Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color

by Brother Ali

Overview

Using Old Glory as a prayer rug on your album cover is certain to drive some people away, and with one quarter of the guest list here occupied by Dr. Cornell West (author of Race Matters and no friend to "the Establishment") underground rapper Brother Ali's 2012 effort certainly looks like a "target audience" album. "Preaching to the converted" would be the more dismissive way to put it, but an objective ear can hear that there's an unexpected amount of beauty, hope, and grace in Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color, especially when West is in the building. The duo's opening "Letter to My Countrymen" is a soft and sound uplift, with jazzy mallets hitting warm vibes while Ali embraces it all, "Beautiful ideals and amazing flaws," and pledges "I wanna make this country what it says it is," a goal he maintains throughout the album. West's bit on the track is no lecture, but a warmer thing, somewhere between a lullaby and a prayer. "Only Life I Know" professes soulful love for the U.S. of A. and its flaws, with funky beats, gospel shouts, and tales of those tattooed girls on the street corner, but as Ali watches the rents go up and living conditions decline, the anger grows. "Mourning in America" is mostly venom and blood-spattered speakers, as the system eats its innocent victims to a boom-bap beat, while the gritty, guitar-driven "Gather Round" is like Ali fronting Rage Against the Machine -- and another interesting choice from the album's producer, Jake One. Later, it's the deep blues as "Work Everyday" hands out woefully small paychecks, and then there's a wondrous cross of Sly Stone and Marvin Gaye for the personal evolution number called "Namesake," which relates Muhammad Ali on the U.S. Olympic team to Brother Ali's own proud journey from Christian to Muslim. Layered viewpoints, bittersweet situations, and complicated anger flow out of this articulate effort, but the sweet trick of the album is how approachable it is, living up to its title with equal shares of Mourning and Dreaming. ~ David Jeffries

Product Details

Release Date:	09/18/2012
Label:	RHYMESAYERS
UPC:	0826257015228

Tracks

1. Letter to My Countrymen
2. Only Life I Know
3. Stop the Press
4. Mourning in America
5. Gather Round
6. Work Everyday
7. Need a Knot
8. Won More Hit
9. Say Amen
10. Fajr
11. Namesake
12. All You Need
13. My Beloved
14. Singing This Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brother Ali   Primary Artist
Choklate   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Tone Trezure   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Dr. Cornel West   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Amir Sulaiman   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Sharita Renee   Vocals
Max MacVeety   Drums,Percussion
Bryan Forrester   Choir/Chorus
G Koop   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards,Xylophone
Steve Gardner   Viola,Violin
Samantha Kravitz   Vocals
Aby Wolf   Choir/Chorus
Omaur Bliss   Choir/Chorus
Plain Ole Bill   Scratching
Sam Wishkoski   Organ,Guitar,Keyboards
Baby Jaymes   Vocals
Joe Mabbott   Choir Director
Lincoln Adler   Saxophone
Azhar Usman   Vocals
Brianna Keig   Choir/Chorus
Dave Richards   Brass
Kim Forrester   Choir/Chorus
Malice Sweet   Vocals
Marc Garvy   Vocals
Mario Sweet   Vocals
Martine Lizarna   Choir/Chorus
Matthew Keig   Choir/Chorus

Technical Credits

Jake One   Producer
G Koop   Arranger
A. Newman   Executive Producer
J. Dutton   Executive Producer
S. Daley   Executive Producer
Jonathan Mannion   Photography
Nick Brongers   Producer
Kai Benson   Design
Joe Mabbott   Engineer
Eddie Sancho   Mixing
Vitamin D   Mixing,Effects,Engineer
Brother Ali   Composer,Engineer
Daniel Yang   Photography
Sasha Brookner   Publicity