Us (Brother Ali album)

Last updated

Us
Brother Ali - Us.png
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2009 (2009-09-22)
Genre Hip hop
Length61:50
Label Rhymesayers Entertainment
Producer Ant
Brother Ali chronology
The Truth Is Here
(2009)
Us
(2009)
The Bite Marked Heart
(2012)
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 83/100 [1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The A.V. Club A− [3]
Billboard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
The Boston Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [5]
HipHopDX 4.5/5 [6]
Pitchfork 7.8/10 [7]
PopMatters 10/10 [8]
RapReviews9/10 [9]
Slant Magazine Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]

Us is the fourth studio album by American rapper Brother Ali. It was released on Rhymesayers Entertainment on September 22, 2009. The album is entirely produced by Ant. [12]

Contents

Critical reception

At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Us received an average score of 83% based on 12 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [1]

Andrew Martin of PopMatters gave the album 10 stars out of 10, saying, "You could try doing something else while it plays, but it's unlikely you'll be able to focus on anything besides Ali's words and Ant's beats." [8] Nate Patrin of Pitchfork gave the album a 7.8 out of 10, calling it "an album that stands as the most deeply thought-provoking work of Brother Ali's career". [7]

The A.V. Club placed it at number 9 on the "Top 25 Albums of 2009" list. [13] AllMusic named it as one of their "Favorite Hip-Hop/Rap Albums of 2009", [14] while HipHopDX named it as one of the "Top 25 Albums of 2009". [15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Brothers and Sisters" (featuring Chuck D and Stokley Williams)1:28
2."The Preacher"3:23
3."Crown Jewel"3:57
4."House Keys"2:42
5."Fresh Air"4:42
6."Tight Rope"3:36
7."Breakin' Dawn"4:38
8."The Travelers"5:18
9."Babygirl"4:34
10."'Round Here"3:55
11."Bad Mufucker Pt. 2"3:35
12."Best@it" (featuring Freeway and Joell Ortiz)4:24
13."Games"3:44
14."Slippin' Away"4:59
15."You Say (Puppy Love)"4:17
16."Us" (featuring Stokley Williams)2:44

Charts

ChartPeak
position
US Billboard 200 [16] 56
US Independent Albums ( Billboard ) [17] 6
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ( Billboard ) [18] 29
US Rap Albums ( Billboard ) [19] 14
US Tastemaker Albums ( Billboard ) [20] 7

References

  1. 1 2 "Us by Brother Ali". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  2. Brown, Marisa. "Brother Ali - Us". AllMusic . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  3. Rabin, Nathan (September 29, 2009). "Brother Ali: Us". The A.V. Club . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  4. Billboard Staff (September 18, 2009). "Brother Ali, "Us"". Billboard . Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  5. Faraone, Chris (September 29, 2009). "Brother Ali - Us". The Boston Phoenix . Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  6. Tardio, Andres (September 19, 2009). "Brother Ali - Us". HipHopDX . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Patrin, Nate (September 24, 2009). "Brother Ali: Us". Pitchfork . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  8. 1 2 Martin, Andrew (October 8, 2009). "Brother Ali: Us". PopMatters . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  9. Taylor, Patrick (October 20, 2009). "Brother Ali :: Us". RapReviews. Retrieved May 9, 2025.
  10. Cataldo, Jesse (September 21, 2009). "Brother Ali - Us". Slant Magazine . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  11. Reeves, Mosi (October 5, 2009). "Brother Ali, 'Us' (Rhymesayers)". Spin . Archived from the original on September 24, 2009. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  12. "Brother Ali - Us". Rhymesayers Entertainment . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  13. "The top 25 albums of 2009". The A.V. Club . December 9, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  14. "AllMusic's Favorite Hip-Hop/Rap Albums of 2009". AllMusic . December 15, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  15. "HipHopDX's Top 25 Albums Of 2009 Pt. 2". HipHopDX . December 22, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  16. "Brother Ali - Chart history - Billboard 200". Billboard . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  17. "Brother Ali - Chart history - Independent Albums". Billboard . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  18. "Brother Ali - Chart history - Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. "Brother Ali - Chart history - Rap Albums". Billboard . Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  20. "Brother Ali - Chart history - Tastemaker Albums". Billboard . Retrieved July 23, 2016.