the United States Department of Homeland Security froze a money transfer to his record label. In 2012, Ali was arrested along with thirty-seven others while occupying the home of a Minneapolis resident to fight the house's foreclosure. The goal of the protesters was to block the eviction of the family through their assembly and occupancy, but they were unsuccessful. Ali ended up using his celebrity as a platform to discuss these events, and bring them to the attention of his audience. Ali deals heavily with the notion of privilege. He stated in an interview with Yes! magazine that "The best definition of privilege I've heard is anything you don't have to wrestle with, that you don't have to think about." Ali feels a certain obligation to act politically, as he is unwilling to sit aside after experiencing all he has. He states, "I feel like that's my job, and I feel like within the last few years I fully woke up to that, found the courage to understand that, and stepped out like that." While performing at a concert in 2015, Brother Ali endorsed Bernie Sanders for president of the United States, as a candidate in the upcoming 2016 presidential election. He praised Sanders for saying "Black lives matter" at a presidential debate, a reference to the social movement. In November 2019, Brother Ali performed at a Bernie Sanders rally in Minneapolis, Minnesota, alongside Representative Ilhan Omar. Discography Studio albums Mixtapes EPs Guest appearances See also Underground hip hop Twin Cities hip hop References Further reading Hess, Mickey. "Volume II: The Midwest, The South, and Beyond". Hip Hop in America: A Regional Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, 2010. 368–70. Print. Jones, D. Marvin. "Part 1: Racing Culture/Erasing Race". Fear of a Hip-hop Planet: America's New Dilemma. Santa Barbara: Praeger, 2013. 33–39. Print. Tepper, Fabien. "Rapper Brother Ali on Privilege, Hope, and Other People's Stories". YES! Magazine. Positive Futures Network, February 18, 2013. Ali, Brother. "The Intersection of Homophobia and Hip Hop: Where Tyler Met Frank". The Huffington Post. September 7, 2012. External links 1977 births American Muslims Converts to Islam Hip hop activists Living people Musicians from Madison, Wisconsin People with albinism Rappers from Wisconsin Rhymesayers Entertainment artists American male rappers Midwest hip hop musicians American hip hop record producers 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians