Brother Ali Crashes Through to Hip-Hop Success
By Gage Luce
Brother Ali was born Jason Newman and from that day has lived life as an albino (colorless hair, eyes and skin and extreme sensitivity to sunlight).
At 15 he changed his name to Ali Newman, moved to Minneapolis, and converted to Islam. As a teen Ali was introduced to the hip-hop world through graffiti, break dancing and rapping while he was living in Michigan.
"I listen to a lot of soul music, and I love every type of rap and hip hop," Ali said. "I don't discriminate between what Bernie Mac calls happy rap and underground rap. I like it all."
Ali has been a staple in the underground hip-hop scene for close to a decade now. However, it wasn't until his self-produced demo tape titled "Rites of Passage" made it into the hands of a young crew called Rhymesayers, that he started to get some attention. The local crew brought Ali with them to the 2000 Scribble Jam competition in Cincinnati; where he made it to the finals that year.
In 2003 Ali's debut album "Shadows on the Sun" came out on Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album was produced by Atmospheres production genius ANT. The album featured a song titled "Forest Whitiker" and it spoke of Ali's albinism. In 2004 he released his Champion EP, the album proved to be a favorite among fans who were turned onto Ali while opening up for Atmosphere on their God Loves Ugly Tour.
Over the course of the next few years Ali experienced a series of personal events, which included a dramatic divorce with his wife, homelessness and fighting to gain custody of his son. Those events shaped his sophomore album, "The Undisputed Truth" which was released in April 2007.
"I write about a lot of thing's that go on in my life, especially with this last album," said Ali. "It's about the major changes in my life."
The first single from "The Undisputed Truth" got some heat from the for its lyrics aimed at the U.S. government.
On "Uncle Sam, God Damn," Ali speaks freely about the government offering his own political ideals. "Shit the governments the addict," he raps. "With a billion dollar a week kill brown people habit." The song is noticeably critical of the American government and gives accusations that the American political system is addicted to war.
The little bit of controversy Ali has received for his lyrics cost him a chance of touring with Gym Class Heroes.
"I was going to do tour with them and I would have gotten to play for a lot of new people," he said. "But the corporate sponsor for that tour made the executive decision to cut me off."
"Every song on 'The Undisputed Truth' is personal and I didn't write those to try and educate anybody or try to tell people a feeling that they should have about it," Ali said.
By Gage Luce
Brother Ali was born Jason Newman and from that day has lived life as an albino (colorless hair, eyes and skin and extreme sensitivity to sunlight).
At 15 he changed his name to Ali Newman, moved to Minneapolis, and converted to Islam. As a teen Ali was introduced to the hip-hop world through graffiti, break dancing and rapping while he was living in Michigan.
"I listen to a lot of soul music, and I love every type of rap and hip hop," Ali said. "I don't discriminate between what Bernie Mac calls happy rap and underground rap. I like it all."
Ali has been a staple in the underground hip-hop scene for close to a decade now. However, it wasn't until his self-produced demo tape titled "Rites of Passage" made it into the hands of a young crew called Rhymesayers, that he started to get some attention. The local crew brought Ali with them to the 2000 Scribble Jam competition in Cincinnati; where he made it to the finals that year.
In 2003 Ali's debut album "Shadows on the Sun" came out on Rhymesayers Entertainment. The album was produced by Atmospheres production genius ANT. The album featured a song titled "Forest Whitiker" and it spoke of Ali's albinism. In 2004 he released his Champion EP, the album proved to be a favorite among fans who were turned onto Ali while opening up for Atmosphere on their God Loves Ugly Tour.
Over the course of the next few years Ali experienced a series of personal events, which included a dramatic divorce with his wife, homelessness and fighting to gain custody of his son. Those events shaped his sophomore album, "The Undisputed Truth" which was released in April 2007.
"I write about a lot of thing's that go on in my life, especially with this last album," said Ali. "It's about the major changes in my life."
The first single from "The Undisputed Truth" got some heat from the for its lyrics aimed at the U.S. government.
On "Uncle Sam, God Damn," Ali speaks freely about the government offering his own political ideals. "Shit the governments the addict," he raps. "With a billion dollar a week kill brown people habit." The song is noticeably critical of the American government and gives accusations that the American political system is addicted to war.
The little bit of controversy Ali has received for his lyrics cost him a chance of touring with Gym Class Heroes.
"I was going to do tour with them and I would have gotten to play for a lot of new people," he said. "But the corporate sponsor for that tour made the executive decision to cut me off."
"Every song on 'The Undisputed Truth' is personal and I didn't write those to try and educate anybody or try to tell people a feeling that they should have about it," Ali said.
