Brother Ali embraces the communal spirit at First Avenue
Brother Ali
When Brother Ali was still working on his triumphant new disc, Us, the title was rumored to be Street Preacher, a reference to both the Minnesota rapper's vocal delivery and his upfront spirituality. That persona was in full effect as Ali filled First Avenue on Saturday for the second of two shows to wrap up a long tour supporting Us, joined by local MC Toki Wright, West Coast rapper Evidence, and DJ BK-One. All four are signed to Twin Cities-based Rhymesayers Entertainment and delivered strong sets on Saturday.
Wright has opened for Brother Ali on his last several tours, and the MC and educator did the honors again here, starting the evening with fist-pumping numbers like "More Fiya" from his solo debut, A Different Mirror, and returning through the night to act as hype man, keeping the crowd's energy up and introducing the later acts—though he made his distaste for the phrase apparent, at one point announcing, "I read an article that I was a hype man. It was a terrible fucking article." (The line is from his song "Next Big Thing," but Wright tossed the observation out mid-set on its own, perhaps to highlight the irony.)
BK-One, who released Rádio Do Canibal on Rhymesayers this year, stayed sharp with his own funk and Brazilian soul-inspired beats, and switched up styles to support each MC. Evidence took the stage, all bounces and smiles in cargo shorts and a black T-shirt. Best known as part of seminal Los Angeles underground crew Dilated Peoples, Evidence signed to Rhymesayers earlier this year, and plans to release a solo album, Cats & Dogs, in 2010. Live, he was loose and lucid. His laid-back but passionate delivery bore all the marks of an underground veteran, casually tossing out lines like "I can smoke an eighth in a spliff / Some call it a problem but I call it a gift," from "Mr. Slow Flow" off his 2007 solo disc, The Weatherman. He moved easily through a set heavy on solo material, including the new cut "Cold Weather," and some older Dilated Peoples tracks before finishing up with a strong a capella spoken-word piece about how he tries not to use words with the prefix "con-"—a funny and impassioned bit of wordplay that affirmed that he and RSE should get along like gangbusters.
When it came time for the headliner, Wright's introduction didn't hold back the hyperbole, calling Brother Ali "the baddest motherfucker" in the rap game—nevertheless, Ali came to the stage with a polite smile and wave. In a blue warm-up jacket with the likeness of his boxing namesake on the back, Ali wasted no time in busting out his hypnotic, sing-song flow, which recalls the joyous exhortation of a Southern preacher in full-on soul-saving mode. No other MC in the Twin Cities has such an spiritually self-assured delivery; Slug's ironic observation is great storytelling and Eyedea's hyper-kinetic staccato can be thrilling, but Ali reaches deep and lets the words roll out of him. Backed by a series of video clips put together by artist Isaac Arvold, Ali took the audience on a lyrical tour of the streets of North Minneapolis, preached unity, told stories of love and loss, and affirmed the uniqueness of all mankind.
Throughout the evening Ali riffed like a man on a mission; most of his banter was about reaffirming the collective theme of Us, that "there is no me, there is no you, there is just us." He eulogized a recently passed friend who helped him when he first moved to North Minneapolis, saying that, "no one is just a drug dealer or just this or just that, we are all human beings." Ali also briefly touched on politics, asking, "Obama said he was gonna bring the troops home—I love that man but when the fuck's that gonna happen?" But the anger was passing. Before long the rich beats were filling up the room again, and Ali was exhorting the crowd to scream out in unison, "Love!" Ali and BK-One tore through highlights from Ali's discography, including "Rain Water," "Tight Rope," "Forest Whitiker," and "Take Me Home," before inviting Evidence and Wright out for a final joint number. At the end, Ali returned again to the communal theme he'd been touching on all evening, asking the crowd to hold up their arms with two fingers up and go out in true hip-hop style, shouting, "Peace!"
Toki Wright
Evidence
Evidence, Toki Wright, and BK-One
Brother Ali
BK-One
Brother Ali
Brother Ali
Brother Ali
