Album: Shadows on the Sun
Artist: Brother Ali
Genre: Hip Hop/Rap
Suggested by: DwnWthVwls
Familiarity: None.
1. Room with a View - Woah, what the heck is happening at the start there. Beyond that, it's a pretty solid track.
2. Champion... - Another cool mix with rap over top. Great, but it's getting a bit boring.
3. Star Quality - The mix has a bit of a melancholy feel this time. It's a slight change, but it works. The rapping is solid, and the lyrics are pretty good too. This one's very good.
4. Prince Charming - Really love the funky feel of this one. Yeah, it's awesome.
5. Win Some Lose Some - Very bluesy this time, and there's a harmonica. I really love the way these songs are mixing rap in with other genres. The lyrics are still awesome, and the rapping is very tight, so no complaints really. There's some spoken word parts at the end, which further enhance the feel of the record.
6. Pay Them Back - Another great mix, more tight lyrics and yet more awesome rapping. Not much else to say, but it's still good.
7. Blah Blah Blah - Pretty much the same as above. As much as I'm not saying, this album has been incredibel so far. Everything about this is awesome, so I hope it keeps going like this.
8. Shadows on the Sun - Again, similar stuff, but just stellar quality all around.
9. Prelude - A small little, you guessed it, prelude. Hard to rate, so I'll just say whatever.
10. Forest Whitaker - There's a happy little keyboard ditty on this mix. It's really good. Other than that, pretty similar stuff. Very cool.
11. B****slap! - A lot more record-scratching stuff here. Other than that, same stuff. It's good.
12. Back Stage Pacin' - Same stuff again.
13. When the Beat Comes In - Yup, pretty much the same, maybe I could point out a bit more guitar in the mix. Despite all of the songs' similarities, they don't get old. Mostly due to small variations in the themes of the lyrics, and also the feel of the mix. Simple yet effective.
14. Missing Teeth - Cool stuff. Again, not much else to say.
15. Dorian - Good.
16. Soul Whisper - Better mix than the last one. Lyrics are better too.
17. Picket Fence - Beautiful mix.
18. Victory! (Come Forward) - Basic mix, but still great.
This album seems like any other rap album, but there's something about it that sets it a notch above the rest. Certainly, the lyrics are great, but there's something about the mixing that's addictive and hooks you in to every song. The mixing incorporates many different styles of music, including jazz, blues and of course, R&B. Overall, there's nothing
really special about it, but I've no complaints. It's just a great album.
OVERALL RATING: 9/10