This past Saturday was the best day of the year…the best day for me as a person in recovery and a music lover. HazelFest! I used to seek comfort from the bottle (I think that’s a song lyric), and never did I find it. Now there are places I can go to feel that comfort: they […]
Last night, Brother Ali’s The Own Light Tour came to a memorable end at First Avenue. The show came roughly 17 years after Ali first performed in the Mainroom, back in 2000, when he opened for labelmates Atmosphere. The newest addition to the Rhymesayers roster, Sa-Roc, joined Brother Ali for the whole tour. She started […]
Slug and Brother Ali appear in a new video released to help get out the vote in Minneapolis on Nov. 7. The video is a promotion for the new website thisismpls.com, which is a voter guide created as a collaboration among Rhymesayers, Ashley Fairbanks, Pollen Midwest, Voices for Racial Justice, and Parks and Power. The website […]
No, Pusha T didn’t go on when he was supposed to. Neither did “Caroline” up-and-comer Aminé. T.I. started 20 minutes late, Ty Dolla $ign’s set slipped a few hours following a flight delay, and Lil Uzi Vert cancelled altogether. That’s not taking into account Mac Miller, who dropped out after the recent Manchester bombing (Miller […]
Brother Ali, “Never Learn” Brother Ali, dance duo Al Taw’am, and a whole lot of crew traveled to New Mexican worship and healing center Dar Al Islam to film this, a gorgeous song from Ali’s new album All the Beauty in This Whole Life. Allan Kingdom, “The Fusion (feat. Denzel Curry)” Directed by Yash, rapper Allan Kingdom […]
The Current is proud to announce the lineup of its third annual MN Music-on-a-Stick showcase at the Minnesota State Fair: Cloud Cult, Bob Mould, Doomtree, Brother Ali, Har Mar Superstar, and the Cactus Blossoms will take the Grandstand stage on Saturday, August 30. The MN Music-on-a-Stick series, presented by the Current, gives fans a chance […]
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Minneapolis-based Nobel Peace Prize Forum, and the second year that the Forum is incorporating hip-hop into its programming. Following on the heels of last year’s successful presentation and Q&A session with Dessa, this year’s summit will include a special evening with Minneapolis’s own Brother Ali and Syrian-American […]
Is Nardwuar the Human Serviette one of the greatest interviewers working in the music industry right now? This is a serious question. The YouTube sensation — known for his plaid tartan pom pom hat, high pitched, nasally voice, and over-the-top enthusiasm — has also proven to be an incredibly well-prepared and disarming interviewer. His videos […]
An audio version of this story originally aired on 89.3 The Current on Sunday, October 14, as a Current Presents. You can stream that 45-minute special here: Fall is often a busy time for album releases, especially here in the Twin Cities. But it’s hard to remember another time when two Minnesota artists of this […]
When Brother Ali was arrested for his act of civil disobedience back in June, one of the first things he did after being released from jail was reflect on what motivated him to cross police lines and stand up for the Occupy Homes movement. Getting arrested wasn’t a decision Ali took lightly, and the morning […]
