Brother Ali, You Know He’s Non-Stop

April 14th, 2004. It’s noon in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shoes and suits are most likely on their lunch break discussing finances or their new SUVs, while Brother Ali lays in bed talking to me over the phone about hip-hop. It might sound lazy, being in bed that is, but Ali is everything but lazy. In five days he starts another tour, his fifth nationwide tour in the past year-and-a-half. The upcoming tour, which features Vast Aire of Cannibal Ox fame, is to promote his upcoming EP The Champion, the follow-up to his 2003 debut Shadows in the Sun, and the prelude to his sophomore release due later in 2004. Life as a rapper is a constant grind, and to keep your name fresh you have to be willing to sacrifice. Ali has the natural talent, but it’s the other aspects of the rap life that leave him tired, and wondering if this is where he really wants to be.

On “Bitchslap” you compare yourself as a cross between John Gotti and Mahatma Ghandi. Why is that?
I mean that’s just how I feel sometimes. I have thoughts and dreams, aspirations and wishes, very high things that I think about sometimes. And then sometimes I find myself doing shit like, “man, what am I doing?” I’m getting better with it, but I get in fights sometimes; like I’m a 26-year-old getting in fights like I was in high school. That’s how I feel sometimes. I have this thing where I’m trying to never have another fight in my life. But I’m saying, it’s just trying to find that balance, trying to have that middle path.

Which side of you makes better songs, or can you even say that?
I mean, I think they both do. I don’t really science it up like that, like which side should I write from? Or like, what angle should I try to hit with this song? I just do whatever feels right - whatever feels natural. I write songs the way that I talk, so the way that I would have a conversation about whatever, that’s the way that song comes out. A lot of my songs I write like I’m talking to [my producer], ANT. Whatever comes out is whatever would naturally would come out in a conversation with a friend.

Is writing something you do on the daily?
Hell no. I’m pretty bad about it. I don’t force it. I know people who write three songs a week, and just to do it because they have to write a song. I’m not like that; I write a song when a song is inside me and needs to be written. Every time they come up, I write them. I get them how I want them and move on. Sometimes I go two months without writing a song. It’s like I’ll have ideas in my mind, and I’ll think “yeah, I should write a song about this.” I kind of keep it in my head for a little while so I have a basic idea of how I want to do it, or how I want to formulate it. Maybe I’ll hear some music or something that will make me want to write it, like ANT will have something, and I’ll be like “you know what I think? I’m ready to do this song now.” So I sit down with that music and put it together.

You earned your rep out there in the battle scene. How do you think you were able to elevate past other battle rappers and make a career off it?
I think because I didn’t put everything I had on battling. There is a difference between battling and making records. It’s almost impossible to make a career of battles, because a battle is something that is entertaining for that day. The longest a battle is really going to carry you for is six months. People talk about it for a while until they have something new to talk about, whereas a great album, people will always remember that. Another great album is going to come out, who knows how long it will take, but if you make a great album yours will still be great, and it will still be there. When people go back and listen to it again, it’s still what it is, especially if you’re talking about life. There are people who make battle records, like the whole album is battle shit with funny little halfway clever punch lines, and they rap from punch line to punch line, and there is nothing else there. Those are cool when you hear them once or twice, but once you know all the punch lines it’s not entertaining anymore; it’s just like a battle.
My whole thing with battling was I’m thinking about what I’m doing at that time, and how to come out on top of the situation with that spirit of competition. When I make records, it’s not that kind of spirit at all. I write songs about things that stir me up, or things that excite me, or bring some kind of strong feeling out of me whether it’s anger, happiness, sadness, love or hate, whatever it is. To me, writing is only half of it, it’s more how you present and deliver it, and make it sound in a way that it works with the music. It’s more than the words, it’s about the feelings that it gives you. I try to make it so that when you hear that song, you get a little bit of the feeling that I had. The reason I write battle songs is because I’ve served people, and there is something very invigorating about that. I did it not too long ago on the city bus. These dudes were rapping on the back of the bus; I was just sitting there being quiet, like whatever. They all sat down two on each side of, and they would go in a circle, and then they got to me, and they didn’t know me or whatever, and one of them started rapping at me, like not even knowing, and I served the shit out of him. That feeling is very invigorating so the reason I make songs like that is because that’s an experience I have. I don’t do that to impress people, or try prove a point, or keep that reputation alive or anything.

Would you consider yourself an angry rapper?
I mean, I’m an angry person a lot of the time. There are things that anger until I’m able to make peace with them.

