Greek mythology has a long standing tradition of the blind being the only characters who are capable of fully grasping the truth. This is best emphasized by Tiresias, the blind prophet and advisor to Oedipus and later Creon, and Oedipus who is only able to understand the truth of his situation after gouging out his own eyes. But what, you may ask, does this have to do with Hip Hop?
Enter Brother Ali, a legally-blind, overweight, albino man from Minneapolis, Minnesota. A man who not only claims to speak the truth, but has proclaimed himself to be The Truth, (note that this is the clean version, but I'd definitely suggest checking out the explicit track), a statement echoed by many critics and hip hop heads around the nation. Ali is one of my favorite MCs in the game today, though he is often overshadowed by labelmate and friend Slug (of Atmosphere fame). He is a versatile MC with many political tracks ("Freedom Ain't Free," Uncle Sam Goddamm," "Letter From the Government") and has been compared by many to KRS-ONE in his prime (the government actually froze the man's assets at one time and had Homeland Security keeping an eye on him).
Ali is also an accomplished battle rapper, a capacity clearly shown on tracks such as "Truth Is," "Room With A View," and "Whatcha' Got" (even his eight year old son can spit mad rhymes). Some of my favorite Ali tracks come when you catch him at his most introspective. Tracks like "Walk Away" and "Faheem" bring us closer to Brother Ali as a person and let us know what he's really about.
Ali recently released a video preview for his fourth LP, US, which is dropping September 22nd. The video is so good that I may have watched it three times straight the first time I saw it and another six times since then, and I may just have gotten goosebumps every time (And I go with the feeling from the start/ I'm blind in the eyes so I see with my heart).
Ali is also an accomplished battle rapper, a capacity clearly shown on tracks such as "Truth Is," "Room With A View," and "Whatcha' Got" (even his eight year old son can spit mad rhymes). Some of my favorite Ali tracks come when you catch him at his most introspective. Tracks like "Walk Away" and "Faheem" bring us closer to Brother Ali as a person and let us know what he's really about.
Ali recently released a video preview for his fourth LP, US, which is dropping September 22nd. The video is so good that I may have watched it three times straight the first time I saw it and another six times since then, and I may just have gotten goosebumps every time (And I go with the feeling from the start/ I'm blind in the eyes so I see with my heart).
This track is off of Brother Ali's sophomore LP, Shadows On The Sun (a classic underground album), a protest against the magazine standards of beauty. It's short (only one actual verse), but at the same time it's to the point, comical, and touching.
I'm not the classic profile of what the ladies want,
You might think I'm depressed as can be,
But when I look in the mirror I see SEXY ASS ME!
Sorry for the long post, Ali's just one of my favorite rappers and I felt he deserved it. Tell me what you think. I'd love feedback both on my writing and musical taste and always appreciate any recommendations/drops on new artists/songs I haven't heard.
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