Brother Ali's Upcoming Album To Feature All Live Music!

HOLY GOD. I JUST FOUND OUT THAT BROTHER ALI’S NEW ALBUM IS ALL LIVE MUSIC. THIS IS INCREDIBLE.

Phew. Deep breath.

First off, I love live music. It’s like improv comedy – for some reason when you know what you’re seeing/listening to is completely in the moment and real, it is astronomically more impressive/fun to check out.

It’s pretty rare, though, to hear a live hip hop album. Rap rarely translates well to the stage, and crisp beats on a studio track are tough to re-create in a live setting. When hip hop acts are able to successfully play their act live, though, it’s awesome. The closest I can think of to a live hip hop album is The Roots’ The Tipping Point. If I recall correctly, the album was put together from a number of live jam sessions featuring some really talented instrumentalists, and was a very organic affair. It’s not totally live on record, but it certainly has its roots (ha!) in that sort of improv-collaboration mindset.

I had the pleasure to catch Brother Ali live a couple months ago in Boston, and I was wowed by his performance. His lyrics are clear, his stage presence is –well – massive, and his personality shines through as well in person as it does on record. Not to mention the fact that the first single and title track from Us, and the accompanying video are completely breathtaking.

Long story short, I absolutely cannot wait to check out Us.

Yeah, I broke out the "hype AHHHHHHHHHH" tag.

Brother Ali - Us (YSI) (filesavr)

The Roots - Duck Down! (YSI) (filesavr)