Brother Ali and The Grouch & Eligh

Brother Ali is a highly respected Hip Hop artist, speaker, and community leader from Minneapolis, MN.  His two-decade resume includes eight critically-acclaimed albums, mentorships with iconic Hip Hop legends Chuck D and Rakim, and performances on late night shows with Jimmy Fallon and Conan O’Brien. 

His provocative and uplifting brand of Hip Hop has earned him coveted press features like Rolling Stone’s 40th anniversary edition and Source Magazine’s “Hip Hop Quotables”, while his outspoken social justice message has landed him on government watch lists.  He’s also lectured at universities from Princeton to Stanford and delivered the keynote address at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum.

When he’s not rocking the mic at Coachella or being arrested for civil disobedience in support of marginalized communities, Brother Ali travels the world learning and teaching Islamic Spirituality under some of today’s most renowned teachers.  In addition to leading worship services and classes, he co-founded The Gemali Project, an organization that helps Muslim converts and spiritual seekers access the beauty of the Islamic tradition.  Brother Ali recently launched The Travelers Podcast from his new home in Istanbul, exploring life’s journey with cultural, spiritual, and thought leaders from across the globe.

THE GROUCH
    The Grouch always wanted to make beats since he first heard about this music called hip-hop. His dad played keys and Grouch felt music was inside him also, but he hadn't planned on being an MC. Being from Oakland, Grouch grew up on the local heroes like Digital Underground, Too Short, Toni, Tony, Tone, and many others. Around 91'/92' Del and the Hiero crew were first starting to make noise in the bay and it was then that Grouch felt he could really make something out of this music thing. He had a friend who rapped and he convinced Grouch to start writing/rapping in 94'. He met the Mystik Journeymen soon after and they schooled Grouch on the independent hustle. From this moment, Grouch knew it was on. Grouch's first show as an MC was in 1995, it was at one the Journeymen's "Broke Ass" something shows in East Oakland. Grouch performed under his real name and the crowd showed him much love, which he says is the main reason he stuck with making music. Grouch's music influences include all the hip-hop greats from LL Cool J to the Beastie Boys along with the Bay Area classics and Jazz, Rock, and Soul music. Grouch has always taken the independent route and has done everything himself along the way, a fact he takes great pride in. Grouch's latest project, The Grouch & Eligh "No More Greener Grasses" is available now.

ELIGH
    In first grade, at a friend's birthday party, Eligh and the rest of the kids watched a movie called "Beat Street." The movie made quite an impression and inspired Eligh to make a trip to his local record store where he picked up LL Cool J's "I'm Bad." After one listen, he knew what he wanted to do. The year was 1985. Eligh's first official step into the hip-hop world was under the name lower m.c. and his first crew was the Boogalu Badboys with his friend Scarub. At the time, they were both attending Hamilton High School in L.A. They changed their name to Urban Instinct and then they met Murs, a fellow Hamilton student. The three of them became known as 3 Melancholy Gypsys (3MG). Eligh was living with his aunt and uncle, but was kicked out of the house. This would end up being the event that led to him becoming part of the Living Legends. After being kicked out, Eligh moved up to the bay area and began staying on a friend's couch. The friends he was staying with had a house party one night and one of the partygoers was The Grouch. Through a mutual friend they were introduced and ended up hooking up to record a song together. While they were working on the song, Sunspot came by and met Eligh and brought Eligh into the crew. From there, the rest is Legends history. Eligh credits a wide range of musical influences including Michael Jackson, Freestyle Fellowship, and Bob Dylan. Under his beat-making alter ego, Gandalf, Eligh has helped provide the backbone of the Legends sound and is responsible for many of the Legends classic songs. Eligh's latest project, The Grouch & Eligh "No More Greener Grasses," is available now. The release date of Eligh's new solo album, "Enigma", is April 5.