#30thAnniversary – Chi-Ali “The Fabulous Chi-Ali”
This debut album for Chi-Ali is arguably the best LP ever from a teenage emcee. The record is almost entirely produced by the celebrated duo “The Beatnuts”, with the exception of the excellent “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a #” created by Mista Lawnge of Black Sheep, and also features Trugoy, Dres & Phife Dawg. The youngest member of Native Tongues, a New York City-based hip-hop collective, Chi-Ali recorded most of the project while he was only 14 years old. The artist ended up going back in the booth later on to put down two remixes for the songs “Funky Lemonade” and “Roadrunner”, used in both videos. The change in his voice is notable, a deeper tone that shows the young man was getting older but still had an amazing flow (they even called a remix the “Puberty Mix”). Other than a couple of features on projects from De La Soul and Black Sheep before the releases of “The Fabulous…”, Chi-Ali’s music contribution was slim and he pretty much disappeared from the music scene before getting convicted for manslaughter in the early 2000.
Full album on YouTube:
Stream on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer & Tidal.
Videos:
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Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a #
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Funky Lemonade (Remix)
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Roadrunner (Puberty Mix)
