Professor A.L.I.
| Professor A.L.I. | |
|---|---|
 Professor A.L.I., photograph taken in classroom, 2 December 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Black Steven.[1] |
| Origin | Union City, California, United States |
| Genres | West Coast hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Educator, Rapper |
| Years active | 2007 - present |
| Labels | Still Panther Music, 12Recordz |
| Associated acts | Stormshadowz, Blak Madeen |
| Website |
www |
Professor A.L.I., real name Kalyan Ali Balaven, is a San Francisco Bay Area based Hip Hop educator and rapper of mixed Tamil and West-Indian descents from Union City, California.[2][3]
Biography
Professor A.L.I. is an educator, a U.C. Berkeley lecturer, and an instructor and administrator at The Athenian School. He currently teaches a University of California approved Hip-Hop History course entitled "Beats, Rhymes and Life" as part of the Blend-Ed Consortium (The Athenian School, College Preparatory School, Lick-Wilmerding, Urban School, and Marin Academy) in which his XFactor double-length LP is an integrated part of the curriculum.[4]
He first gained notoriety as a rapper with Carbon Cycle Diaries, which was his first solo studio album and due to both its strong artistic features like Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan, Killah Priest, Brand Nubian, and strong spiritual and environmental message.[5] His subsequent projects continued to have thematic foci, such as permaculture on Emerald Manifesto and economics on Das Ka Rebel.
As a Muslim artist, his work often contains Islamic stories woven into his lyrical narratives.[6]
Discography
Studio albums
- Carbon Cycle Diaries (2011)
- Emerald Manifesto (2012)
- Das Ka Rebel (2013)
- Rough Drafts (Compilation) (2014)
- XFactor (Double LP) (2015)
Collaboration albums
- Price We Pay[7] (with Blak Madeen) (18 May 2012)
References
- ↑ "Class is in session: an interview wit’ rapper Professor A.L.I.". sfbayview.com/. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "Professor A.L.I. Revealed: Humanities Teacher Kal Balaven". athenian.org. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "Q&A: A Lesson From The Professor". patch.com/. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "Kalyan Balaven – Athenian Beats, Rhymes & Life". blendedconsortium.orgv. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "Eco Muslim Professor ALI’s Islamic Eco-Rap". greenprophet.com. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "The New Muslim Cool: Islamic Eco Rap". illumemag.com. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
- ↑ "Lamentation of a Hip-Hop Poet". occupy.com. Retrieved 5 April 2015.