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Us [Digipak] [Brother Ali]

Brother Ali
1 disc

1. Brothers & Sisters - (featuring Stokley Williams/Chuck D)
2. Preacher, The
3. Crown Jewel
4. House Keys
5. Fresh Air
6. Tight Rope
7. Breakin' Dawn
8. Travelers, The
9. Babygirl
10. 'Round Here
11. Bad Mufucker Pt. 2
12. Best@It - (featuring Freeway/Joell Ortiz)
13. Games
14. Slippin'Away
15. You Say (Puppy Love)
16. Us - (featuring Stokley Williams)
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Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): RSE0113
Credits

Producer
Engineer Joe Mabbott
Personnel: Joe Mabbott (vocals, organ, drums, percussion); John Harrison, Stokley Williams, Mankwe Ndosi (vocals); Dustin Kiel (guitar, slide guitar, banjo); Nate Collis, Nate Collis (acoustic guitar, electric guitar, sitar, background vocals); Dustin Sorensen (strings, horns); Erick Anderson, Erick Anderson (piano, organ, keyboards, talk box); Steve Roehm (vibraphone); Brian Macleod (drums); Anthony Davis (scratches).
Audio Mixer: Joe Mabbott.
US, Brother Ali's second record in the 2009 calendar year, finds the prolific MC and Rhymesayer mainstay as reflective (and effortlessly poignant) as ever. He's also as musically bipolar as ever, basking in his newfound life as a father while name-dropping the Bearenstain Bears on one track ("Fresh Air"), while bemoaning the mixed-up, messed-up state of the world on the next ("Tight Rope"). He also remains one of rap's premier creator of character sketches as on the sitar blues of "Breakin' Dawn." The production on US is as top notch as ever, slipping from golden age glory to intricate pop montages.
Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.125) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "US sounds great, with Ali's sensitive, stentorian voice plowing through sleek jazz and blues loops from producer Ant."
Spin (p.74) - "For him, hip-hop means fighting for justice, and as Chuck D attests in US' introduction, Ali is a 'soldier in the war for love.'"
Billboard (p.37) - "What gives Brother Ali's slice-of-life ruminations their impressive heft is the rapper's eye for everyday detail and the handmade appeal of his vintage-funk arrangements."