Rapper Ali has high hopes for new CD

By John Benson

In the cut.

That’s what rising Youngstown emcee Kenny Ali is all about. Not only has he recorded his next studio album, tentatively titled “The Barbershop Chronicles,” but he’s also the owner of In The Cut Barbershop.

However, if Ali has his way, he’ll soon be putting down the clippers and picking up the mic for good.

“Right now I’m in the process of being signed to a record label called Affluent Records,” Ali said. “It’s out of New York City. I feel as though my songs can be released commercially, and I can appeal to the masses.”

It’s no coincidence that Affluent Records also signed Youngstown product Throwback (a.k.a., Jonathon Michael Tepper), who featured Ali on one of his songs earlier this year.

A 1997 graduate of East High School, Ali has been thinking about this moment for decades.

“I’ve been rapping since I was 6 years old,” Ali said. “I was influenced when I saw Crush Groove, and that sent me into the hip-hop world. I’ve been in a couple of different groups. I was in The South Pol and then The Pol. We had about five CDs before I put out my first solo album in 2001. I used to go under the name of Sub Conscious, or Sub Con, and now I go by Kenny Ali.”

Like Muhammad “Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee” Ali, this entertainer is focused on his next challenge. He has high hopes for the new album, which features the Kanye West-sounding “Handcuffs,” the melodic “Love Come Down” and the driving “The Fix.”

“The album is full of singles,” Ali said. “I put them all on to the point where they could all be potential singles. I made them to where they all have the depth they need but also the hooks have the simplicity they need to be catchy on the radio.”

Averaging a couple of local gigs a month, Ali stresses his emcee talents transcend his peers. It’s for this reason he believes his future remains bright.

“First, I choose to perform with a band,” Ali said. “Also, I’m a positive rap artist. I don’t have any profanity in my music. I’m a positive rap artist but sometimes you have to speak on negativity in order to get people to realize what’s positive and what’s not.

“Being clean, there’s no easier way to stand out as a rapper and get my rep up a little faster. So that’s why I separate myself from all of the other rappers.”