Interview w/Brother Ali
By: Justin Rizzio

He’s the albino Muslim rapper from the midwest. Alot to think about, right? Well, none of that stuff actually matters. The only thing you need to know about Brother Ali is that he can rip mics and tear down stages better than most of your favorite mc’s. Yeah, i said it. While on tour promoting his new record, The Undisputed Truth, Ali took time to talk to 215hiphop and break down a few stereotypes for everyone. This, hip hop fans, is as true as it gets.

Purchase the NEW Brother Ali Album HERE

215hiphop: It looks like Rhymesayers put a big push behind this new record. How has the first month of sales been for you?

Brother Ali: It’s been great. I’ve always had Atmosphere’s example to follow. I look at myself to somewhere around where “God Loves Ugly” was. I had “Shadows on the Sun”. That was out there for a few years. That was never distributed by anyone but us, so it wasn’t really available at all the big chain stores. It was allot of touring and internet and indie stores. That did well, but it was a very slow process. With this one, we have a distribution deal, which allows us to make our stuff available to more people. They put allot into this one. Rhymesayers really busted their ass for this album. We had a goal for the first week and I really wanted to make it for them. I didn’t want to disappoint them. And we ended up selling more than we anticipated. It felt really, really good.

215: The album is called The Undisputed Truth. What is the truth?

Ali: I called it that not to say I’m gonna tell you what the truth is. I’m not arrogant with my shit. I definitely believe in what I believe in. I don’t preach and I don’t consider myself a teacher. I called it that because I’m saying that I can only be the best version of me I can be. Really, I’m not talking about anything that hasn’t been talked about already. The one thing that I try to do is dig deep and not worry about what anybody thinks of it. I don’t worry about if the street dudes are gonna feel it or will the backpackers be offended if I say this. I don’t think about it. I write allot of personal shit and I don’t even worry about if they get mad I’m writing about them. I want to be myself. I want to present my whole personality and I don’t want to change it in any way. I’m just a normal ass person. A real person. I think that’s refreshing to people. I know people that killed people. I know people who’ve been killed, sold drugs, and they don’t talk like that. They don’t look like that, dress like that, walk like that. I remember seeing Ice-T and knowing he’s real. Allot of these dudes on radio and TV don’t remind me of anyone I know. They remind me of frontin’ ass pretty boys. So I think the best way to go is just be myself and not dress it up at all.

215: When describing your music, a word that comes to mind is honesty. You’ve obviously been through allot of struggles. What is your driving force that keeps you going?

Ali: I was really fortunate to learn early on that anything is possible. I’m also a spiritual person. I believe there is something in control of everything and something wants us to be happy and successful. I want to have the best life I could possibly have. I want to be the best I can be in the best possible way. Not to say I’ve never wanted to give up. Right before making this record I was in a low spot. Making the record brought me out of it.

215: On the Shadows on the Sun record, you had songs like “Forrest Whitaker” about being a little different, as far as appearances go. Now that you’ve been around for a minute, have people pretty much gotten over that?

Ali: Fans have, but for the media it’s really hard. It’s always “the albino Muslim rapper”. It is what it is. I had to learn to not let that bother me when I was 8 years old or else I would have killed myself by now. I was fortunate to have people around me when I was young that taught me how to perceive that. It ended up being a really strengthening thing. You have to get your self worth and self esteem from within and not from the group pumping you up. I’m number 69 on Billboard. I don’t need those people to tell me I’m successful. I sent my dad a text like, “did you see me in Rolling Stone?”. Without all that, I still know inside myself if I’m doing what I should be doing. It helps in being a Muslim too. It’s not a real popular thing to be. I’ve seen it done right and I believe in it. I don’t care if I’m the only Muslim on earth. That’s what I believe in and I don’t need anyone else to agree with it.

215: You described yourself as “Howard Stern meets Howard Zin”. Can you elaborate on that and how do you find the balance between the two?

