Mahershala Ali won an Oscar for his performance in Moonlight last night, but if he didn’t spend time working on his acting chops all these years, it may have been a Grammy win instead. In light of his Oscar win, fans have come across a music video made back in Ali’s post-college years when he went by the stage name Prince Ali. Dude has some serious bars.
The music video combines two songs: “The Path” and “Honor Code” from Ali’s debut album, Curb Side Service . “The Path” was a record on Ali’s first mixtape, Corner Ensemble , which was later distributed Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings. Both were released in 2007.
In addition to the two songs above, records like “Way of the Warrior’ prove Ali is a talented lyricist with a unique delivery. His boom bap and spiritual influences shine through his poetic verses. But what makes him sound unique is his classic Bay Area, g-funk, J Dilla-style beats laced with a precise, hard hitting yet effortless east coast flow.
The iTunes biography for Prince Ali reveals he began rapping after earning his master’s degree in acting from New York University’s Tisch School. He actually founded his own label, Eye5 Recordings, and released Corner Ensemble, which caught the attention of Oakland crew Hieroglyphics and their label.
Both projects are available to stream on Apple Music and Spotify.
