It was an exciting day in the hip hop community, welcoming Brother Ali to the stage on Oct. 4 at The Barrymore Theatre. His intelligent voice, lyrical bluntness, and bass-dropping beats, grab a listener’s attention, in many ways, for many reasons. Ali never holds back on his lyrics, and isn’t afraid to take a stand.
“Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color,” Brother Ali’s fifth full-length studio album was just released Sept. 18. It addresses topics of terrorism, war, poverty, unemployment, police brutality, and life struggles of the world. In “Mourning in America,” the fourth track on this new album Ali says:
“Tears and sorrow block the sunlight / Head low heart broke eyes closed tongue-tied / Waters raise the tide is climbing / Speeding time the sky is crying / Shots are fired bombs and sirens /War and riots mourning in America”
Ali has set off on his worldwide tour to promote his new album, reaching 28 more cities by the end of October. A show at First Avenue in Minneapolis is already sold out. Ali has spent years of hard work and dedication, developing his own unusual voice, which grabs people’s attention.
This politically elevated, 14-track LP, was recorded over the course of two months in Seattle. Ali sat along side Jake One, the producer of the entire album. Jake helped Ali create this progressive vision through the sound board. Throughout this album, Ali expresses a hope for the future of the world.
Brother Ali was born in Madison and spent most of his childhood in Michigan, where he was introduced to breakdancing, graffiti and rapping. In 1992, at age 15, his family settled in Minneapolis, immediately mixing into the developing hip hop culture. Soon he became good friends with Slug, from Atmosphere, and signed on to record label, Rhymesayers Entertainment. This independent label released Ali’s first album “Rites of Passage” in April 2000. It was mostly only available for purchase at shows.
In the past month, this new album has had a great amount of attention. Brother Ali always sends a strong message. Go check it out, support our Midwest-grown, hip hop genius. It’s a really great album.
Rating: 5 stars