Since I first found Mahalia’s single, “Sober”, in my inbox last year – I have been slightly obsessed with the up and coming UK songstress. It seems like I am not the only one, since that tune has already passed over 13M streams since its release.
For the 19 year old, this success was years in the making. At the age of 12, while most children are running a muck with their friends, Mahalia was with her guitar, penning love songs. It didn’t take long for her and the people around her to realize that she had a natural ability that would undoubtedly take her on a life long journey.
With a couple of sold out UK shows under her belt, an upcoming 14 city tour lined up, and a support slot on Jorja Smith’s new tour secured – Mahalia is back with a new tune, “Proud of Me”, featuring London based rapper, Lil Simz. Like, “Sober”, the new tune is produced by Math Times Joy, who lays down a smooth gospel-esque production for Mahalia to shine on. Between the organ stabs, rolling bass lines and enchanting vocal layers, Mahalia shows off her trademark open-hearted lyricism, soulful tones, wise-yet-relatable wordplay and intuitive sense of melody.
About the release, Mahalia explains, “I wrote this tune not long before my Birthday last year. It the first time in my short music career that I had stepped out on my own. I stumbled for a while I think… tried to get my priorities straight. But, once I understood that, everything kind of fell in to place. The one thing I have always said that makes me truly happy is knowing that my family, friends and you guys are proud of what I have achieved. I’ve always wanted to work with Lil Simz. So, this was crazy for me. She gave me all the extra magic that I needed.”
What I love about Mahalia personally is her ability to combine the best aspects of Soul, R&B and Hip Hop into relatable and touching releases. For her it all seems effortless. Add to that her unique tone, incredible vocal control and lush harmonies – and I’m hooked. Way hyped to see where this road takes her.
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