During a time when everyone is a rapper, and every rapper packs their verses with lies about a lifestyle they never lived, in hopes to capture your attention and love, we are fortunate to have that rare artist breakthrough and make us think twice about what music rides with us in the morning to work or joins us at the gym in the evening. When every other rapper is telling stories of riches and glamour, Ali is regular guy working in the trenches, and when every other rapper sounds the same, Ali is drawing envy from the artist he is opening for! When you leave your favorite rappers concert, and you can’t help but think about the guy that opened up the show, that’s Ali Cashius Jr. 
 Ali began garnering respect as a rapper on the desolate Southwest Side of Detroit. He would battle any rapper at his High School and then sneak into night clubs around the city to battle grown men at the age of 16. Because of his mixed race, he had to learn to clap back quickly at kids who would target his ethnicity. With a father from the war torn country of Yemen, and a mother from Puerto Rico, Ali was constantly questioned about his nationality. Battle rap became less important daily, as Ali grew more frustrated watching his mother struggle with two jobs. With an absent father figure and a mother who was forced to bare the role of provider, Ali was determined to make a life for himself no matter the statistics of living in a neighborhood full of drugs and gangs. Music was his outlet.