5 out of 5

Label: Rhymesayers

Produced by: Ant

Ali’s main sin as a songwriter is that he’s got about one verse too many on any given topic.  On ‘Shadows on the Sun,’ the murkier, less-defined vibe and need to be a wordsmith first – proving himself, somewhat – meant that some tracks also felt like they dragged on too long, riding off of Ant’s beats instead of finding that middleground where the flow informs the track which supports the flow.  Songs on ‘Us’ are still, on average, about four minutes.  The difference, though, is that Ali has made his mark; ‘Us’ is so wholly confident and focused that you don’t mind spending the extra time with any given song, especially with how talented Ali is with penning inventive but relatable verses – it’s rarely the easy rhyme, but it’s never stretching to be clever, either.  And the songwriter / producer combo feels like full teamwork here – Ant’s base tracks are amazing, swinging between rock and hip-hop beats with ease, and just the right touches of layers or samples to enhance the vibe.  A vibe which would start to tip into a bit of over-preachiness on the following ‘Mourning,’ but ‘Us’ strikes the right balance of hype tracks, narratives and songs which speak to the disc’s main message of togetherness (‘There is no me and no you, it’s just us’).  The choir-chanting backed intro of ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ with a lead-in by none other than Chuck D, seems to set the right stage: Chuck is a good symbol of the history of hip-hop and the power of its image, as well as the gray-area racial themes Public Enemy would exploit / explore.  This is followed by Ali on ‘The Preacher’ acting in the role of the title for both his skills and the intent of ‘Us,’ rhyming on top of a fittingly prize-fighter-esque theme.  Later on we get the interesting day-in-the-life tale of ‘House Keys,’ which surprises (in a good way) for the way it doesn’t turn into anything, and the passionate ‘Tight Rope’ and ‘Breakin’ Dawn,’ which take – in ‘Rope’s terms, a more ‘shame on us’ stance toward equality, but this is easily balanced out by the celebration of ‘Fresh Air’ and sweeter tunes like ‘Babygirl’ or ‘You Say (Puppy Love).’  But lest we forget, Ali can sling a fine rhyme.  Our hype tracks – ‘Bad Mufucker Pt. II’ and ‘Best@It’ – make it clear, and don’t feel like hype, since the creativity is evidenced all over the album.  The tracks actually appear back-to-back; it’s a pretty good sign when you can stack your boasts like that and it’s still a blast to listen to.

Ali’s always been a guy to watch, and I’m sure he’ll drop another album that’s on the level of awesomeness as ‘Us.’  The disc is a perfect distillation of how the scene can be used in a positive way without sacrificing its street tough or its principles.

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