Turn Yo’ Headphones Up: Brother Ali – Us

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brother-ali-us-cover

I’m not going to lead into this one lightly or anything. Simply put, this is an instant classic and album of the year. Who the fuck is Brother Ali? Hands down the best rapper you don’t know. I’ve said folks are one of this, and that album may be one of that…but this shit right here, this shit right here? Unrelenting, unparalleled, unapologetic, thought provoking, masterful, classic, and perfect are words that MAY begin to describe this album. I’ve done over 40 reviews for The Fro’ and I joined the crew after Eardrum dropped, which was the last album that I deem classic or at least REALLY close to classic. I have only given two albums 4.5 ratings and while I think both Relapse and Rising Down are personal faves, they haven’t made classic status for me. But this shit right here? This shit right here? Flawless.

Sometimes, doing a track by track review gets difficult because at the extremes you can only sing praises or voice displeasure so many different ways and do justice to the folks that take time to read what you took time to say. This album would be one where each track would be a new way to say amazing…15 different times.This is nothing new for Brother Ali though. This man has dedicated his Hip-Hop life to giving you top quality albums that are all underground staples to the game. His lyricism is up there with your favorites and he tends to be one of those that has done such high quality work for so long that you tend to take it for granted. I have NO improvements, complaints or anything negative to say about this album, and the song “Best @It” with Freeway and Joell Ortiz is pure napalm. No matter if it’s story telling, brash lyricism, conscious lyrics, or heartfelt songs, Brother Ali delivers. Us is the best offering from an emcee who is just as outspoken and controversial as he is talented. Do you hear me now? Good. (Shout out to anyone who gets that.) Make SURE to Turn Yo’ Headphones Up to Brother Ali.

Download: Brother Ali – “Best @It”

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Saule Wright
The Black Alex P. Keaton
Saule Wright *the "e" is silent* is a chill cat that loves his Hip-Hop and R&B music. At times, he may throw in a few extra words here and there in his reviews, but he makes an effort to comment on the track, the lyrics, and other elements in each song when doing nappyafro's legendary track by track process. If he's not wandering around nappyafro.com trying to spark conversation, you'll find him either on soulections.com or twitter doing the same. Respected by many, disrespected by many, and respectful of both.
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9 Comments

  1. If you’ve listened to either of his other two albums you’d realize this is slightly weaker and not deserving of the classic moniker.

    Reply

    1. I Disagree, the production on the truth is hear is much less effective than the beats on Us and The lyrical content and emotional presence of Us is much more powerful than Shadows on the Sun. Us is easily Ali’s greatest album and all three are classics (not to mention his EP’s) He just brings it on a higher level hear easily.

      Reply

    1. No offense, but this doesn’t come close to touching Shadows On The Sun.

      Nevertheless, this is a great album. Glad to see it put on this website. Why doesn’t it have a rating system???/?

      Reply

  3. hmmm idk. I was thoroughly bored by his rhyme style on this album, but that my just me being hyper critical once again. The beats are pretty awesome though.

    Reply

    1. Real recognize real. When is Ant going to get some credit for his work? He is a highly underrated producer.

      Reply

  5. Two reasons why it isn’t rated….1, it wasn’t a review. 2, I figured the rating was inferred with me calling it classic, no improvements, etc. I’d love to have Mr. Jones or Mufucka review this one. We’ll put it up on the site. My review would be 5stars, but apparently I’m alone on that one.

    Reply

  6. This album is definitely one of the best this year to me. I would concur to Saule with the classic label just because it could hold its own against many albums that are consididered classic. Mainstream-wise, the album will not be called classic because it gets no radio play, which is a shame. I heard his other albums and they were good but this album seemed a lot more emotional and I felt the production was better. Remember, lyrics aren’t the only thing that makes an album classic. I felt Shadows On the Sun was more lyrical but the tracks didn’t mesh as well and the production faltered at some points, things in which Us made sure to avoid.

    Reply

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