Very few things excite as much as the news of a brand new Brother Ali album. The reason for this is simple: the Minneapolis-based emcee is clearly in the business of making music that is honest, thought-provoking, and quite frankly, dope. So, when word of a new Brother Ali long player produced entirely (again) by Atmosphere’s prolific, always-on-point Ant gets out, the hype sets in. The difference here is that unlike so many highly anticipated records from artists that fail to live up to said hype, you can always rely on Brother Ali and Ant to smash it and bring the killer noise. The fact that every album they release eclipses the last? Well, that’s just an added bonus.

‘Us’ is no exception. All the boxes are ticked. Soulful, dynamic, instantly engaging beats from Ant? Check. Brother Ali’s equally soulful verbal delivery? For sure. Rivetingly insightful story telling? You got it. In ‘Us’, Brother Ali’s fourth studio album and follow up to 2007’s ‘The Undisputed Truth’, the rhymesayer has outdone himself yet again. It’s an album about the human condition. About who we are. And ultimately about those who have shaped Ali as a person. Through his trademark dynamic, emotion-laden lyrical style, the rapper has touched upon and dealt with a plethora of issues in the way only he can: through deft use of words and the unique ability to relate a story from different perspectives. From the deeply intense blues guitar of ‘Babygirl’, which tells the tale of a brutal rape and the struggle to cope in the aftermath, to the achingly beautiful ‘You Say (Puppy Love)’, which deals with the painful process of divorce – all soaked in shimmering strings, Fender Rhodes and soulful, melancholic, multilayered vocal harmonies – Ali reveals an astonishingly deep understanding of several facets of human nature. It makes ‘Us’ not only a great sounding album, but one that weaves different worlds in which you can immerse yourself, listen after listen.

Of course, a Brother Ali album isn’t a Brother Ali album without the certified monsters that showcase his skills as a vicious rhyme spitter. ‘Shadow On The Sun’ had ‘Bitchslap’ and ‘Dorian’. ‘The Undisputed Truth’ had ‘Listen Up’. And ‘Us’? ‘Us’ has the likes of the aptly titled ‘Bad Mufucker Pt. II’, and the raise-your-hands, stomp-your-feet, go-buck-wild banger ‘The Preacher’. You’ll love it. Just make sure you turn it up.

In ‘Us’, Brother Ali and Ant have crafted their most diverse album to date. The addition and intermingling of live instrumentation with Ant’s more familiar method of beat making – using samples – lends the record a more mature, textured and lush quality, tied together nicely with the producer’s trademark drums (shown perfectly in ‘The Travelers’). Weighing in at sixteen songs strong, the duo has achieved a rare thing in today’s musical landscape: it has produced a heavyweight album that defies skippage. Each and every song on ‘Us’ demands, no, expects your undivided attention, and never has the phrase ‘all killer, no filler’ been more appropriate. Album of the month? More like album of the year.

‘Us’ is out September 21st through Rhymesayers.

www.myspace.com/brotherali

www.rhymesayers.com

Words: Ian Hsieh