Mali’s previous solo releases, Thunder Chicken (1999) and Do Your Thing (2007) on San Francisco’s Fog City Records (and produced by “the true king of raw”, Dan Prothero) established him as a purveyor of psychedelic soul and gritty swamp music, which one critic calls “voodoo space blues”, a somewhat apt description, for an artist who cites Dr. John’s classic ‘Gris Gris’ as an early and important influence.
He is a founding member, lead singer and producer of 7 Walkers, a band formed in 2008 with Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, Meters bassist George Porter, Jr. and Matt Hubbard. Their self-titled 2010 release debuted at #1 on the Relix/Jamband charts, holding that position for the following three months. The single from that album, 'King Cotton Blues' features a Papa Mali vocal duet with Willie Nelson and is one of nine original compositions co-written for the album by Mali and longtime Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter.