“Fuck that ‘pause’ shit,” Brother Ali bellowed during a break in his set last night at Neumos. “That’s old, that’s over, that’s history.” Ali was referencing the current fad, particularly within hip-hop music, where men will amend anything with “pause” that hints at homosexuality to distance themselves from being identified as gay. It was one of a string of remarkable moments last night where Brother Ali truly preached to the hip-hop congregation that had collected before him, a crowd who were, judging by the number of people mouthing along to each word, already believers. But for those, such as myself, who were seeing Ali live for the first time and may have been skeptical of his abilities, the sincerity and soulfulness of Ali’s music and presence was impossible to deny. “There’s no me, there’s no you, there’s just us,” he concluded in the segment of his sermon addressing homophobia. While it may have been a practiced line to promote his new release, Us, it was also a credo that flowed throughout his work and brought a refreshingly unifying energy to the space. Ali’s voice carries much like a preacher– elliptical phrasing with his rich, resonant voice–but more profoundly his ability to capture the audience with love, respect and gratitude defies the hardened posturing of many of his peers in the underground rap world assume to be noticed.Highlights included the song “Forest Whitaker,” which made one grown man I stood next to quietly weep, and “Uncle Sam Goddamn,” which was paired with compelling historical video footage of the gritty struggle of the civil rights movement. Then, at one point, it seemed as if Ali was going to rap-battle an innocuous looking white guy in khaki cargos who climbed on stage with “something to say.” Turns out that the guy, Ben, declared his love to his girlfriend, Christine, and got on his knee to propose, pulling a ring out of his side pant pocket. It really was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve borne witness to at a concert, and there’s few where the headlining artist would have so graciously stepped to the side. But that’s Ali: a facilitator of love, whose thoughtful lyrics paired with a stage ferocity makes him one of the most compelling hip-hop performers out.