Brother Ali returns in 2025 with a new album entitled Satisfied Soul reuniting again with former labelmate Ant of Atmosphere fame as producer. To whet your appetite before that comes an EP of the same name featuring five cuts lifted from said LP which if nothing else serves as a reminder that Ali’s raps and Ant’s beats are natural soul brothers. Or perhaps (at least some of the time) natural psych brothers – since two cuts on this one feature beats that veer in a heavily psychedelic direction. The first of these is the wah-wah drenched The Counts on which Ali ponders being counted out (i.e. being marginalized) despite having demonstrated formidable chops – even if he does say so himself – of which this cut is clear evidence. The even better Head, Heart, Hands finds Ali pondering how his game is all about being genuine and free of shame rather than full of bullshit (with a sung hook!) over a beat featuring instrumentation kindred to the music for Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man if not actually sampled from a cover of the latter. Elsewhere, opener Deep Cuts (a gospel-soul-drenched beat) delivers a message of burying the hatchet while Name Of The One (blues-drenched beat) takes aim from the high ground at haters and closer Handwriting provides a synth-laced backdrop for a ‘universe is probably unfolding as it should’-type rumination. As with all Ali’s material, his Muslim faith runs through the lyrics without battering you over the head or in any way proselytizing, and indeed often as a poetic adjunct to the main lyrical thrust. Which all bodes well for that forthcoming long player.
(Out now on Mello Music Group)
