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"Stop the Press" by Brother Ali (prod. Jake One)

Brother Ali went to Mecca and heard a message from Allah: "Go rap hard over Jake One beats!" It's one of many personal truths the Minneapolis, Minn., rapper shares on the "Stop the Press," the single from his upcoming album "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color," recorded in Seattle with local producer Jake One. They've been working closely together for years to the point where now they're now a fully integrated songwriting team. Jake composed all the music on the album and influenced the raps, too, says Brother Ali in this HiphopDX interview:

"Jake is all about flow. I'll send him a song and he'll send me back specifically, "At 1:29, you get off a little bit. At 2:04, you get off a little bit. You got too many words, fix that." He's a very specific technician with that stuff, so it's dope. It's really good."