Brother Ali

The Undisputed Truth

[3.5/5] You have to root for a guy who can turn all his physical quirks-from albinism to a lazy eye-into a feel-good anthem like 2003’s “Forest Whitaker.” There’s no similar knockout blow on Brother Ali’s third album, The Undisputed Truth, but hip-hop’s Whitest Great Hope should certainly lure more fans into his corner. He’s paired again with Rhymesayers’ resident mastermind, Ant, who reinforces Ali’s witty, sometimes political flow with plenty of Golden Age flavor. The downside is comparisons to Ant’s production on Atmosphere’s brilliant 2005 release You Can’t Imagine How Much Fun We’re Having will be inevitable-and these sampled soul-and-blues beats are mostly solid, not spectacular. However, Ali has evidently paid attention to old-school tourmates like Rakim; even when he’s just paraphrasing Public Enemy, his rhymes carry genuine heft. (RHYMESAYERS) Dan LeRoy