Brother Ali, 'Us'

Release date: September 22, 2009
Record label: Rhymesayers
Official Web site: http://www.brotherali.com/

The buzz: The fourth album from the world’s only albino Muslim rapper finds the soulful MC teamed up again with producer Anthony “Ant” Davis of fellow Twin Cities hip-hoppers Atmosphere, turning out more thoughtful rhymes over old-school beats. Where Ali’s excellent 2007 album, “The Undisputed Truth,” was more politically themed, “Us” is billed as a more personal set.

The verdict: A man among boys, Ali’s raps carry a conviction and emotional honesty that’s sorely lacking in most of today’s hip-hop. Whether he’s rhyming exuberantly about Sunday mornings with his family on “Fresh Air” (“play Al Green, make pancakes and watch cartoons”) or telling the story of Somali refugees adapting to life in Minnesota on “Tight Rope,” he’s rarely less than riveting. Even traditional hip-hop boasts like “Bad Muf---er Pt. 2” become hard-edged street poetry in his masterful hands. For the most part, Ant’s accompaniments are pitch-perfect, ranging from the horn-fueled funk of “The Preacher” to the spooky jazz-hop of “House Keys.” Only the weirdly jaunty xylophones of the gruesome slave ship narrative “The Travelers” feel like a miscue; for the rest of these 16 tracks, Ali and Ant are operating at a level few other hip-hop artists can touch.

Did you know? “Us” was originally going to be called “Street Preacher,” but Ali decided to drop that name because, as he told HipHopDX.com, “the term ‘street’ is really played out.”