I saw Brother Ali for the first time at a MURS show in New Orleans.
I had heard his name in conversation and seen discussions about him on message boards, but it was never enough to garner my interest. So I walk in the show and the first thing I notice is this huge albino dude sitting next to the door with a small crowd around him. I was there to see MURS, so I spent all of my little money on MURS’s music and accessories before the show started.
The emcee introduced Brother Ali and lo and behold, it was that albino dude from near the door. He opened up the show with some braggadocious rhymes. They were catchy, but I prefer that introspective stuff. Then he caught my attention with “Forest Whitaker” and “Win Some, Lose Some.” I had to get a copy of his CD after hearing an a capela version of “Picket Fence.” Because I had already spent all of my money on MURS stuff, after the show I talked to Ali and told him I was ordering his album off of the ‘Net as soon as I got home.
But I couldn’t wait. I went to one of the dingy bars on Decatur Street to be overcharged by one of those cheap ATMs to get a copy of his album immediately. Buying “Shadows on the Sun” that night was a good decision.
Fast forward to 2007 with the release of “The Undisputed Truth.” The album’s name says it all. Ali has the ability to relay how he feels ferociously over a beat. No abstract style and no fancy word usage – just raw, profound hip hop. He will remind you of how fresh he is on some tracks, but the others are exactly what I am looking for: introspection. If you listen to “The Puzzle” and you are not feeling it, you are not human.
“Every stone that’s ever been cast or blow that ever landed/ helped to build that man that’s standing before your bitch ass/I’m back to wreak havoc and never retired, retreated or recanted… ” Or “I was taught that mistakes made with great intentions were never sins / but where life lessons begin…”
He does this throughout the entire album! His one-liners are enough to blow you away but he is much more than just a one-line wonder. He really means what he says. He actually went through the situations he speaks on. Pardon the cliché, but he keeps it real. I don’t understand why every MMA fighter is not walking to the cage with “Pedigree” playing. I cannot be the only one who gets hype from that track.
Brother Ali also takes the hip hop love song to another level with “Here.” It’s not a sappy, LL Cool J-cum-Jodeci soft porn take on the mating ritual. It’s more of an overview of his flaws and fears that he lays on the table to a prospective mate.
On the flipside, later dedicates a song to his ex wife. “Walking Away” is politely angry: “I don’t love you – I don’t think I ever did / and if you didn’t try to kill me I woulda’ stayed for the kid / There’s nothing more for us to say / I got my mind made up, I’m walkin’ away / Sometimes we just outgrow the role that we play / I hope you find a happy ending to your story someday.”
There is a video for the song “Uncle Sam Goddamn,” which has a line in there that keeps my mind wandering: “The grown-up Goliath nation is holding open auditions for the part of David.” Man! Can anyone dispute that?
Brother Ali has displayed himself to the world on 15 tracks. If you are not looking for honest self-expression, then you are not looking for hip hop as far as I’m concerned. I am sick of the lies Viacom allows to be spewed to the masses. Warner Bros distributed this album, so it should’ve gone platinum. I guess honesty is not catchy enough.
“The Undisputed Truth” is one of the reasons Nas was wrong. I have a good feeling we will be hearing more from Ali in the near future, regardless of album sales or the state of hip hop. Here is the reason, from “Daylight”: “Vocals know nothing other than soul touching / So if they land in yours it’s just a homecoming / If they don’t go there they might perish / Land on deaf ears but die unembarrassed.”
Check out the video “Uncle Sam Godam”
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