Secrets And Escapes is the result of three studio sessions at Evidences house in Venice beach. According to the Rhymesayers website, Evidence produced this beats in a way where they couldn't be modified or rearranged in the mixing process and Brother Ali never wrote a single rhyme down or planned out his song structure before recording . The idea of such a lightning in a bottle approach to creation was what really intrigued me about this record beyond just who was making it. The album was released spontaneously without any marketing on the first of November. The Secrets And Escapes Tour officially kicked off across the United States the following February.
The record opens with "Abu Enzo". Brass sections and keys surround this somber and metallic drum loop. I love the softer tone of Ali's voice as he raps his first verse and the echos of Evidence's son Enzo that pepper the second half of the song. There's great quotables here too from the jump too like "Don't let the hat and shoes fool you sir/I grew up where there's anarchy let me school you sir." Theme like spiritually and family are blended with a little bit of bragging. Its a positive note to open on and a good indicator of the approach they took to this album. You can already hear Evidence and his sound are pulling something out of Brother Ali that we haven't experienced before.
Our biggest ticket feature and easily the hardest song on the album is "Situated" featuring Pharaohe Monch. There a synth lead that vibrates behind these beautiful and haunting soul chops. Evidence is bringing such a dark and visceral sound to this score and the melodic, cracking voice we love from Brother Ali is in rare form here as well. My favourite line from him has to be "They thought the prison of this earthly body might define me/They thought that because the God is out of sight I'd follow blindly." This verse from Ali brings me right back to the hair raising power of his Mourning In America title track and his verse on Immortal Technique's The Martyr. He's flowing effortlessly for what feels like an entire minute before the beat becomes muffled for a brief moment and Pharaohe tackles his own verse. Pharaohe to me is like Black Thought and Pusha T as he originated in a group but throughout the 2010's he always showed up to body a verse here or there just to show he ain't lost it. Lines like "Violent with the double entendres/The weed wacker that'll strike the bong and hit ganja." There's just a proficiency to his syllable schemes and vocabulary. To listen to this song only once during a playthrough is straight up wrong.
The pace doesn't let up as the next track begins with no build up at all. "The Greatest Who Never Lived" has one of my favourite beats on the record. Warbly keys and dusty drums relentlessly rock with Ali's free form verse. Quotable and syllable schemes spill out of Ali at a unstoppable pace with great examples like "What type of chain, trophy or walk of fame can they grant me?/I spit it so grandly that my mimics win they're Grammy's." Though my main issue with this album begins to show up around this point and that issues is the song length. I love that the verse are so long and unstructured but I'm still bummed that we have songs on here that end before two minutes. I'm loving the unpolished instrumentals and erratic song format I just wish I had more to vibe to before Ev and Ali moved on to the next one.
"Father Figures" is a wonderful and focused story. Brother Ali pens his his philosophy and gratitude in the first verse and delves in his experience of the FBI visiting his home. Common themes of peaceful religion, family and seeing the best I people on display here. Shimmering keys and and gentle drum break keeps us nodding all the way through. I love the parallels Ali draws between war torn countries across the world and the inner cities of America as well. Even though this is one of our closest examples to the typical "verse, hook, verse, hook" song structure Ali still keeping variety to the way he arranges his chorus. A touching story over a calming beat.
Another amazing song that doesn't last long enough for me is "Apple Tree Me". Bass lines and crisps keys clash with clobbering drum breaks. This is definitely one of those songs where you can feel both Brother Ali and Evidence breaking out of their comfort zones, however. From Brother Ali's pertinent subject matter and Ev's beat its hard not to have goosebumps throughout. I love the way C.S. Armstrong's passage fits so well atop this instrumental too. The abrupt ending is something I have a bone to pick with however. A second verse would've gone a long way.
