The Grouch, Brother Ali, and Lyrics Born

Before Scoffern took up the path of a solo artist he lugged in a fair amount of time with the loosely assembled rap collective the Living Legends. The group was originally comprised of BFAP, PSC, and the Grouch, but later expanded to include the members of Melancholy Gypsys: Eligh, Scarub and Murs. The Living Legends were one of the most diligent rap projects in the greater LA area. They seemed to do everything themselves including recording, promotion and album distribution. The collective have been credited for independently selling close to 300,000 units and are likewise recognized as being one of the few rap groups to avoid the typical appeal to gangsta hip-hop, opting instead for a more straightforward style.

The Grouch broke out as a solo rap artist around the mid 90s. Taking inspiration from local west coast iconoclasts such as Digital Underground, Too Short, and “Tony! Toni! Tone!”, Scoffern constructed a musical style that was poignant, but not overtly self-serious. He started penning songs in ’94 and just a year later played his first gig at the Journeymen’s “Broke Ass Summer Jam” shows. His performance sailed with success and the audiences positive feedback encouraged him to keep up the rap game.

His first album “Don’t Talk to Me” came out in 1995 through the Living Legends record label. This album was the start of a giant wave of consecutive releases. He put out 5 more albums before the close of the 90s including “Nothing Changes” (1996), “Success Is Destiny” (1997), “Fuck the Dumb” (1998), “You’re Not the 1” (1998), “Simple Man” (1999), and “Making Perfect Sense” (1999).

The 2000s proved to be just as busy as the 90s. Not only was Scoffern functioning as a solo artist and a member of the Living Legends he was also participating in multiple side projects and making several guest appearances on other artist’s albums. Other than the 8 studio album’s Scoffern released that decade under his moniker The Grouch he also put out several releases with his Living Legend’s co-members Eligh and Zion I and in 2002 produced Felt’s debut album “Felt: A Tribute to Christina Ricci”.

Brother Ali is an unusual character. As a devout Muslim, Ali is an important figure for the Muslim community in the world of Hip Hop, standing alone in a world of drugs, sex and hedonism. Alongside his religious beliefs that are entirely opposite to the lifestyle of other Hip Hop artists, he also has the rare genetic condition of albinism, leaving him with a lack of pigment, making him even more unique. Yet whiles these facts make him a rare character, it is his socially conscious underground rap that has made him turn heads in hip hop, achieving significant success in the charts.

Growing up in various cities in the Midwest, US, his family settled in Minneapolis, where he began rapping at the tender age of eight, recording his first piece of music at 13. His demo tapes, "Rites of Passage" (2000) caught the attention of the Rhymesayers crew, who decided to sign Ali, bringing him along as part of their crew to the 2000 Scribble Jam, where Ali reached the finals. In 2003 he released his debut record, "Shadows on the Sun" which dealt with his struggles due to his albinism.

His next three records all entered the top 100 US Charts, entering the top ten of the Indie Charts and R & B/Rap Charts. 2007's "Undisputed Truth" peaked at 69, with 2009's "Us," a return to more traditional forms of hip hop, reaching 56 and 2012's "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color," which held more political vehemence than previous records, peaked at 44.

Brother Ali is known for his outspoken political activism, focusing on themes of racial inequality, slavery, economic injustice and gay rights. His song and accompanying video "Uncle Sam Goddamn" even prompted the US department of Homeland Security to freeze financial earnings from being transferred to his label.