Brother Ali, DJ Last Word, Nur-d

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Mike Madison

Brother Ali

Following the November release of a surprise album, one of hip-hop’s most pensive rhymesayers stops in for one of his always effervescent performances. On Secret & Escapes, the Madison-born emcee continues to drop his contemplating cadences over jazzy and fascinating production on tracks like the opener, “Abu Enzo.” With DJ Last Word, Nur-d.

$25 ($20 adv.).

press release: On Nov. 1, Brother Ali and Evidence, two of the most respected names in hip hop, release the fruits of a secret collaboration in the form of the Secrets & Escapes album via Rhymesayers Entertainment.

Secrets & Escapes is a compendium of Brother Ali's time spent with Evidence, over the course of three trips to California, recording in a Venice garage with no regard for pleasing the internet or competing with the music industry. Evidence chopped up records on old-school samplers and ran them through a compressor (2 track) so they couldn’t be re-arranged or mixed. Brother Ali sat with the mic and spit rhymes as they came to him, without writing or organizing them into songs. Ev smoked a lot of weed, Ali prayed extensively, and their influences on each other can be heard in the recordings. Any time they made something that reminded them of what they’ve become known for, they threw it away and started something new. Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch and CS Armstrong came through to bless the project with contributions, too.

Secrets & Escapes is the result of two friends making rap music for no other reason than because it’s what they love to do.