Rolling Stone Australia — June 2017

R

apper and community activist brother

Ali has fond memories of his half-dozen or

so tours of Australia (“Australian fans are

really intense, amazing supporters and lis-

teners,” he enthuses), but our country also sticks in

his mind for one particularly ignominious incident:

it’s here that the devout Muslim discovered he was on

a US government watch list. “While I was in Austra-

lia the promoter wired

the money for the shows

back to our record label

bank account in Minne-

apolis,andtheDepart-

ment of Homeland Secu-

rity seized the transfer,”

he explains. “That was

thefirsttimethatitwas

made known to me that

the government was

keepingtabsonme.”

Although currently touring in support of his soon-

to-be released sixth albumAlltheBeautyinThis

Whole Life,thepolitically-chargedMCalmostfound

himself grounded for good last year when he learned

he had been branded a Secondary Security Screening

Selectee (SSSS), making him a target for extra airport

security measures. “Sometimes they harass me, and

thensomebodywillrealiseI’mnotathreat,andthen

I’ll be able to move around under my normal level of

surveillance,”hesays.“Whichistheysearchmybags,

or I’m pulled out of lines, or they’ll get on the plane

andquestionme.Itraveltoperform,soit’sareally

unfortunate reality.”

Despiteplentyofreasonstobeangry,themanborn

Jason Douglas Newman has chosen love as the fuel

for his new LP. “It’s important to tell the truth and call

things out when injustices are being done – it’s very

important to do that,” he says. “At the moment there’s

so much ugliness and fear and such a lack of focus on

beauty and on love and on our own hearts, and that

reallyfeelslikewhatIwouldliketooffertheworldin

this moment.”

Brother

Ali Brings

the Beauty

Seasoned MC chooses love

as his weapon of choice

on new album

BY JAMES JENNINGS

“It’s important

to tell the truth

and call things

out when

injustices are

being done.”

Ju ne, 2017 RollingStoneAus.com | Rolling Stone | 23