Brother Ali

(September 2009)

Interview by Adam McKibbin

Rhymesayers and their flagship act Atmosphere almost single-handedly made the Twin Cities one of the hotbeds of indie hip-hop, and they're showing no sign of being past their prime. Earlier this year, P.O.S. released Never Better, an album that figures to make an appearance on this site's Best of 2009 list. Now Brother Ali has thrown Us into the ring, an album that celebrates hip-hop history and personal triumphs while also dealing with subject matter that's as serious as it gets (rape, homophobia, slavery). While his past albums have often been intensely personal - and as an albino Muslim rapper from Minnesota, he clearly has a unique perspective - Us grapples more with the world around him, and the struggle to reconcile being a happy family man (at one point, he compares his household to the Berenstain Bears) with an acute sensitivity for the mounting problems around us.

Tellingly, the album opens (after a Chuck D intro) with a track called "The Preacher." He could also be called "The Ambassador," as he's shown an unwavering affection for all things hip-hop - past, present and future. Prior to setting off on a rigorous tour schedule, Brother Ali chatted about his enduring hip-hop fandom, the notion that the golden era has passed us by, and his reasons for venturing off the beaten path when hitting the road.

Some of the towns on your itinerary aren’t regulars on a tour schedule – especially a hip-hop tour schedule. What kind of a difference do you see in smaller towns like Mankato, MN or Bellingham, WA?

Every city has its own personality, but those smaller places are really cool. I think our particular brand of music works better there because it’s so real and it’s based on who you are, not what you look like or what you’ve got on. It’s a lot more about life, and that’s what you get when you get into small towns that don’t have a huge nightlife or the entertainment industry. It’s more about who you are, what you’re about, who your friends are, and how you grew up. That lends itself well to the music that we do.

You’re very open and forthcoming on your records. Does that translate to fans feeling like they know you personally? Has that ever become intrusive?

I would say that ninety percent of the time, people are really respectful. If you don’t like my music, you probably don’t even know about it, you know what I mean? The only people that even really know about us are the people who appreciate what we’re doing. So there are definitely people that want to talk. [Laughs] And they feel like they know me, but it’s almost always really positive. But there are times when I’ll be out with my family and I don’t feel like being in that space.

A lot of the press about you tends to mention the “golden era” of hip-hop and the influence that era had on you. Do you think that’s fair to hip-hop to talk about the golden era as a bygone era? If so, what caused the end of it?

That’s a good point. I think there are a lot of golden eras in hip-hop. The reason we talk about the late ‘80s as such a great period – both in production and MCing, writing and storytelling – is that everything took a gigantic leap in about a two-year period. In 1988 and 1987, everything was all of a sudden head and shoulders way better than it had ever been before. It seemed like everybody that was putting albums out at the time had a level of quality about them; you could listen to every rap album that came out, and if you were a fan of rap, they would all be enjoyable. The same thing happened in the mid-90s. I think hip-hop just grew into so many areas and so many particular tastes that the average rap fan isn’t able to appreciate all of it anymore.

At the same time, hip-hop took over the airwaves. So if you’re not a fan of that particular hip-hop, then you’re mad and you feel like the best days of rap are behind us. I don’t think that’s necessarily true. It will never be a contained community like it used to be. You wouldn’t have been surprised if Heavy D was hanging out with NWA; that didn’t seem like an unreasonable thing, because everybody was part of the rap community. They all shouted each other out on their albums. There were very few exceptions, like Vanilla Ice – and you saw how quickly Vanilla Ice died. He wasn’t able to survive, because he wasn’t part of the community. Now, there are many, many communities that make up hip-hop, and a lot of them never connect with each other. So, to me, that’s where the gold went, you know what I mean? That’s why we’re not in the golden era of hip-hop anymore.

But is there still greatness in all these different areas? Yeah. And I still enjoy all of it. I’m really happy that Jay-Z just gave me a new album to listen to, I can’t wait until Aesop Rock gives me a new album to listen to. I hope T.I. comes out of prison with more to say. I still love all of rap. I love it all. I’m a huge fan of Little Brother, Joell Ortiz, Lil Wayne, everything.

Did you catch Jay-Z’s interview on Bill Maher’s show?

Yeah, that was a pretty good one. I think Bill Maher was a little out of his element and rather than just straight up be himself, he was kind of trying to play to Jay a little bit. If you get a chance to see him when he was on Charlie Rose, that was really great. Oprah taped an entire episode with him and I read a little bit of excerpts from that and I think that might be his best interview. Reading some of the questions, she was like “Why did you become a drug dealer as a kid? Tell me about the time you got shot” – and Oprah saying “I don’t like this part of what you say and do. I don’t like some of your language. Why do you feel like you need to say this?” And him just being really open and honest about where he’s coming from.

It’s cool he’s opening up and showing those sides of himself.

Yeah, he’s the statesman of hip-hop. He embodies everything that rap can be, you know what I mean? He’s incredible. Bridging the street smarts with the music, the accelerated level of lyricism, still making songs that everyone around the world can dance to, and then the business side of things. And he can sit down and discuss politics and social issues, too. He’s definitely the greatest of our generation, and there’s a case to be made that he’s the best that’s ever been.