Rapper Brother Ali brings message to Olympia, with Bridge Music Project opening

Critically acclaimed hip-hop artist Brother Ali will make his South Sound debut Wednesday, Nov. 10.

In his two-decade career, Ali — who came of age on the Minneapolis hip-hop scene and converted to Islam at age 15 — has released eight albums, four of which made the Billboard charts. He also has performed on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”

He’s also a fan of doing it himself: The pandemic inspired his “Brother Minutester” album, made up of self-produced one-minute freestyles that have been streamed nearly a million times.

The artist, who now lives in Istanbul, Turkey, is well known not only for his vulnerable lyrics, clever wordplay and musical mix of soul, funk and reggae but also for the activism born out of his life experiences.

“My experience and identity are a mixture of what seem like contradictions,” he told The Olympian. “I grew up as an albino kid born to white parents and raised in the Black community. I’m an American who converted to Islam, and I have spent my entire life traveling the world to seek and study the religion.

“My Muslim fans and my white working-class fans end up in a space together,” he said. “That means a lot to me.”

For Ali, music and activism are inseparable. “The music that has meant the most to me as a listener has always given voice to the beauty and pain of my own condition and made me know that I wasn’t alone in what I was experiencing,” he said. “So I’ve always tried to make music like that.”

Among the opening acts for the Olympia show at the Capitol Theater is The Bridge Music Project, a nonprofit that teaches youth about self-expression through music — particularly hip-hop.

“This is going to be an incredible opportunity,” said project director Bobby Williams. “Brother Ali has an important voice within hip-hop.”

For his part, Ali is eager to learn more about the Bridge and its work.

“I’m excited to see and hear what’s going on with this collective,” he said. “Art, culture and music … give us the ability to care for and nurture ourselves and each other. I wouldn’t have been able to bring my music to the world had it not been for the artistic community that nurtured me early on.”

Representing the Bridge will be longtime program participants Shanelle Berry, Mike Jones and Noah Cain.

“They embody what the organization is all about, which is artistry, positivity and overcoming obstacles,” Williams told The Olympian.

Berry, 23, mentors foster youth at Community Youth Services in Olympia. Jones, 21, has a full-time job selling mattresses and also finds time to record and perform. Cain, 19, is serving in the military and is, Williams said, “a future pop star.”

Williams himself will also perform Wednesday. Also on the bill: Grynch and DJ Nphared.

Though this will be his first Olympia show, Ali, formerly of Seattle, has been to town before — for the coffee.

“I’m an extreme coffee connoisseur,” he said, “and Olympia Coffee Roasters is hands down the best in the United States. So I’ve stopped on the way through several times to visit the main location.”

Brother Ali

• What: The hip-hop artist and activist plays his first Olympia show. Also on the bill: Grynch, DJ Nphared and young artists of Olympia’s nonprofit The Bridge Music Project.
• When: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, with doors opening at 7
• Where: Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia
• Tickets: $25, $20 for Olympia Film Society members
• More information: http://olympiafilmsociety.org/brother-ali
• COVID precautions: Proof of vaccination is required.