Brother Ali on Islam, the Left, and Hip Hop

Listen nowDownload file
Embed player

You can find powerful critiques of capitalism and inequality on political platforms — and also on music stages. Take Brother Ali: he’s a Midwestern, Muslim rapper and one of the most popular socially-conscious hip hop artists out there. His lyrics are so critical of the US government that his second single, “Uncle Sam Goddam,” got him flagged by the Department of Homeland Security. Charles Monroe Kane got the story behind Brother Ali's music.