Mali Music - The Book of Mali (2020) [Hi-Res]

Born on January 12, 1988 in Phoenix, Arizona, mercurial Savannah, Georgia-based singer/songwriter/musician Kortney "Mali Music" Pollard builds richly detailed, emotionally present neo-soul/hip-hop confections in the vein of Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Bilal, on a foundation of conventional gospel music. A multi-instrumentalist since the age of five, Pollard, who counts Sam Cooke and Otis Redding as influences, issued the inspirational Coming, his debut album, in 2008. The well-received, bold, narrative-driven 2econd Coming arrived the following year, resulting in a major-label record deal with RCA, who issued the singles "Ready Aim" and "Beautiful" in 2013 in anticipation of his upcoming third long-player, Mali Is..., which dropped in early 2014. In 2016, Mali Music issued the single "Digital" in advance of the release of his fourth studio long-player, The Contradiction of Mali, which dropped in early 2017. ~ James Christopher Monger