Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brother Ali's Best Effort Yet, April 10, 2007
Chances are you have never heard of Brother Ali. As an albino Muslim, he may not pass under the radar walking down the street, but he has managed to stay relatively unknown in the rap world. Well not for long...
3 years in the making, The Undisputed Truth is the excellent sophomore effort by Brother Ali. Featuring nearly 60 minutes of Ali and just Ali, there are no skits or featuring artists, so by the end of this CD, it seems as if you know Ali on a much more personal album than would seem possible after only one listen. This album features Ant form the duo Atmosphere producing most of the tracks, which feature his signature soul inflected beats. Make no mistake, this cd is all about Ali, but one can see the deveolpment of Ant as a producer, as he delves deeper into reggae inflected beats and creates a more unique style. This is not just a side project for Ant, and he pulls out some of his best production work to date. Ali rips almost every track, and his flow fits perfectly with Ants production.
Right from the beginning, it is visible how muhc music means to Brother Ali and how much effort he puts into every track. Each track shows raw emotion that is somehting that is surprisingly fresh to listen to, and is nothing like the stuff pumping through your radio. The first track Watcha Got is an absolute banger and will get you swaying your head immediatly. My only problem with this album is that there were not more bangers like this one, as it seems this is what Ali raps most comfortably over. Next comes Lookin at me sideways, which shows Alis stunning storytelling abilities.
Tracks pass quickly, and Ali bears his soul to the listener, and functions on a much mroe personal level than any rapper you may have heard. The listener learns that Ali is a single father, and that he has recently lost his mother to cancer. the only dissapointment is that Ali does not use this material to create especiialy powereful songs;they act only as details to already stellar songs.
The standout track on this album is Letters from the government. Over a laid back beat layed down by Ant, Ali's lyrics take the wheel as he drops some of his most political lyrics yet. This preformance is not only thought provoking but amazingly done and will catch you hitting the back button over and over to listen to it again and again. Take Me Home might be the catchiest track on the cd and is a close contender for best track
If you have never heard Brother ALI, i highly reccommend that you do not sleep on this incredibly talent any longer. If you have heard of Ali, and have picked up any of his previous works, be told that this is a step up and shows growth on the part of both Ant as a producer and Ali as a rapper.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Undisputed Excellence, April 28, 2008
If you've never heard of Brother Ali, then you're missing out. The Minneapolis based MC's second LP, The Undisputed Truth is a brilliant piece of heartfelt hip hop. To understand the music, it helps to have a cursory understanding of the man. Ali (born Jason Newman) grew up in Madison, WI, but left home at the age of 15 and moved to Minneapolis, which is when he began his involvement in hip hop. Despite reports that have been written to the contrary, Brother Ali is not a "black albino muslim." He is albino, and is muslim, but is of the caucasian race. That doesn't really matter in the long run, because white or black, he's damn good at what he does.
If you've ever heard any music from Rhymesayers Entertainment, the Minneapolis based record company that Ali is signed to, then you probably have at least heard music produced by Ant. Ant is, in my opinion, a genius. Between his work with Slug on Atmosphere's albums, and the production work that he does with most of the label's other projects, he's crafted some of the greatest hip hop instrumentals of the past decade. He's right up there with Pete Rock in my opinion.
His work on The Undisputed Truth is more brilliance. Just listen to the hip hop meets reggaeton beat of "Truth Is." Brother Ali has stated in interviews that Ant really takes his job seriously, and that job is to create music specifically for the MC he's partnering with at that time. There is not a beat on the album that sounds out of place, fully complimenting everything that Brother Ali does with his lyrics and his voice, creating a truly complete song.
Ali's voice is very versatile. He can be forceful, forthright, and extremely aggressive. If you listen to the opening track "Whatcha Got," which has a sort of a rap/rock vibe to it, you'll hear this for sure. However, he contrasts that with songs like "Lookin' at me Sideways" which features a fairly traditional hip hop flow over a bluesy beat, and a softer, laid back hook. This contrasts further with the laid back, lilting sing song hook of "Take Me Home" (one of my favorite songs on the album).
However, when you look at the lyrics, you get a true taste of the meat of the album. Ali goes from boastful ("Our strength is unrelated to your weakness/Cause you'll never be a worthy pool of peers to be competed with"), to thoughtful ("I was right there for your first breath/I used to lay you on my chest when you slept/I fed you, changed you, read to you, bathed you/I'm not trying to hold that over your head/I'm saying thank you"), to political ("Welcome to the united snakes/Land of the thief, home of the slave/Grand imperial guard where the dollar is sacred/And Power is God"). Throughout the album, he consistently weaves a blanket of lyrics that full cover every topic that he decides to explore.
Ali is an extremely versatile MC, with a lot of talent and a lot of skill. Add in the backup he gets from ANT, and the promotion he's been getting from Rhymesayers, and I think we're seeing a man who will be a force in underground hip hop for a long time.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I WANTED THE TRUTH.. AND GOT NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH!!!!!!, April 15, 2007
I actually got this album 5 days before it came out and i was chomping at the bit to tell EVERYONE I KNEW how great this album is. ( i set up what to search for on amazon actually)
I love brother ali for what he is and does. He speaks nothing but the unabashed truth.. all he does on this Lp is show how superior he is to anyone else in the game rite now. I honestly think the only person who can mess with him rite now is Nas. The best part of the whole ordeal is that this man is completely respected and he is staying true to his underground roots( RHYMESAYERS....MINNEAP BABY!!!!)in minneapolis. We have shown nothing but support and love to ali and all he has given us back is INCREDIBLE albums and heartfelt anthems.
ali is the best rapper alive, BUY THIS LP
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