"That Night..."

So I know it's only two weeks in but could it be possible that Saturday is becoming hip-hop day (no that isn't an Easter eve joke… but it could be maybe.) Last week we had The Roots kicking off some awesome hip-hop street dance off vibes, and this week Brother Ali hits us with a little bit of the opposite. There is no dance off to be found in Live From the Chippie Bun Club but there is some disturbance. Actually there is an after effect of uncomfortablness and unease.

Before we get into the song let me give you a quick overview of Brother Ali cause it's really interesting. For starters he is the first (and most likely the only) albino rapper who happens to be legally blind. Yes I will repeat that. He is a blind albino rapper and the dude kills it on the mic. I had the chance to see him on the second stage of Rock the Bells a couple of years ago (the year that Rage Against the Machine were doing their first reunion shows) and I was blown away. For starters I wasn't expecting the look and the sounds was so pure and crisp. There was hunger in every word.

Brother Ali comes from the same record label as Atmosphere (Rhymesayers) and next to Slug no one else tells better stories in hip-hop. His songs speak to his audience whether it be personal or observational there is always a message to be delivered. The message may not always be pretty or something you want to hear but it's definitely there. There is a purpose to his rhymes and it's not to just move records it's to inform. To maybe open a window to a world we don't much of or even exists.

First things first it's raining again so when I do hit shuffle I'm hoping for a song that fits the mood. It's early in the morning and I don’t' want something too bright but I don't want something to bleak either. I'm kind of in a gray mood but not black (I cannot wait for the sun to be out again because all of this gray is killing me). So when Live From the Chippie Bun Club starts I don't know what to think. If I'm being perfectly honest I haven't heard this song before.

(Confessional: Sometimes I download music for the sake of having it. I like the artist and find some stuff or someone gives me some stuff and I feel compelled to put it on my ipod with the intention of getting around to listening to it. I'm a music hoarder. One of these days I need to go through my ipod and eliminate the stuff I never listen to and have for the sake of having. I'm looking at you Prince collection. I'm pretty sure I can get rid of anything after the turn of the century cause we all know Prince was at his best way before then).

The guitar kind of grates on my ears at first. It's not what I want to be hearing but as the rhymes start I get caught up in the story. I guy goes a way to war come back a different man and doesn't know how to handle that. He goes out on a date with his wife and while he's in the bathroom some dude comes up trying to hit on her. She doesn't have any of it and tells him that she's married and this dude hits her. When the man comes out of the bathroom his wife is visibly upset and the man get the story out of her. So he goes to confront the dirtbag and that's when the song takes on a darker tone.

Listen I'm all for the fact that this guy goes to defend his wife. That's great. He absolutely should but the way that this story turns is really unexpected and well… unsettling. As soon as the song was over the only thing I could think of was the last thing that he does to humiliate this dirtbag and I just can't shake it. It's so out of the blue and just awful, but I know it's also not putting something shocking in for the sake of shocking. This last part is what Brother Ali wants you to take away from this song. It's the punctuation to this story, and it's just really, really off putting. It's this character who has suffered this huge malfunction and doesn't know how to fix it. He has a complete system break down that never gets spoken of and just gets referred to as "that night". I don't think that's an entirely a healthy way to handle the situation. At least his wife and him aren't laughing about it years later. That really would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

When the song ends I'm initially kind of stunned and I want to wash it off of me. I wanted something gray this morning but I wasn't looking for something dark and a bit sadistic. I let my ipod continue to shuffle in hopes that it will find a song that will balance me out. A song that will make me feel a little less gross but nothing really comes on to change the feeling. You see with depressing songs or heavy songs it's best not to jump right into the happiest song you have or can think of. It won't have the effect you're hoping for. I find it best to gradually play songs that lift the mood, that get pregsively brighter. Unfortunately I don't have a playlist like this (note to self- make a playlist like that). So I have to sit through my work shift wearing this song. Already I'm planning what I should listen to on the way home to try and work this song off of me.

Don't get me wrong I don't think it's a bad song, and the guitar actually grew on me as the song progressed. It's just not what I wanted this morning. I wanted gray I didn't want heavy. Maybe it's the rain wearing me down, but I think it's the song mostly. As I sit at work E-Bow the Letter by R.E.M. comes on the radio and I realize this is exactly the type of song I was hoping for this morning. Damn.