This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rapper Brother Ali doesn't say whether he's ever read the "First Earth Battalion" operations manual written by former U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jim Channon, or the investigative book ("The Men Who Stare at Goats") written about it by journalist Jon Ronson, or seen the film adaptation starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey.
But he seems familiar with the idea of the "Warrior Monks" mentioned in all three.
It's a philosophy that aptly aligns with the spiritual journey he describes having taken over the past five years — the time spanning the distance between his last album and his new one, "All the Beauty in This Whole Life," which comes out Friday and which will be featured prominently in Ali's Saturday show at The Complex in Salt Lake City.
"You're basically doing martial arts of the heart, trying to figure out how to fully engage ourselves and get everything in its right place internally. … The idea is to get the heart right. For the heart to be healthy, things can't be out of proportion. You can't have an unhealthy love for material things, the ego can't be out of its proper place, you have to train it and discipline it," Ali said in a phone interview with The Tribune. "When those things are in their proper alignment, and when the heart's not failed by things like jealousy and envy and pride and things like that, then we're able to do really beautiful things. A human being is really designed to do amazing things, but a lot of times we're blocked by the ego and by distractions, being distracted by things that aren't worth our time. And so, I've really sought that — not that I've arrived at it or anything like that. But I've embarked on that journey. The idea there too is that once we are able to really clear the lens and empty ourselves of our own ego, then we become people that can see beauty and recognize beauty and appreciate beauty and reflect beauty and share beauty. That's what the idea of the album is."
Ali knows his impassioned talk of enlightenment will raise some eyebrows, but he's used to that. He is an albino/blind/Muslim/socialist/rapper from Minneapolis, after all.
Given that, taking a half-decade break from his career to get his mindset to a place where he felt he had something worth saying was nothing especially bizarre.
"I don't make albums just because I feel like I should or because I feel like it's time to do it. I kinda have to grow into the person that's ready to make the next statement or to write a chapter," Ali said. "First, the creator writes a chapter in my life, and then I write an album about that."
Ali, a member of the respected Rhymesayers hip-hop label, initially had no immediate plans to return to the studio, wary of seeing it foster darkness in his psyche once again.
But "All the Beauty" eventually sprang to life because his spiritual advisers convinced him it was time to set aside studying religious texts and to fulfill his role as a servant to the community at large in the role divinely chosen for him.
"My teachers actually told me that's what I should do. Part of that journey is to really embrace what our station is in life and what our purpose is in life, and what we've been given as our particular duty, as our marching orders, basically," Ali said. "And so there was a period where I saw myself becoming. … An ego takes on so many different levels, that I really found myself starting to be pulled in different directions. I was experiencing bitterness, and almost a resentment towards music. And a lot of times that's a sign that our ego's become involved. Our intention is to do something bigger than ourselves, but the ego doesn't just take a back seat and go to sleep and resign. The ego wants to find its way into that so that we can make ourselves bigger than what we are. It's a slippery slope between 'what I'm talking about is important' and 'I'm important.' … It's very easy to slip into thinking that means I'm somehow important and that I deserve certain kinds of … treatment or attention or accolades, or whatever it is."
The end result was an album that had little of the militant political anger of previous efforts but rather focused on personal growth and interpersonal relationships. "Own Light (What Hearts Are For)" details his quest to become a more centered and connected person. "Special Effects" looks at how our addiction to technology diminishes human interaction. "Can't Take That Away" focuses on "real, true, deep friendship." "It Ain't Easy" chronicles how his insistence on being right damaged his relationships. "Pray for Me" examines his feelings of social awkwardness that stemmed from his albinism. "Out of Here" is a look at the suicides of his father and grandfather. And "Dear Black Son" is a letter to his child, explaining his hopes and fears for his child in a world where his skin color matters.
They are all personal, and they are all raw.
"I feel wildly exposed on all of them," Ali said. "But those are really kind of deliberate. … There's not another way for me to approach them other than I have to give you all my personal details. I just don't know a more effective way to communicate those type of ideas."
But he's looking forward to communicating them here.
Ali said he developed a special affinity for Salt Lake City in large part due to a Mormon couple who started out as fans but who befriended him and his family in their ensuing interactions over the years. That couple took care of him years back after some minor vocal damage that had been gradually building became permanent when he did a day show at Kilby Court and another show later that night at Urban Lounge.
"I really like Salt Lake a lot. I've had a really amazing relationship with that city. Had a lot of really great moments there," he said. "So now every time I go to Salt Lake, it's a meaningful place for me to go. We're playing a really big venue this time, and honestly, I was timid to do it. I was timid to go into the big room. I don't think you're supposed to say that, but that's the way I felt. I don't know if my fans can actually fill that room or not. So it'll be interesting to see. But I'm gonna be very grateful to be there either way."
Spoken like a true Warrior Monk.
Twitter: @esotericwalden —
With Sa-Roc, Last Word, Sol Messiah, DJ Juggy
When • Saturday, doors 7 p.m.
Where • The Grand @ The Complex, 536 W. 100 South, Salt Lake City
Tickets • $20 advance, $25 day of; Smith's Tix