Only Life I Know

This may be the first but it definitely won't be the last time I write about Brother Ali.  There are many artists out there I enjoy to listen to and see live, but Ali is at the top of my list. He is an albino, Muslim from Minnesota who has led a completely different life than mine, but there are no other lyrics that I can relate to more than those of Brother Ali.  From Forest Whitiker, Rain Water, Here, Walking Away, to Us, no other artist's lyrics have moved me quite his Ali's.  They have got me through my darker days and helped me move forward into happiness. I even used a line from "Us" to end my wedding vows a year ago. "There's no me and no you, it's just us."

I would like to focus on his new video "Only life I know".  It's hard to describe how real and amazing this video is.  The first time I watched the video I was speechless. No other artist covers these topics and portrays them so perfectly as Ali.  It's real life and from the heart.  I didn't grow up in poverty, or in a big city like Minneapolis, but yet I'm still able to relate to so many aspects of this song.  Watching him in front of trailor park, it brings back so many memories. I grew up living in a trailor park most of my life. Both sets of my grandparents lived in trailor parks as well.  It's how I grew up, the only life I know.  I've since moved out and on.  As metioned in the song, I'm now in a "raggedy apartment complex".  Yeah, I've never lived in the projects or been forced to deal drugs, but I still feel like I can relate to the realness of the video.  Whether its the worse parts of a town, to dealing with the homeless outside of work, or seeing the extreme poverty in Managua, Nicuragua, the real people highlighted in the video hit home.  I've seen a kid with one leg begging for money, fields of homeless people living in card board boxes and tarp tents. The images you see in the video are not made up. Those conditions are really out there. 

Please read the lyrics for yourself and then watch the amazing video.

Brother Ali - "Only Life I Know" lyrics

Its my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know Feeling extra low Please let me go Oh Lord No Its my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know And it stress me so God bless my soul Oh Lord No
Whether its the projects or trailer park mess Raggedy apartment complex With a stressed out single mom sitting on the steps Waiting on the mailman looking for a check Boys on the courner pushing out their chest Questing for anything that resemble respect Young girls swing their hip with every step Looking for affection settling for sex Bodies decorated with tattoos and chains Trying to put armor between you and pain Wood grain steering wheel the bass bang Loud enough to drown out the hatred in your brain The only out is smoking out Get lean get wet get meth get tore down Cause who the hell would want to stick around Put me in a haze I aint never coming down
Its my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know Feeling extra low Please let me go Oh Lord No Its my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know And it stress me so God bless my soul Oh Lord No
They just want to get you in the system stick you in a prison Enlist you in the military ship you to the desert Gigs don t exist for you to make a decent living But we got three illegal wars that you can pick from Keep stressing morals and personal decisions Tell me what s moral about these conditions Who decided you don t got enough to teach children Stay spending billions on stadiums and prisons How many routes can folks really choose When you re oppressed only three lead to you The first one is follow the rules and stay in school And be the square dude that society approves Get a little job or a shitty apartment A subprime mortgage in a failing house market And after a life of dedication and hardship You die just as poor as you was when you started Fuck that whats up with the second option You can always hit the corner and try to get it popping Get fast guap when you out robbing and clocking But chances are that you probably die violent Best hope that you got it getting knocked End up with a job in a prison metal shop They ain t paying nothing but 3 hots and a cot Dont you know thats the biggest hustle they got Or door three you could get on that welfare They aint trying to help theyll put you through hell there Give you just enough so youre not going to starve And constantly harass you while you looking for a job If you do luck up and someone let you punch a clock And they find out about then your check is getting docked Cant win for losing they dehumanize you You never get caught up you caught up in that cycle
It s my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know Feeling extra low Please let me go Oh Lord No Its my life Yeah the only one that Ill ever know And it stress me so God bless my soul Oh Lord No

Watch "Brother Ali - Only Life I Know" on YouTube

"Only Life I Know" is off of Brother Ali's new album, "Mourning in America, Dreaming in Color", that drops Sep 18, 2012 on Rhymesayers Entertainment.