As any of you who know me can tell, Brother Ali is one of my favorite two MCs of all time (just look at my last.fm page). Unlike most artists I listen to, I didn’t get into Ali from listening to his first album because when I started listening to him the album was near impossible to find. Thanks to somebody who order one of the first 300 copies of Ali’s 2004 Champion EP, Ali’s Rites of Passage finally started to pop up all around the internet late last year. If I had never heard of Ali before I would’ve thought this album was made in the early-mid 90s… which is a good thing, a really good thing. This album takes you back to the time of Brand Nubian, Black Sheep, Black Moon, Tribe and De La Soul from Ali’s lyrics, to his production (he produced this album), even to the interludes. Rites of Passage is a masterpiece of an album, so please don’t sleep on it for your own sake.
Continue reading ‘Brother Ali – Rites of Passage (2000)’
Recent Comments