Contemporary blues singer Mali Wilson captivates audiences with her soulful voice and evocative lyrics. Her Chicago roots infuse her style of music with a blend of traditional and contemporary blues in ways like no other.
What inspired your transition from a celebrated, Grammy-nominated producer and industry exec to pursuing a career as a contemporary blues singer?
It’s funny because I keep getting this question. I’ve always sung, and I sing in different genres. I’m soul, I’m blues. I got a little dance in me from Chicago, house music. But I came down to Atlanta. My mentor, Clarence Avant, set up a meeting with Ludacris and his business partners, Jeff and Chaka. We had dinner with Quincy Jones at Press Stations. And they’re like, why don’t you come down to Atlanta and see what’s going on down there? And so I did, and I realized the business wasn’t as lucrative as you would want it to be back then. They hadn’t figured out how to pay you online and all these things.
I took the route of helping others and learning the business. After doing that for many years and seeing the fuckery, excuse my French, it turned me off. Sometimes the clouds around the industry force someone like me to not want to sing. I’m the type of person who grew up in the church singing. I grew up with a family who listened to the blues. My wanting to do this first project in the blues genre was to pay homage. But what triggered it was I fell in love and started singing again. I tell people I’m like a bird. It can’t be thundering and storming for me to sing. I have to feel it and it has to be about the music and I have to have a purpose behind it.
You have worked with a wide range of artists from Whitney Houston to Chris Brown to Drake. How has that influenced your approach to creating your own music?
You know, it’s funny because when people say that, you know, I’ve worked with people in different manners, whether it’s giving, mostly giving people a peaceful, creative place to record, but I’ve done A&R-ing and I have produced music. I think naturally when you’re a musician, subconsciously you pick up things along the way. I think it is all just naturally in me, you know? Think about sitting there and helping people for many, many years doing their own art and really genuinely wanting to see them win and loving the music. I think it’s just in me and it comes out in my lyrics… I think it’s all coming out in the music. Everything that I’ve gone through, all the heartache, all the ups and downs, it’s all coming out. I’m really grateful to have been able to grow where I was planted as a partner in the old studio, but now I have my own space to just be free to record. It’s all just really magical right now.
Can you share the story behind your single, “No Place Like Home,” and how it reflects your personal journey and musical evolution?
We dropped the song during National Women’s Month and so, you know, when my team was like, you need to drop something, you got one hundred songs, come on, what you want to do? It’s National Women’s Month, let’s do something. I decided to tap into one of my partners, musical partners, Ashilee Ashilee, who’s actually now on tour with Nicki Minaj with the song she produced. She’s playing the violin with her and doing great music. I hit her and I said, I want this first record to be women because my Earth Girl movement is about supporting women… I wanted to make a song that just showed my heart and that I didn’t forget where I came from. And that’s part of the lyrics. I know that where you come from gives you the sauce, especially if you came out the mud like I did. You can’t show people that everything is perfect… No Place Like Home is an homage to every place, every smell, every scent, every meal that I’ve had from my grandmother and just really wanting to bring hope with the song, you know?
What would you say, as far as, how do you go about balancing your past experience with the fresh perspective of your current musical journey?
It’s hard. It’s hard because, you know, I said to somebody today, sometimes I feel like I wish I didn’t know so much in the business side because you have fears that naturally come up. After all, I’ve seen a lot of friends be taken advantage of. But, you know, for me, the balance comes in with Sydney, who says this is what I think we need to do on the public relations side. It comes with Eric, my husband. If you ever look at The Black Banker, he’s helped a lot of people. You’ll see him on his Instagram with certain celebrities. And so, for me, to be able to have a strong foundation of people around me that can say that’s what you saw in the past, fear and faith can’t live in the same place. You just have to balance it out.
As far as new artists coming up through the ranks right now, what advice would you offer them in navigating those spaces?
It’s so funny. I helped create a mentor program with our Earth Girl Movement and Sprite. I just got off the phone with this young girl, Sophia, who’s an exceptional talent. I spent an hour with her giving advice. The last three pieces of advice that I gave her were, one, don’t be afraid of small beginnings. Don’t be wanting to jump out just because of this person or that person you see on Instagram and they’re already there… Number two, enjoy the journey. I watch people stress out in the studios that I’ve owned for years. They look back and say I wish I would’ve had fun. I wish I would’ve enjoyed it. And number three, don’t care how long it takes. If you don’t care how long it takes and you do great work, your fans will find you and your music will reach the people it’s supposed to.
What would you say as far as your forthcoming project, what would you hope that listeners come away with?
I really hope that they put this music on, and it brings them joy. One of the things as an A&R, I always would ask who are your favorite artists? And they wouldn’t sound anything like them. Or there’s no content in the music that they love. I hope that my fans will listen to the music like I listen to Bob Marley or Etta James. I want them to just listen and escape in the music. I’ve been so lucky and blessed to have Grammy-winning producers who are my friends who are making this music with me. I really want to bring the soul and the funk and bring what I call sunshine blues. Most blues records are like my dog died or my man left me. I just hope they put them on and feel these records make them happy and peaceful.
Be’n Original
