Brother Ali – “Satisfied Soul” review

Here we have the 9th studio LP from Minneapolis, Minnesota activist & battle emcee Brother Ali. Exploding within the underground off his 2003 sophomore effort Shadows in the Sun & of course his 2007 follow-up The Undisputed Truth, he would continue this string of acclaimed releases with Us as well as the Jake One-produced Mourning in America & Dreaming in Color and All the Beauty in This Whole Life. Can’t forget to mention Ali’s debut EP Champion, his debut mixtape Left in the Deck or the Evidence-produced Secrets & Escapes either. His 4th EP Brother Minutester marked his departure from Rhymesayers Entertainment after nearly 2 decades, reuniting with Ant on Mello Music Group for Satisfied Soul almost a year after Love & Service.

The title track is a rap rock intro showing confidence of himself being the only one who can injure himself whereas “Deep Cuts” hooks up some pianos to talk about it always being love from his end calling God the eternal & everlasting. “Higher Learning at the Skyway” brings the guitars back in the equation wanting to make sure one’s speaking the lexicon just before the gospel-influenced “Drum” talks about gathering around the instrumental like a campfire.

Meanwhile on “The Counts”, we have Ant keeping it a little funky so Ali can address those who stay ready to count him out whenever they get the chance to do so leading into “Cast Aside” talking about being unable to describe having too much to say. “Ocean of Rage” kinda has a jazzy boom bap vibe letting y’all know to catch him by the moonlight letting the cool breeze through, but then “Under the Stars” explains you can’t do what you want when nobody wants you.

“Personal” goes for a more stripped back approach trying not to take shit personally & letting you be the first to know if he ever changes while “2 Dudes” brings the pianos back in the fold getting distracted by the city lights in an effort to navigate correctly. “Better But Us” soulfully talks about things improving other than a relationship where he & his partner fight & fuss while “Name of the One” talks about praise getting raised in the rays of the sun.

As for “Immortalized”, the pianos seep in once more calling himself an authorized street preacher while “Head Heart Hands” talks about getting all 3 of those parts of him right. The summery “Mysterious Things” sounds observes the enigma of human beings while the song “Handwriting” talks about seeing his impossible dreams become reality. “Sing Myself Whole” ends Ali’s debut with MMG showing his singing chops feeling all alone.

If the Rhymesayers mainstay’s gonna make himself at home with Mello Music Group going forward, then what a way to make his debut on the label. Ant’s production feels like a sonic mosaic of dusty drums, warm vinyl crackle & ghostly rhythms that feel like they’ve been pulled from the deep pockets of America’s forgotten record shops to make room for Brother Ali’s thought provoking, spiritual lyrics full of jagged self-reflection & unflinching critique rooted in hope & defiance.

Score: 4.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Brother Ali – “Love & Service” review

Minneapolis, Minnesota activist & battle emcee Brother Ali teaming up with Oakland, California producer Unjust for his 8th full-length LP only 4 & a half years after the Evidence-produced Secrets & Escapes. Exploding within the underground off his 2003 sophomore effort Shadows in the Sun & of course his 2007 follow-up The Undisputed Truth, he would continue this string of acclaimed releases with Us as well as the Jake One-produced Mourning in America & Dreaming in Color and All the Beauty in This Whole Life. Can’t forget to mention Ali’s debut EP Champion turning 20 in a couple weeks & his debut mixtape Left in the Deck either. It’s been a few years since we last heard from him on his 4th EP Brother Minutester which marked his departure from Rhymesayers Entertainment after nearly 2 decades. So with Love & Service being his first album through his very own label Traveler’s Media, that & seeing some of the features nevertheless kept me interested.

After the “Chapter 1” intro, the first song “Ottomans” is a boom bap opener welcoming y’all to the extravaganza & informing everyone listening that they’re now rockin’ with a true & living master except the “mumble rap” jabs are cringe since this isn’t 2016 anymore whereas “Awaken” mixes together these woodwinds & strings talking about sleepwalking through our days. “The Collapse” calling out those who were dazzled by the warning signs flashing continuing to dance in the midst of it all collapsing over an instrumental with a summertime-flare, but then “Manik” featuring Aesop Rock & Casual brings the trio together getting in their battle rap bag for 4 minutes.

“Nom De Plume” kinda goes for more an uncanny atmosphere talking about part of dues having to be paid in order for him to even offer you this news making it rain blood & tears on any stage he rocks while “Cadillac” fuses these organs & guitar licks discussing his father-in-law’s titular yellow tinted whip. “Gauntlet” featuring Roc Marciano goes into a jazzier direction talking about both of them being on some other shit their whole entire lives pretty much leading into “Howlin’ Wolf” hopping over a brass sample to rock & moan much like the blues icon of the same name.

