so, last night I was playing Brother Ali’s catchy  ’Take Me Home‘ and then went on to A.V. Club to read reviews of his new album ‘Us’. There must be something wrong, I thought, seeing the photo of the man who I always assumed was a large black man being substituted with that of a guy who…erm, well, no nice way to say this – an albino. Quickly looking up photos of him online, turns out he is. Which then got me thinking about a few other albino musicians, one’s who deserve a mention.
Brother Ali
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we started it with Brother Ali, so might as well make him first. originally from Michigan, he has an upbeat, yet heavily spiritual nature to his tracks. You immediately think of a less-angry Biggie Smalls, with a hint of Big Daddy Kane. and a whole lotta Slick Rick. it’s good.
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Yellowman
had it not been for Winston ‘Yellowman’ Foster’s ‘zungguzung‘, you wouldn’t have your precious KRS-One, Tupac and Mos Def breaks. at one point, he was known for putting out 4-5 albums a year. a year. was told that due to his cancer of the jaw he had less than 6-months to live, but beat it & continues to tour. heard of ‘nobody move, nobody get hurt’? thank him.
Salif Keita
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I mean, sure the guy’s from Mali – a place he was disowned by his family, bad luck in their culture – but try and pinpoint his musical roots. some say European, I hear South American. and Darren Aronofsky [the later stuff, of course].
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Malford Milligan / Storyville
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this was one of my favorite bands to catch when I lived in Austin. ‘good day for the blues’ was one of the best damn Monday mornin’ songs ever played on KLBJ. a former member of SRV’s rhythm section. lead singer Malford Milligan has been called ‘The Texas Otis Redding’, although you can understand why I won’t back that 100%.
Piano Red
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my grandfather used to mention this guy and I didn’t know much about him, but as it turns out, I have a track he did with Blind Willie McTell. one of the purest ‘barrelhouse’ pianist of his time, the techno of the 1930′s. and James Brown can thank him for launching his career.
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