T. Ali

Baltimore continues to birth talent after talent and T.Ali (born Tariq Ali) is no exception to this. With a wide range to his sound T.Ali captures what it means to be an artist. What do you need? T.Ali can produce your hit, smash a verse, write a hook and then bring it all together in one session, a rarity these days. All of this was born in T.Ali’s youth, playing multiple instruments and studying the complexities of melodies. These talents have only evolved as T.Ali progresses in his career, working with a grip of artists and releasing his own music. While the Baltimore standout’s tenure is just beginning, he’s already captured a variety of crowds with his eclectic approach to the music.

Tariq’s mother and sister would be his first influences on music. Starting with R&B the duo played a wide range of old school and current R&B alike for a young Tariq. It wasn’t until Ali’s sister gave him the “Fade to Black” soundtrack that the young upstart was introduced to hip-hop music. This led Tariq Ali to purchase Kanye West’s “Late Registration” and the rest was history. When Ali was given “Fade to Black” he memorized every word, after getting “Late Registration” T.Ali studied it front to back. During the time he was studying these releases, Tariq was also becoming a prodigy in his own right, learning the drums and then moving on to learn the trumpet. For those keeping score, you have an artist that has been studying the music and the theory behind it for years.

There is no distinct lane to force T. Ali into which means he’s able to produce a myriad of soundscapes and capture numerous moods in a listening session. His debut album “UNDFND” echoes T. Ali’s versatility and ability to carry the entirety of a track on his own. Furthermore, the album showcases how Ali works and collaborates with artists. With appearances by Doowy Lloh, Sabraya Ibrahim and more Ali can jump on a track hold his own while simultaneously uplifting and creating with his peers. T. Ali has only evolved and expanded his sound from there, “I want people to feel seen and sometimes confronted or motivated (by the music).” T. Ali’s latest release “Cheat Codes” allows you to take a peek at the talent we’re really dealing with. It’s almost as though, T. Ali can hear (or craft) an instrumental and create or see the melody before the creation process even sets off.

2019 brought a slew of challenges for the Baltimore hero, but the grind didn’t stop for him. Landing radio and podcasting coverage from 1500 Radio combined with performances at both The Crown and Ottobar, T. Ali is just getting started. “The only thing that really held me together was working on my upcoming album “Since We’re Being Honest”. T. Ali says. With 2020 here, T. Ali hopes to bring in the new decade running. With a follow-up EP set to be released in Spring and his ever elusive group People Like Us Global (which consists of T. Ali, Doowy LLoh, Miss Kam, FortyPlug, Zig and GoodBoy) in the studio currently, T. Ali is a name we’ll be hearing for a long time.