Malik "Big Mo" Abdullah, was born and raised in Chicago's South Side. From a very early age, he was surrounded with music and people who loved and/or performed music. His mother was an avid fan of all music, his estranged father was an entertainer, and local star.

Malik picked up his first instrument at the early age of three, which was a guitar, that he got for a Christmas gift, along with a record player that played the old 45 rpm records.  By mimicking the sounds that he heard, finding the sounds on the guitar, he learn his first song, "Get Ready" by the Temptations.

His first professional gig, was with friends at a  local nightclub, where they sang, and  were pushed out the back door. He  later started playing bass guitar, for his band and for some local bands, played in the military, and all through the Midwest and Southwest, until it was stolen from his home.

Malik performed as a dancer after leaving the military, and also remixed his  and other dancers'  performance music, which gave him a little bit of notoriety.  He later ran into very hard times, which left him broke and homeless.

The defining  moment was a chance meeting with an old friend from those dancing days, Shirley King. He was desperately  trying to sell her one of his songs, when she mentioned that she had trouble keeping a steady bass player.  Malik told her that he used to play bass. In somewhat sensing his situation, Shirley took a chance and got him his first bass, since the earlier theft.

She took him on the road, had other bass players playing as Malik quickly had to learn the role of  what she wanted in a bandleader and a bass  player. He  later took the helm, and was her bass player and musical director for  close to five  years.

He moved away from Chicago, and started his own band in Central Illinois, playing  cover songs, and some originals.

In that time, he learned how to play the drums,  and relearn the guitar, and the piano, to be a better songwriter.

After another break, due to health concerns, Malik is back at it, with a new  album called, "NewSmoothJazzy", a slight departure from his previous works, "The GrooveMaker", and  "The GrooveMaker Returns..."

 

"As I get older, I become more unapologetic about my music, my thoughts, and my style..."--Big Mo Abdullah

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This music will make you think, make you tap your foot, make you want to sing over the instrumentals, and make you want to play it over and over again.

IT'S TIME TO GET UP AND DANCE!!

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