Is music your escape for that, or how you’re able to release that steam?
Nah, I think it’s just there in the music because it’s in me. The great thing I learned from ANT is to just let any part of yourself come through in music, you should let it happen as long as it’s genuine. I know a lot people say that they use music as their escape or outlet, but I don’t really know about that. I know music makes me happy, but I don’t get mad and be like, “oh fuck, I got to go make some music.” When music is going very well it can definitely make up for other things that may not be going well.

You talk about ANT a lot. Is he a big part of your music even outside production?
Yeah. Me and him are definitely 50-50 partners in terms of what we contribute to what we do. And a matter of fact, there are times when I feel he contributes a lot more than I do. That’s why to me he is the greatest producer ever. Damn near I’d put him up there with all the great producers in hip-hop, even to the beginning. Most people judge producers just by their beat, because that’s all that most producers are good for, their beat. They don’t really bring anything else; they don’t have a vision for the song. The thing is that ANT has a vision for each artist he works with. Very seldom does he just do one beat for somebody here and there, it’s mainly people he’s friends with.
He just has this feeling on how to make a person sound their best, and how to bring the best parts of an MC out, like what musically will compliment best. He also understands that musicians and rappers, even though we act tough, we all have an insecurity about us when it comes to our music, and he knows that a person performs at their best when they’re very confident. So he almost has this way of like knowing when your confidence is kind of shaky, or knowing when you might not feel at the top of your game. He has a way of making you feel like you can do anything, and he gives you the courage and confidence to try new shit just because you just know it’s going to be good. That is definitely what he did for me, and I started trying all kinds of new things. It worked because I had a confidence they would.
That’s the main thing about rap music to me. You can tell when a person believes what they are saying. No matter what they are saying, if they truly believe it, that’s all that matters. There are people who technically and skill-wise might not be the best rapper, but if they truly believe what they’re saying, it carries you a long way. It works the other way too. There are people that are very skilled and talented. Like Eminem, for an example, is an amazing MC. You can’t front on the fact that he is very talented, like his delivery is fucking nutty. But half the time, I don’t believe he believes what he’s saying. He doesn’t convince me half the time, like I feel like he’s trying to play a character sometimes. Sometimes it’s very genuine, and those are the times I like him, but a lot of times, he’s playing up that character, and when I sense that, I can’t fuck with it.

Do you approach music as a hustle?
I try not to. I really try not to, because the reality is that music is sacred to me. The actual process of making music, no I don’t. When me an ANT make our albums, that’s pure. We’re not trying to hit a new demographic or sell records - none of that shit. We’re doing what’s right. We do what feels right, and we make records that we would like to hear. Have I done shows that maybe I wouldn’t have done, but somebody pays me enough? Yeah. You know what I mean? I’m not saying that I’ve never used my musical whatever to do things that maybe I wasn’t feeling 100 percent; yeah, I have. In terms of my albums and my live shows, I don’t fuck around. To me it’s like no hustle is worth that.

How important is touring?
It’s essential. I think that’s the thing the separates Rhymesayers from a lot of other people. Nobody tours like us. There are other people that do, but nobody tours like Atmosphere, is what I should really say.

What was your schedule like that past year?
I think from fall 2002 to this past winter [2003], I did something like 250 shows. I did two Atmosphere tours that were each like 60 shows, I did the Murs tour which was like 40 shows, I did a tour with Eyedea that was 20 shows or some shit. There was stuff in between too. I was gone as much as I was home, if not more.

How does that affect your life as a parent?
As a parent it’s rough. That’s time that I’m gone away from my son, and as much as I try to justify, like I’m doing this for us, etc., it’s bad for him. There is no getting the reality that me being gone for up to three months at time hurts him. Since he was born I’ve been his main caregiver. From day one, I’ve been very hands on, like I’ve been his main parent. When I’m gone I feel really bad like I’m just going to destroy my relationship with him, but as soon as I get back we snap back into it like I never left. It’s not going to ruin his childhood, but it’s not a good thing, period. So you know you have to question like, am I really doing this for him? The reality is I could go back to school and get a teaching credential and be a teacher, which is probably what I’ll do when I stop rapping. You just have to question how selfish is what I’m doing? I just have to be honest with it.

Do you play your music for him, and does he understand what you do?
Oh yeah. I take him pretty much everywhere I go. He comes to rehearse with me, sometimes he goes to the studio. He doesn’t go to shows because that’s no place for a kid to be. He’ll be four this spring, so you know. But he knows all my songs, and he can sing along with them.

What are the chances your son and Sean’s [Daley, a.k.a. Slug from Atmosphere] son will make an album?
I don’t know if Sean’s son is trying to rap. I know my son raps.

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