A stage name that could raise doubts as to the origins of this rapper, crowned best revelation at the South by Southwest Festival. And there’s a reason! Hailing from Michigan, he was born Jason Newman; he then converted to Islam and became Ali, and of course, as an albino, he cannot easily be slotted into any racial category. An atypical life history that he treats through his soul-tinted but profoundly hip-hop music, directly inspired by the very best period of rap music: the eighties. In his latest, soberly entitled album, “Us”, drugs, homophobia and other facets of the dark side of the human condition are given the same uncompromising treatment.