"Truth Is" is the first single from Brother Ali

Brother Ali

Ali Newman , better known by the stage name Brother Ali, is an American hip hop artist signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.-Personal life:...

's second full-length album The Undisputed Truth. The single was released January 5, 2007 as a 12" vinyl

12-inch single

The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

, but was later released as a CD single

CD single

A CD single is a music single in the form of a standard size Compact Disc, not to be confused with the 3-inch CD single, which uses a smaller form factor. The format was introduced in the mid-1980s, but did not gain its place in the market until the early 1990s...

 and a digital download

Music download

A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

. Produced by Ant

Ant (producer)

Ant is a hip hop producer whose full name is Anthony Davis.He is best known as being one half of the hip hop group Atmosphere, but has worked with many other artists and projects, mostly with Rhymesayers Entertainment, such as Brother Ali, I Self Devine, Felt and The Dynospectrum...

, the song features a reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

-style beat. Its lyrics focus are braggadocios and focus on Brother Ali's being "the truth."

The song failed to chart, but was a critical success and received local radio play. According to PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

, the song constantly won head-to-head call-in competitions against other popular rap songs on Minnesota's hip hop radio station B96

KTTB

KHTC is an American radio station in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. KHTC's nickname is "96.3 Now". The station airs a rhythmic contemporary music format and its main competition is KDWB-FM. The station is licensed to Edina, Minnesota.-Origins:...

.

CD single/Digital download

1. "Truth Is (Clean)" (3:54)
2. "Truth Is (Album)" (3:54)
3. "Truth Is (Inst)" (3:44)
4. "Freedom Ain't Free (Clean)" (3:40)
5. "Freedom Ain't Free (Album)" (3:40)
6. "Freedom Ain't Free (Inst)" (3:40)
7. "Original King (Clean)" (3:31)
8. "Original King (Dirty)" (3:31)
9. "Original King (Inst)" (3:28)

External links

• Brother Ali's Official Website with audio of "Truth Is"