appeal to a younger audience. Although at first he got some of the same criticism that Mali is getting now, he went on to become one of the most successful gospel artists of our time.
With new singles including the Jhene Aiko-assisted “Contradiction” and “Digital,” it’s clear that Mali has firmly planted himself in R&B for now. What I find interesting is that the messages in his music haven’t become tasteless and empty. Mali’s songs continue to have a sound that will entice young people to listen, but will also inspire them to think about issues they face. “Digital” explores the consequences of living a life that is focused solely on the digital realm, especially trying to build relationships in that space. The second verse takes aim at our contradictions and cognitive dissonance with the lines: “We take girls, call ’em b*****s, we sell ’em like slaves, yeah/Power to the people, though/Man, your conscious is digital…” All of this is over a trap beat, and Mali has the recipe to get the youth (and the open-minded grown folks) to think about the ways in which we use technology as a tool or the ways we let it use us.
Here’s the thing: Mali Music isn’t the first artist to take on a sound more in tune with popular music or to go from gospel to R&B. In my eyes, he’s one of the first in his generation to do it successfully and without seeming corny. This doesn’t seem like an attempt to be relevant as much as it seems like an artist evolving. He’s used his gospel roots to propel forward without abandoning them. Many soul artists from previous eras clearly found their roots in gospel, including Otis Redding, Bobby Womack and Aretha Franklin. They are some of our most celebrated artists and they fluctuated between gospel and soul throughout their careers.
I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that I love music that makes me feel closer to a higher power or my higher self. Mali’s music seems to do this, taking the judgement out of the equation and encouraging self-reflection and evaluation instead. If the gospel is the “good news,” he might still be considered gospel to some folks, including me.
What do you think of Mali’s new sound? Sound off in the comments!
