Dove and Grammy-winning vocalist, songwriter and musician Kortney Jamall Pollard AKA Mali Music is headlining a show October 15 at City Winery. Pollard has been a top gospel performer over the last decade, and one of the finest in terms of incorporating secular elements into his sound without distorting or weakening the spiritual message. Mali Music currently resides in Savannah, Georgia. but grew up in Phoenix, where he learned piano as a child.
By 11 he was active in church ministry and even signed a contract with Akon’s label Kon Live Distribution in 2011. But his first two studio albums, “The Coming” (2008) and “The 2econd Coming” (2009) were released independently through By Storm Records and earned widespread critical acclaim. He was the first inspirational artist to be part of BET’s “Music Matters” series in 2011. Mali Music later signed with RCA Records to release his first major-label single “Beautiful” the following year. That preceded his third album and major label debut, “Mali Is” (2014). It received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
More recently he has worked alongside some of the industry’s top artists, including Kierra Sheard-Kelly and We Are Messengers. His collaboration with Jonathan Reynolds on their 2021 EP “Jonny x Mali: Live in LA” earned them a Grammy for Best Gospel Song/Performance thanks to the hit single “Movin’ On.” Acting is another field that has attracted Mali Music’s interest, and he also plans to do more directing. He had a prime role playing Jesus in the 2018 film “Revival! Mali also served as the host for the “Black History Honors” (a four-part docuseries that blends history and gospel music) earlier this year.
Still, music remains his primary interest. “Mali Music isn’t necessarily me personally,” he said on his website. “It’s the sound, the music, the medicine, it’s a feeling. I’m just the man behind it,” he says. “People have told me that my albums have helped them connect with God or got them through some serious things. I’m thankful that I can do that. But I could not do any of this without my relationship with God. He is bigger and wiser than me.”
Mali Music at City Winery, 609 Lafayette, October 15 at 7:30 pm.
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