Quelle Chris joins Ali Newman for the spacious “Ghosts” pleading to not let them walk on their own just before the title track smoothly talks about how it’s all simply Love & Service at the end of the day. “Worthy” continues near the end of the album by affirming that every single one of us is worthy of love accompanied by a peppy beat & lastly to finish up Ali’s first full-length in nearly 5 years as of this upcoming fall, “Inside” finishes up the album by vulnerably talking about being unable to hold his tears back.

A good majority of Brother Ali‘s discography is exceptionally high in quality & although this isn’t one of my favorite projects from him, I still find it to be absolutely tolerable. Unjust provides a warm & unquantized sound chopping & flipping educational children’s movies from both the 70’s & 80’s using an ASR-10 sampler cohesively bedding Ali’s dense & poignant musings on God, death, empire & beauty in the process.

Score: 3.5/5

Keep up with @legendswill_never_die on Instagram & @LegendsllLiveOn on Twitter for the best music reviews weekly!

Brother Ali – “Secrets & Escapes” review

This is the surprise 7th full-length album from Minneapolis, Minnesota veteran Brother Ali, the activist/battle emcee that first exploded in the underground with his 2003 sophomore album Shadows in the Sun along with his 2007 follow-up The Undisputed Truth. He just made a fantastic comeback in 2017 with All the Beauty in This Whole Life & with the Halloween season being over, he has teamed up with Evidence for Secrets & Escapes.

The opener “Abu Enzo” talks about where he comes from over a lush instrumental while the next song “Situated” with Pharoahe Monch finds the 2 spitting battle bars over a boom bap beat with a soul sample cutting in & out. The “Greatest That Never Lived” charismatically brags over a spooky instrumental while the song “Father Figures” talks about the people Ali looks up to over a reclining beat. The very short “Apple Tree Me” gets threatening over a ghostly instrumental while the song “Red” finds both Ali & Evidence showing off their own levels of lyricism over a suspenseful beat.

The title track talks about internal conflict over a chilling instrumental while the song “De La Kufi” with Talib Kweli of course sees the 2 kicking knowledge over savory soul sample. The track “Red Light Zone” disses those who be clout chasing on the internet over a funky beat & even though “The Idhin” is brief, Ali comes through with some vivid bars over an almost ambient-like instrumental. Then there’s the closer “They Shot Ricky”, where Ali shows off his storytelling talents over this jazzy instrumental.

Wasn’t expecting this, but it’s one of his best efforts yet. Even though it’s a little over a half hour long, there’s a prominently fantastic chemistry between Evidence’s top notch production & Brother Ali’s intelligent lyricism. If you wanna hear 2 underrated titans from the midwest & the west coast, then PLEASE give this a listen.

Score: 4/5

Brother Ali – “All the Beauty in This Whole Life” review

When Brother Ali first told me back in November that his 6th full-length album was coming in 2017, I was pretty excited given that it would be his first album since Mourning in America & Dreaming in Color just 5 years ago. However when he later said it would be entirely produced by Ant of Atmosphere (who hasn’t produced an album for Ali since Us in 2009), I was even more excited. The album opens up with “Pen to Paper”, where Ali’s talking about going from started writing at 8 & meeting KRS-One at 13 to being profiled by the US government over some ambitious keys & horns. The next song “Own Light (What Hearts Are For)” is about using his heart for love & while the beat does start off kinda spacey, the electric guitar that starts to pop in after the first 20 seconds was a nice touch. The track “Special Effects” talks about Ali wanting to communicate without technology over a jazzy beat & the deM atlaS hook on here is just beautiful. The song “Can’t Take That Away” is a dedication to that special someone in Ali’s life & the beauty of it is enhanced by the harp & keys throughout. The next track “Dear Black Son” is basically Ali sending a message to his son Faheem about all the current racism in America today over a jazzy piano. The song “We Got This” with Sa-Roc talking positivity & the chemistry between the 2 MCs is actually greater than I actually though it would be. The song “Uncle Usi Taught Me” recalls performing “Uncle Sam Goddamn” in Iran over a funky beat & the way he describes it is so vivid & sincere. The track “Pray for Me” talks about his albinism over a piano as well as a pumping bassline. The song “It Ain’t Easy” talking his desire of real love over a churchy instrumental. The track “Never Learn” has some nice brass throughout & I also love the eerie background vocals behind the beat. Also, the hook is beautiful & his flow is so on point. The song “Tremble” talks about how he’s “a human, not a brand” over an electric guitar & he sounds so sincere about it too. The track “Before They Called You White” talks about the Europeans’ land being seized & I like how they incorporated the vocal sample at the end. The song “The Bitten Apple” talks about self-hate over a somber beat & the gloomy hook from Idris Phillips fits in perfectly with the whole tone. The penultimate track “Out of Here”, where Ali is talking about the suicide of both his dad & grandfather & the instrumental fits in like a glove. Especially with the piano during the first verse. The album then closes out with the title track, where Ali is talking about God over a relaxing beat. To me, this is a near perfect return for Brother Ali. The instrumentals are beautiful, the content is on point & the passion is clear as day
Score: 4.5/5