Brother Ali: Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (Rhymesayers, 9/18/12)
Using his music as a platform is nothing new for Minnesota MC Brother Ali, whose soulful brand of hip hop has ranged from the outspoken “Uncle Sam Goddamn” to the positive “Fresh Air.” However, since recording Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color — another politically minded album — Ali has gone a step further, getting involved in the Occupy Homes movement of Minnesota, working to prevent wrongful foreclosures.
Among the thousands of under-appreciated or under-publicized albums that were released in 2010, hundreds became our favorites and were presented in ALARM and on AlarmPress.com. Of those, we pared down to 100 outstanding releases, leaving no genre unexplored in our list of this year’s overlooked gems.
We got a sneak peek at the artwork for Freeway & Jake One’s new album, The Stimulus Package (Feb. 16th, Rhymesayers) created by hip hop design star Brent Rollins.
Pummeling mid-tempo rock icons The Jesus Lizard will briefly reunite; idiosyncratic rapper Busdriver performs live with a jazz band tonight; minimalist folk group Phosphorescent has recorded a disc of Willie Nelson covers. Read on.