support BODY: my first full-length music video

My name is sali and I’m a singer-songwriter and producer based in Brooklyn, NY. With the support of a beautiful team of artists, producers, and directors, I am fundraising for my upcoming project: my first ever full-length music video for my afrobeat, altpop single: “BODY (feat. Evan Linsey and Yacouba Sissoko).”

Directed by Tyler Cino Maradiaga, and assistant directed by Kylee C. Roberts, the “BODY” video will be shot in June 2024. We need your help to meet a goal of $8,000 to make our dream final product.

Funds will support:

I’ve written and co-produced two EPs since 2020, steadily building a community of listeners and collaborators. Some special collaborators on “BODY” include Evan Linsey (producer and featured artist on the track) and Yacouba Sissoko (world-renowned kora player, featured). Since starting my music journey, my focus has been on producing high-quality recorded music, which has required a significant financial investment spanning four years. Given this, the high cost of making a music video has kept me from starting the process. In my career so far, I've been committed to compensating my fellow artists fairly for their contributions, and I plan to stick to that commitment. Beautiful synchronicities have brought Tyler and Kylee into my life, and in turn, gotten this ball rolling.

For me, “BODY” is a reconnection with my Malian culture and a self-guided therapy session about dissociation, dysmorphia and how to stop “carrying water.” To externalize the song’s themes of dysmorphia and disassociation, our aim is to create an afrobeat music video with horror elements and tone.

At the beginning of the song, my sister, Tanty, speaks in our language (Bambara), talking about the weights this lifestyle puts on her body. She ends her poem in a feeling of hope. Maybe she can push through. Maybe we can get free.

And don’t take my word for it—at its release in September on Mali’s independence day, Earmilk said: “Showcasing her genre-bending approach that fuses afrobeat rhythms and contemporary rap, the fresh and infectious anthem is rooted in her ability to weave all the ups and downs of life into heartfelt sonic expression.” As Tyler says, this song deals with the abstract and the visceral, the esoteric and the universal. We want to bring those ideas to life this June.

More about sali: sali believes the best songs are like “life soundtracks.” A Malian-American with a background in vocal jazz and collegiate a cappella, she writes to capture that ambient, present-tense nostalgia. sali has been embracing live, playing with her jazz duo and band: “sali and the babies” has headlined at Manhattan and Brooklyn venues like Baby’s All Right, Sultan Room, Mercury Lounge and more. She released her debut EP "charming" in 2021, and her second EP "OTHER PEOPLE" in February 2023.

More about Tyler Cino Maradiaga: tyler cino maradiaga (he/they) is a nicaraguan american film director and producer based in brooklyn. tyler carried a passion for social justice since their undergraduate years at uc berkeley and through almost a decade of working in the diversity, equity and inclusion field. believing storytelling is a catalyst for change, tyler obtained a masters of arts in film directing at the feirstein graduate school of cinema at brooklyn college. tyler's narrative and music video directorial work utilizes drama, comedy, and fantastical genres to explore themes of identity and social issues.

More about Kylee C. Roberts: Kylee is a multimedia producer and writer dedicated to giving a platform to underrepresented storytellers. As a native New Yorker she has watched the artist landscape change, and is excited to further engage with and produce more radical forms of expression. She is the creator of the upcoming series, “28” that focuses on love, art and community amid gentrification and a changing artist landscape in NYC. Outside of ‘work’ you can find her blasting 90s R&B while laughing with friends in Brooklyn and making a mezcal cocktail.