BROTHER ALI: An MC For the People.

Of everybody I've ever interviewed in my lifetime, Brother Ali is by far one of the greatest. He's easy going, laid back, extremely willing to talk, and best of all, thoughtful with his responses. Fuck a generic, canned, cookie cutter answer, Ali is about being open with the audience and expressing himself. And that's what he did in this interview. If you notice, we just let him talk. Not too much editing, cutting, or flashiness. Why? Because it doesn't need it.

In this one, Brother Ali talks about battling as a youngin’, his origins of being an emcee and how his next album, The Street Preacher, will reflect the people’s struggle, as opposed to his auto-biographical ways on his previous efforts. Shout out to Ali, thanks for the great interview.

Paid Dues 2009 Wrap Up.

We hit you with your All Access pass to the biggest independent hip hop show on the planet. The show was off the chain and the fans mos def got their money's worth. Check the interviews and performances from Atmosphere, Tech N9Ne, Brother Ali, Living Legends, and the most anticipated group on the bill, the super group Slaughterhouse.

Brother Ali Interview @ SXSW.

The SXSW footage continues to pour in. I'm telling you, we talked to everybody. Case in point, Brother Ali. He talks about what makes his live shows different than the rest. He also talks about his early life, growing up as an emcee in grade school. There's a reason why he's so nice, he's being doing this since before you were in diapers.

Paid Dues Lineup Annouced.

Murs has revealed the roster for the 2009 Paid Dues show in San Bernadino, California. It goes down March 28 a the Nos Events Center. Atmosphere will be headlining the event, and the independent monster Tech N9ne will be featured for the first time at a Guerilla Union event. Blu and Exile are also performing, which will sure to please a ton of cali heads. The rest of the lineup includes:

ATMOSPHERE, TECH N9NE, LIVING LEGENDS, BROTHER ALI, B-REAL, GROUCH & ELIGH, CAGE, BLU & EXILE, EYEDEA & ABILITIES, LMNO, DJ VAL THE VANDAL, VERBS AND THE BAYLIENS; and will be hosted by 2MEX.

[NEW] Wale - "2nd Time" (ft. Brother Ali)

Oooooh weeee, this is a heater. This beat is crazy contagious (props to DJ Benzi) and Wale and Ali ride it perfectly. I swear Ali rhymes for like 60 straight bars or something. Ridiculous. This track appears on the new 10.Deep mixtape, The New Deal, which drops tomorrow at 10deep.com. Come back tomorrow, and you can get it here too. Thasright.

DOWNLOAD: Wale - "2nd Time" (ft. Brother Ali)

[VIDEO] Jake One ft. Brother Ali & Freeway - The Truth

This one is dope. Jake One's album, White Van Music, in in stores now. One of the best parts of the album was how Jake teamed up emcees who you wouldn't think would rock on the same track, but it works so well. For instance, the Roc's Freeway and Brother Ali from the Rhymesayers couldn't be more on the opposite ends of the spectrum. But that's the beauty of the song. It's blends so perfectly...