Brother Ali - Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color (4/10)

"Sick of all this but can't take an off day.

Doctor's office, I can't swing the co pay.

Trapped in a network, lucky just to get work.

They celebrate every week, nobody gets hurt.

Greed could never leave well enough alone.

They keep on squeezing 'til we bleed from every bone.

And we'll strive hard and stress about the rent-

probably still die poor and in debt without a cent."

from Work Everyday

"Mourning in America etc" starts off Brother Ali's throaty voice over a beat so quiet you can hardly hear it. He talks about how he belives in America's ability to be "what it says it is" and laments the fact that I, the listener, would rather hear him rap about nonsense. I'm gonna be blunt here- I wouldn't. I would like to hear Brother Ali rap about anything other than his son, his ex wife and being a muslim. I imagine the political and financial state of America is a relevant subject to anyone in the world and would absolutely love to hear him rap about that and if he doesn't want to that's cool.

After two fairly boring tracks about nonsensical subjects, we get to the title track "Mourning in America" where Brother Ali takes the time to talk about the horrifying war campaigns of his country as well as the systematic incarceration of poor people to use as labor power. Unfortunately while the lyrics will occasionally touch on the topics he promised in the intro, the analysis is shallow and leaves the album little more than hooks and beats.

Brother Ali's writing is at best, I feel, when telling stories. He's never been much of a punchline rapper. The narrative of the album tends to just be about what's going on in his life, though, which I'm frankly not that interested in(I actually had to unfollow his fan page on facebook because it just took over my feed completely). The production, well, since he split with Ant(of Atmosphere fame) there's been a distinct drop-off in quality. That's not to say it's bad, it's not- just bland and uninspired. The beats could be a great backdrop for a hungrier MC, but not for someone who seems to have conceded making relevant music.

Overall, this is just another depressing release from Brother Ali, who I more and more fear will never release another relevant album like his debut "Shadows on the Sun".

High point of the album: Singing This Song

Low point of the album: Need A Knot