Interview: Actor and vocalist Akili Ni Mali discusses Art & Soul 2025

The vocalist and actor Akili Ni Mali is one of four featured artists at this year’s Art & Soul, the Indy Arts Council’s annual celebration of Black artists from Central Indiana.

Akili will perform at an Art & Soul showcase on April 11 at the Madam Walker Legacy Center. WFYI’s Kyle Long recently spoke with Akili to learn more about her work.

This transcript has been edited for style and clarity.

Kyle Long: Akili Ni Mali, thank you for being here. I love your music.

Akili Ni Mali: Yay, thank you.

Long: To me, your music is the perfect blend of R&B, classic hip-hop and jazz. There's a significant jazz influence underpinning your vocals. I'm curious where this unique sound and style come from.

Akili Ni Mali: My particular sound, I'm not trying to sound any type of way, I just like to sing what feels good. It's therapeutic for me to get it out. I'm not someone who's gonna get on stage and stress vocally, or intellectually. I want it to feel good. I want it to feel right, even if it doesn't always feel good. I want it to feel good, I want it to feel right, and I want it to feel like me.

So I think that naturally, all of my influences, jazz being one of them, because I was in the jazz band at Ball State, and I've done a lot of jazz gigs around here, so my knowledge of standards and scatting and my love for Ella Fitzgerald is gonna shine through, because she's a huge influence of mine.

Also, I grew up listening to a lot of hip hop. I'm a hip hop head. I love R&B so that's gonna shine through as well. Yeah, I hope, I hope that answers the question.

Long: It does, and all of that definitely comes through in the music.

Akili Ni Mali: Thank you.

Long: I was looking at your IMDB page, and you have some pretty serious credits in film and television. You've appeared on shows like Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D., you've also done a lot of work in the local theater scene, including a recent run as Nina Simone in the IRT production of Nina Simone: Four Women. Were you a Nina Simone fan prior to taking on this role, and how has it felt spending so much time with her music?

Akili Ni Mali: To be honest with you, I was unknowingly a Nina Simone fan. I didn't realize how much of her influence was in my life, in my music and my style, and even in my activism, the way I choose to use my voice.

I feel like I learned so much about Nina and so much about myself being able to tell this story and doing a lot of research and taking adeep dive into her life and her story and the people that she's touched and connected with.

Long: You recently received a really nice acknowledgement of your work. The Indy Arts Council selected you to be one of the featured artists for their annual Art & Soul series. What does it mean to you to have your work recognized by the Arts Council?

Akili Ni Mali: It means so much to feel seen by my community, to feel recognized, to feel loved and appreciated, and especially people to like my music because I'm sensitive. Artists are sensitive. So for me to put myself out and for people to accept that and love that, I'd be lying if I say it doesn't affect me in a positive way, I really appreciate the platform.

It's given me so much exposure and given me so much opportunity. Like, I mean, here I am today. I don't think I would be here in this moment talking about my music, if it weren't for the platform.

This interview originally appeared on WFYI's Cultural Manifesto.