Brother Ali and Evidence actually rap together on the sixth track "Red". I love the burst of woodwinds that run through this beat. The drums are at that smooth and open Evidence pace as well. Both of them have more than a few notable line like when Ev rapped "These are not words with empty promises/These are from a person who's immersed in where the drama is." Brother Ali has some crazy tongue twisting lines too such as "Shells casings or penmanship they felt it when I sent it/ my sixth sent sentence sensitivity is vintage." (I hope I heard that one right.) This verse from him is on par with what he dropped on "Situated" as his multi syllable rhymes and breath control are just beyond crazy. I love the line of how their "Drum chops have seen it all." and how each of their eyes were red for different reason. Chemistry without a doubt.
The title track brings us these double tap kick drums and mellow guitar strumming. Your head is nodding instantly as this new flow Ali is operating with throughout the album continues to shine. I love the second verse where Ali's vocal delivery gets grittier as he says "I know that you're hearing all these confessions considering I must be so sincere with it/ I'm sitting here bearing it my ego get embarrassed starting tearing at the intention I claim, made it a chain and started wearing it." Also this has to be the only time I've heard the word "regalia" rhymed with something so props. I'm thinking this is probably my favourite song as I've played the whole album over and over for the sake of this review and this continues to be the jam.
"De La Kufi" is a lot of fun too with another one of my favourite beats on the record. The beat is pretty funky with vocal chops, swelling brass sections and cymbals. I love so much that Brother Ali broke away from the confines of spitting sixteens and then a hook and then another sixteen. He and Talib Kweli lay out these wonderfully complex twenty four bar verse. There's more quotables to unpack like when Ali says "A full blown fan and always one of the baddest/That's just part and parcel of my starving artists status." I also dig the line from Kweli about rappers not wanting none. It's a groovy tune with two MCs sharpening each other.
The subject of social media is tackled pretty thoroughly on "Red Light Zone". Evidence weaves this chunky bass line over these slow shuffling drums for another mellow head bob. Ali raps about clout chasing, body image and the perception of success that we get through flexing on Instagram. It's just a solid dissection of current trends in the entertainment industry that draws that line in the sand of what Brother Ali is about without sounding bitter towards younger artists. There's lots of ways a song topic like this could be mean spirited and Ali keeps it pretty layered and understanding.
"Idhin" is a chill venture into science fiction. I love all the buzzes and blips of our synth leads while Brother Ali just lays out his resolve towards what he raps about and why he does it. The issue of song length and structure still plagues this track a little bit too as we barely creep over the two minute mark. The line of him not being able to feed your compliments to all his children is to the point as well. But again, its a great song and concept that deserved more elaboration in my opinion.
If the title track is my favourite then the closer, "They Shot Ricky" is my second favourite. I love the vintage horns and ticking cymbals blended with Brother Ali softer delivery. Its such a great song of trusting in your partner on a spiritual and intellectual level. I love the line "I pray we make good on a smidgen of all that we've been given/Time that you and I been spending packed a lot of living." The hook is probably my favourite on the album too. Even with this subject matter he breaks down into some great syllable schemes and flexes an impressive vocabulary as well.
Secrets And Escapes is to me, a combination of two polarizing things. For one, Brother Ali and Evidence have fantastic chemistry. The beats fit each subject, Ali is out of his comfort zone and so is Evidence. Instrumentally, this record is an absolute feast. However, as much as I like the improvised nature of this record, one verse and two hooks simply isn't enough for me. If this were a Soundcloud record with explosive and repetitive energy I might understand the short song length but, for Ali and Evidence I truly feel what they do requires a bit more forethought. I can't help but think one more studio session would've gone a long way if to just add a second verse here or an intro or instrumental buildup there.
Pros: Ali and Evidence work really well together on every song. The flash in the pan approach to the beats matches the lyrics and vocal delivery. The album really flows from one track to the next and when we get a fleshed out idea where there's two solid verses and a versatile beat we have some of my favourite music of 2019. Each feature is exciting and challenges Brother Ali to rap either harder or differently.
Cons: Unfortunately, with the limited recording time and improvisation of this record, there is a lot that feels either unfinished or underwritten. We see amazing rises of momentum that just abruptly end more than once on this record. As much as I love their approach to this album and how freely they created I can't help but think some form of planning would've strengthen the flow of this album a little bit more.
