Minneapolis-based rapper Brother Ali has spent the past couple of years playing some big-ass festivals: Rock the Bells, Back to Basics, Soundcheck, even headlining the Minnesota State Fair… the man has done it all. But it’s his upcoming club tour that he’s most excited about, because it’s a chance to reconnect with his longtime fans.
“The way I built my career was playing in little clubs with just my fans, having my own shows, and I really miss that,” says Ali from his home just days before heading out on the road. “So this tour’s just about that; getting back to what made me love this. Those are the moments I appreciate the most: playing for my fans, connecting with my listeners, and just having those experiences with them.”
Rapping since he was seven years old and bouncing between schools and cities during his upbringing, Ali has spent his adult life recording a number of acclaimed rap albums, including 2012’s Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color, never shying away from hard-hitting content like his breakout 2007 track “Uncle Sam Goddamn.”
His upcoming North American tour, which he has dubbed the Home Away from Home Tour, is all about Ali continuing on with what he’s always done: rapping, performing in front of audience, and connecting with his listeners.
“For me, it’s never been a choice of, ‘Well, am I going to rap, or am I going to go to college? Am I going to rap, or am I going to get a job?’ This is just what I’ve always done, every day since I was young,” he says.
The club tour promises to be a solid one, featuring DJ Last Word acting as more of a “musical director” and spinning during the whole lineup, according to Ali. Meanwhile, Ali’s Twin Cities cohort and regular tour-mate Mally will act as the host for the evening’s festivities, as well as performing his own set. Also on the bill is the upstart California political MC Bambu (“He’s a lot more fun than most music that people think of being political,” says Ali), who will also act as host for the whole show.
“That’s another thing that I do with my tours, and I’ve never seen another hip-hop artist do this except for The Roots; they used to go on tour and bring all of their friends, and they’d do the band for everybody. So they’d go out with Erykah Badu and Common and they’d play for everybody, so that’s kind of where that idea comes from,” explains Ali.
Ali says he also goes that extra step to make the night special by writing a tour theme song, which everyone on the bill perform as the show’s encore.
“I’m really about putting together a tour package, in the same way that I’m not necessarily a song person; I like making albums,” he says. “I like it better when you can listen to a whole album, and the same is true with a tour. I like when the whole experience of the night is good, and I like to know that what I’m presenting is going to be great before I even get on the stage.”
The club tour is the perfect opportunity to recharge with his people before he heads back to the studio to record his new album.
“Before I make my next album, I just want to remember that connection,” he says. “I call this tour Home Away from Home because it’s kind of like checking back in again with everyone before I make my next album, so I can have that connection with my listeners again.”
Brother Ali
Thursday, September 25
$22, Sugar Nightclub
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