Brother Ali preview

Brother Ali
Subterranean, Chicago
Saturday, April 21, 2007

On “Ear To Ear” Brother Ali insists he’s happy . . . finally. The messy divorce and ensueing custody battle for his young son are finally behind the 27-year old, he’s shopping for furniture at Ikea instead of Goodwill, and he’s even found love in the arms of a “fly Puerto Rican.” “All corny bullshit aside/your boy’s smiling big for the first time in his life,” Ali says on the track.

So does this mean a new, soft, wimpy Ali, the man who nearly won the 2000 Scribble Jam, the world series of battle rapping? Not even close. Growing up albino (colorless hair, skin, and eyes, poor vision, and sensitivity to sun), facing verbal abuse from ruthless elementary kids surely put a chip on Ali’s shoulder at an early age. He likely didn’t help himself by, as a white-boy midwesterner, converting to Islam and pursuing a career as a rapper. Ali might be happy with certains aspects of his personal life, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever be totally passified and proves as much on the new Undisputed Truth (Rhymesayers), with songs like “Truth Is,” where Ali, frustrated with popular opinion being ignored, spits “I demand you start listening to the crowd/if not we going to burn this shit to the ground.” “Letter From The Government” takes on the hypothetical scenario of the government reinstating the draft to support its war, a scenario Ali doesn’t support: “I ain’t ridin’ for no president/send the kids to die/when we didn’t even elect him.”

It’s Ali’s underlying fury that makes him the MC he is. His booming delivery is similiar to KRS-One, as is his political conviction. It gets him in trouble, too, though. KRS-One could be overbearing and Ali can too, especially when he insists on hammering home the plight of the inner city – this coming from someone who has called Madison, Wisconsin and Minneapolis home. Still, his lyrical talent is undeniable. He may not be the most popular act on Rhymesayers (a spot obviously reserved for Slug) or have the best back story (Chicagoan Psalm One quit her job as a chemist to be an MC) but he very well might be the best the label has.

Psalm One, BK One, and Trama open.

– Trevor Fisher

Click here for samples of The Undisputed Truth.

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly