Seeing Abdu Ali take the stage for the first time is to encounter a restless charisma. The Baltimore native taps into a sensuous sublime whenever they perform, directing a room with the energy of a cult leader. In recent years, their live shows have only gotten more multifaceted, multiplying the bodies on stage and experimenting with live drums, harp, and saxophone. Ali draws on many influences — rap, punk, soul, jazz, Baltimore club — leaving listeners with something unconventional, but never inaccessible. At its core, the music is the result of an off-kilter relationship to pop melody and a life-affirming thoughtfulness. Ali is a visionary, and their creative spirit extends far beyond the music, whether that’s booking the rapper Princess Nokia (before she was certified cool) or tweeting about the need for black creatives to start their own magazines to circumvent media’s traditionally white gatekeepers. They host a bi-weekly podcast called drumBOOTY and this April, their…
