Rhymesayers

Brother Ali

Brother Ali stands with struggling homeowners in “Work Everyday” video

Brother Ali: Mourning in America and Dreaming in ColorBrother Ali: Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (Rhymesayers, 9/18/12)

Hip-hop artist/activist Brother Ali has worked with Occupy Homes Minnesota to try and stop foreclosures in the state, at one point even taken into custody for civil disobedience. Now the movement has debuted a video for his track “Work Everyday,” a heartfelt solidarity anthem for those on the street dealing with the consequences of the financial collapse. Featuring cameos by P.O.S, Jackson Browne, Tom Morello, and more, the video is a real-life montage of those on the domestic frontlines.

P.O.S

P.O.S gets weird with goats, fire-eaters, and contortionists in “Weird Friends” video

P.O.S: We Don't Even Live HereP.O.S: We Don’t Even Live Here (Rhymesayers, 10/23/12)

Rapper, rock musician, and Doomtree co-founder P.O.S may be suffering from issues with his kidneys, but that doesn’t stop him from raising a little hell. In the video for “Weird Friends (We Don’t Even Live Here)” off his 2012 album We Don’t Even Live Here, the rapper takes the conceptual title to heart.

The video exhibits goats, fire-eaters, contortionists, and more cavorting in what may be an abandoned asylum, while Stefon narrates the whole thing over a beat by Housemeister in his energetic punk style.

Interview: Aesop Rock on death, the rap scene, and being “old and weird”

Aesop Rock: Skelethon (Rhymesayers, 7/10/12)

“Zero Dark Thirty”

Aesop Rock: “Zero Dark Thirty”

Rap, understandably, always has placed an emphasis on lyrics, but most rappers are content to find the cleverest way to proclaim their sexual prowess and/or ability to rap well and call it a day. Rapper Aesop Rock (born Ian Bavitz), a veteran of now-defunct label Definitive Jux, doesn’t aim so low, shoving allusions, metaphors, and symbols into a motley band of verbosity that’s unmatched in hip hop. This is rap on hard mode. Don’t expect to understand everything he says on first listen (or tenth), a fact that’s earned him both praise and contempt. Case in point: one of the biggest selling points of a 2005 EP was a fat book of his collected lyrics. He returned this past July on Rhymesayers with Skelethon.

ALARM's 50 Favorite Songs of 2012

ALARM’s 50 (+5) Favorite Songs of 2012

Last month ALARM presented its 50 favorite albums of 2012, an eclectic, rock-heavy selection of discs that were in steady rotation in our downtown-Chicago premises. Now, to give some love to tunes that were left out, we have our 50 (+5) favorite songs of last year — singles, B-sides, EP standouts, soundtrack cuts, and more.

ALARM's 50 Favorite Albums of 2012

ALARM’s 50 Favorite Albums of 2012

Another year, another torrential downpour of albums across our desks. As always, we encountered way too much amazing music, from Meshuggah to The Mars Volta, Converge, Killer Mike, P.O.S, and many more.

P.O.S

Interview: P.O.S throws an anarchist dance party

This interview appears in ALARM #40. Subscribe here to get your copy!

[Ed. note: ALARM contributing writer Bobby Markos was improperly uncredited in print. We sincerely regret the error.]

POS: We Don't Even Live HereP.O.S: We Don’t Even Live Here (Rhymesayers, 10/23/12)

“Fuck Your Stuff”

P.O.S: “Fuck Your Stuff”

With an ear for diversity and a mind for critical thought, Stefon Alexander — better known as rapper P.O.S — has maintained operations as a multi-instrumentalist by day and rap artist by night. The early-30-something is a man whose DIY/punk upbringing aligns him more with Ian MacKaye than Kanye West, and that’s reflected in his many and assorted rock-band roles, including his current gig as keyboardist/vocalist for Marijuana Deathsquads.

But no matter the project, Alexander continues to reinvent himself with each release. His latest as P.O.S, We Don’t Even Live Here, is a testament to his 360-degree perspective of both music and the world we live in. Here he discusses what has changed in his life as well as the new album’s danceable vibe and anti-capitalist theme.

Brother Ali

Review: Brother Ali’s Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color

Brother Ali: Mourning in America and Dreaming in ColorBrother 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.

Video: P.O.S’s “Fuck Your Stuff”

POS: We Don't Even Live HereP.O.S: We Don’t Even Live Here (Rhymesayers, 10/23/12)

Doomtree emcee P.O.S (born Stefon Alexander) has announced the fall release of his first LP since 2009, and he’s enlisted a slew of artists to back him up. We Don’t Even Live Here boasts, among others, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver), Ryan Olson (Gayngs), Boys Noize, and fellow Doomtree talents.

October’s far away. Whet your whistle with this new video for the album’s first single, “Fuck Your Stuff,” which features P.O.S & Co. creating totally un-sponsored havoc (note Mike Mictlan’s blurred-out GWAR tee) in the streets to an insanely danceable beat.