Mahalia

Born in Syston, Leicestershire, England, Mahalia Burkmar develops very early a writing oriented toward contemporary R&B and neo-soul, with a supple voice, direct melodies and an approach that blends intimacy, a sense of chorus and the British soul heritage. Signed as a teenager, Mahalia releases her first EP Head Space in 2012, then Never Change in 2015 and Diary of Me in 2016, before finding a wider echo from 2017 with Sober. Her career is built between singles, EPs and British stages, with opening acts for Ed Sheeran and Emeli Sande, followed by collaborations with artists such as Rudimental, Kojey Radical, Ella Mai, Rico Nasty, AJ Tracey or Jacob Collier. Mahalia refines over time an R&B with pop contours, sometimes traversed by hushed soul and firmer rhythms, focused on relationships, autonomy and emotional contradictions. Love and Compromise, published in 2019, marks an important step in this evolution with more assertive writing and overall coherence. After Isolation Tapes in 2020 and Letter to Ur Ex in 2022, Mahalia returns with IRL in 2023, an album that extends this work in a more contemporary vein, between introspective tracks, pared-down production and songs more open to hip-hop and British urban music.