Ali: I don’t want to present myself like I’m all one way. That’s’ a big mistake allot of people make. Like, “I’m gonna do conscious rap, so everything I do has to be conscious”. Or positive rap. You’re not positive all the time. You know you slapped your girlfriend that one time. Everybody does some shit they know damn well they shouldn’t have done. I do it too. I’ve punched people and thought later that it wasn’t necessary. So that’s my take on it.

215: Some people dismiss the Rhymesayers label as just being “emo rap”. Does that ever bother you?

Ali: Nope. I know what my foundation is. I know what I came up listening to and what I still listen to. I’ve always been very rooted in hip hop. Allot of those people who talk that shit have only been hip hop fans since Wu Tang. Like Wu Tang is old school to them. I did a song with Prince Whipper Whip from Fantastic Five! I done chopped it up with Red Alert! Red Alert told me and BK One, “that was really great”. Red Alert is one of the most incredible people in hip hop. He was like, “it’s on you now, you got the right idea”. Red Alert says I got the right idea. I just did a tour with Rakim. I got to meet his family and friends. The reason men like this are so amazing is because that’s who they really are. Rakim is around 40 and he’s doing songs he wrote when he was 18, and it makes sense because that’s who he really is. I realize what I’m doing is more in the spirit of a Rakim or a Melle Mel or a Krs One. They didn’t come out doing what was done before. So damn if that’s what I’m gonna do! I challenge any of these people to sit down with me and Slug. I know what the fuck I am! And I’m being real. If I’m emo, is Ghostface emo? Is Jay Z emo? Is Freeway emo? What are we talking about? When freeway talks like,” how my teacher gonna tell me I’m dumb”. When he says that, your heart breaks a little like oooohhhhh! That’s so real. I thought music was supposed to be from our soul. I thought music was supposed to be some emotional shit. Sometimes that emotion is anger, digging how fly you feel, how strong you feel. That’s real too. You bust a verse and you know it’s that raw shit and at the end you give that aaaggghhhh! That’s emotion too. The dude that did my review in Scratch Magazine said my shit was “tragically emo”. Do you think this is a gimmick? I left my wife after 10 years and had to tell my son it’s just me and you now. That’s just as real as getting shot at! And maybe more real because it’s the reality for more people. And its way more real than lying about getting shot at or the dope they pump. They got you believing there’s more people selling dope than using it. How are all of ya’ll the biggest “D” sellers on the block? It’s not true. People are just so wrapped up in the trends of what goes on. So many people do gimmicks that you start thinking everything’s a gimmick. Like crime is his gimmick, his is super lyrical miracle, spiritual imperacle spherical. And Slug and Ali use emo as their gimmick. But it’s life. It’s truth. I tell you the honest to god truth. And if you don’t get it, I don’t know what you’re listening to music for. These are people who don’t understand music. That’s how I look at it.

215: I’ve seen you perform in Philly a few times before and you seem to really capture the audience. What is your opinion of the Philly crowd?

Ali: I love it. I’ve always loved playing here. I really love playing at the church. Last time was at Trocadero and that was the shit. That felt really good. There’s just something about the vibe here. It’s not like New York. There, you’re happy when everybody is making eye contact with you. They don’t go nuts because they see everything. Philly has a personality to it and real genuine people. People are fly and stylish. It feels like a mix between the east coast and the Midwest. It’s got all the diversity and fast pace of an east coast city but there’s a real sincerity here, and that reminds me of Minneapolis. Its dope and I love playing here.

215: When you come here, do you get a chance to walk around the city at all?

Ali: I wish I did. I wish I had more friends here. Actually, I wish I was friends with Amhir from The Roots. I love that dude. I’m so impressed by him. I think he’s one of the greatest things to happen to music in my generation. As far as getting around, I’ve been down on South St. just because I don’t know the city that well. I think me and Reef might start doing something together. He’s opening…actually I should say he’s performing with us, because he ain’t no opener! He isn’t no fuckin’ opener, he just happens to be first on the bill. He’s the real thing. We’re honored and blessed to have him on this tour. He’s a good ass dude. I like everything I know about him. Hopefully I can come out here and kick it with him.

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