BROTHER ALI
Now you will have to forgive me, but I will have to request a late pass on Brother Ali. This cat is dope and he sold out Ann Arbor's legendary concert venue, the Blind Pig. Ann Arbor goes hard on a Tuesday nights apparently. Just one week prior, the place was almost as packed for my favorite rapper of all time, Ghostface Killah.
While watching Brother Ali rock the mic, I turned to a friend and said, "Man, this place is definatley at capacity" He turns to me and said "Yea...Ali always brings the people out!" Brother Ali reps the midwest tough. He hails from Wisconsin and grew up as a soulful emcee in both Minnesota and Michigan. I knew he was a force to be reckoned with when he slipped in a sneak diss on UM and NO ONE hated on him for it. (People are liable to get your leg swept for speaking anything but praises in Wolverine country. I've seen it happen)
I have my homework to do on this cat, but I like what I see. I remember at one point, I honestly felt like I was at church. Not because I felt like I was being preached to...but because the speaker had a message. He also has soulful and gospel infused delivery that only encourages call and response. Brother Ali is genuine, sincere and a baaaaad mothufucka! (Sorry B.Ali, my battery died before you got on stage :/)
Peep some his live stuff...
(Footage from Fresh Air Tour Stop, Tempe AZ, 10.22.09)
TOKI WRIGHT
If this was twitter, this is what I would say...
#tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright #tokiwright
I can honestly say that I can not remember the last time any hip hop artist has won me over immediately from the on set. I can honestly say that NO hip hop artist has won me over from the jump LIVE! I can honestly say that I haven't heard a debut album from a hip hop artist in almost 10 years that was spectacular from track 1 until the end... until this past Tuesday.
Toki Wright hails from Minnesota (Home of The Twins, Prince, Bob Dylan and Kirby Puckett). He's been around for a minute now and is just now releasing his first record. "A Different Mirror". Toki hosted the evening and stepped in as Ev's "hype man" during his set. But don't get it twisted. Toki aint a hype man fucker he a live band! I was absolutely floored when he took the stage. He had the crowd in the palm of his hand. I gave this guy a 10 out of 10 within 10 minutes based on his energy alone. The dude was so hype that he lost his shoe during his performance. Mid way through his set he asked who in the crowd had never heard of him before. I would say that about 85% of the crowd, if not more, had never heard of him. By the end of his set, it was clear that Ann Arbor would walk away knowing the name Toki Wright! Absoulute Dopeness!
I got a chance to chop it up with him after the show. He gave me a copy of his CD. Real talk...I haven't stopped listening to it since I got it. I put it in the minute I got in the whip after the show and I am actually listening to it right now as I write. He took his sweet time carefully crafting this record and it shows. Most debut albums have beats and cuts from homeboys and sound like shit. His production is epic.
How would I describe Toki? Take Blackstar's substance + Marvin Gaye's soul + KRS One's consciousness = Toki Wright.
Peep the vide from one of my favorite songs on "A Different Mirror" : "Devil's Advocate" (Pay attention to everything in this video and watch it until the very end. Debut vid cuts right down to the soul of this song.)
EVIDENCE
I have to say to say that I have been a fan of Evidence and Dilated Peoples for quite some time now. "Neighborhood Watch" was pretty much glued to my truck's cd player when it came out. The first time I saw Dilated Peoples was back in 2000 with Jurassic 5 on the Word of Mouth Tour at St. Andrews Hall. I've been a fan ever since.
Since Ev's work outside Dilated Peoples, he's been on his grind. The Weatherman LP....the business. The Layover EP...the business... His Step Brothers collab with the Alchemist... the business. My favorite line from Evidence....
"Got that don't call me I'll call you type-a-fire...Fake it 'till you make it....I'm such a good liar"
(from: The Weatherman LP track "Mr. Slow Flow")
I think I say this to myself about once a week!
You would thank that with the moniker, "Mr. Slow Flow" Evidence would be laid back in the cut on stage. And yes....yes he was...for a FRACTION of the time. Brother Ali, revved up the crowd's emotion, Toki got the crowd happy, BK-One kept the crowd moving and Evidence lit a fire in the audience. The crowd had their hands in the air the entire time. Evidence put on a captivating performance. If you catch him live, cross your fingers and hope that you get to hear the "Pros/Cons" a cappella. Dopeness!
Not only is Evidence a sick emcee, his production work is monsterous. Every single track that BK dropped resonated and shook the fuck out of the Blind Pig. The beat for Mr. Slow Flow is sick. If you haven't heard it...your late pass has been granted and signed.
Ev reps CA all day. While not on tour, he's getting it in at the stu working on his sophmore solo LP "Cats and Dogs". Im in eager anticipation of what this will sound like. He's steady been in Europe over the past year and I know he's been digging the crates so I'm interested to hear what influenced him overseas. He's also been getting in work with Fresno representative Fashawn who recently released "Boy Meets World"
Peep "Our Way" from "Boy Meets World"
Now that I'm done hyping up the Fresh Air Tour.... peep some pics below.
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