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J. M. Flagg's 1917 poster, based on the original British Lord Kitchener poster of three years earlier, was used to recruit soldiers for both World War I and World War II. Flagg used a modified version of his own face for Uncle Sam, and veteran Walter Botts provided the pose. The face also bears resemblance to the real Samuel Wilson.^[1]

Uncle Sam (initials U.S.) is a common national personification of the American government that according to legend came into use during the War of 1812 and was supposedly named for Samuel Wilson.^[2] The first use of Uncle Sam in literature was in the 1816 allegorical book The Adventures of Uncle Sam in Search After His Lost Honor by Frederick Augustus Fidfaddy, Esq.

Before Uncle Sam[link]

The earliest known personification of what would become the United States was "Columbia" who first appeared in 1738 and sometimes was associated with Liberty. With the American Revolutionary War came "Brother Jonathan" as another personification and finally after the War of 1812 Uncle Sam appeared.

The evolution of Uncle Sam[link]

Sam Wilson was a meat packer in New York, who supplied rations for the soldiers. They had to stamp their contractors name and where the rations were coming from, onto the food they were sending. On the package, it was labeled “E.A – US.” When someone asked what that stood for, a coworker joked and said “Elbert Anderson (the contractor) and Uncle Sam,” referring to Sam Wilson, though it actually stood for United States. As early as 1835 Brother Jonathan made a reference to Uncle Sam implying that they symbolized different things: Brother Jonathan was the country itself while Uncle Sam was the government and its power.^[3]

By the 1850s the name Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were being used nearly interchangeably to the point that images of what had been called "Brother Jonathan" were now being called Uncle Sam. Similarly, appearance of both personifications varied wildly. For example, one depiction of Uncle Sam in 1860 depicted him looking like Benjamin Franklin,^[4](an appearance echoed in Harper's Weekly's June 3, 1865 "Checkmate" political cartoon) while the depiction of Brother Jonathan on page 32 of the January 11, 1862 edition Harper's Weekly looks more like the modern version of Uncle Sam (except for the lack of a goatee)

However, even with the effective abandonment of Brother Jonathan (ie Johnny Reb) near the end of the Civil War, Uncle Sam didn't get a standard appearance until the well-known "recruitment" image of Uncle Sam was created by James Montgomery Flagg. It was this image more than any other that set the appearance of Uncle Sam as the elderly man with white hair and a goatee wearing a white top hat with white stars on a blue band, and red and white striped trousers.

The image of Uncle Sam was shown publicly for the first time, according to some, in a picture by Flagg on the cover of the magazine Leslie's Weekly, on July 6, 1916, with the caption "What Are You Doing for Preparedness?"^[1][5] More than four million copies of this image were printed between 1917 and 1918.

While Columbia had appeared with either Brother Jonathan or Uncle Sam her use as personification for America had declined in favor of liberty and once she become the mascot of Columbia Pictures in the 1920s she was effectively abandoned.

Flagg's image also was used extensively during World War II during which America was codenamed 'Samland' by the German intelligence agency Abwehr.^[6]

There are two memorials to Uncle Sam, both of which commemorate the life of Samuel Wilson: the Uncle Sam Memorial Statue in Arlington, Massachusetts, his birthplace; and a memorial near his long-term residence in Riverfront Park, Troy, New York.

Kevin Smith, a contestant on the show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire won the top prize of $1,000,000 by correctly answering the question, "The U.S. icon 'Uncle Sam' was based on Samuel Wilson who worked during the War of 1812 as a what?" The answer was A: Meat inspector.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Uncle Sam

• Civil War Harper's Weekly newspapers
• Historical Uncle Sam pictures
• James Montgomery Flagg's 1917 "I Want You" Poster and other works (Internet Archive copy from 2004 October 28)
• What's the origin of Uncle Sam? The Straight Dope
• Images of a modern Uncle Sam promoting peace

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This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. No cleanup reason has been specified. Please help improve this article if you can; the talk page may contain suggestions. (March 2009)

Brother Ali
Brother Ali performing at SoundFest June 11, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Jason Newman
Born	1978 (age 33-34)
Origin	Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Genres	Hip hop, rap
Occupations	Rapper, Producer
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Rhymesayers Entertainment/Warner Music Group
Website	brotherali.com

Ali Newman (born Jason Newman in 1978),^[1] better known by the stage name Brother Ali, is an American hip hop artist signed to Rhymesayers Entertainment.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Brother Ali was born in Madison, Wisconsin, and spent his early childhood moving from city to city in the Midwest (mostly in Michigan). Ali's family settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1992. He attended Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minnesota. He has a son, Faheem, from his first marriage, and remarried in 2008. On the song "Real As Can Be" off his [EP] "Truth is Here" he says he also has a daughter on the way. According to the song "Fresh Air" on his September 2009 album Us, he goes on to say "Just got married last year/ treated so good that it ain't even fair/ already gotta boy now the baby girl's here/ Bought us a house like The Berenstein Bears." He has family in the Minneapolis area. Brother Ali takes family very seriously and sees it as a major part of life.

Ali was born with the rare genetic condition of albinism, a disorder characterized by a lack of pigment in skin, eyes, and hair. Brother Ali often makes fun of the media's constant urge to mention his condition in the first lines of their reviews or newspaper articles. He is also legally blind which is caused by his albinism.^[3]

While Brother Ali's family is white, he has often described a childhood marked by cruelty and exclusion by his white classmates as a result of his physical abnormality. He's often explained that, from an early age, he felt "most at home amongst African Americans."

When Ali's career began to blossom, he began to field questions about his race. Due to his stage name (a common reference among religious communities, particularly Muslims), many writers assumed Ali was black. When questioned on the subject, Ali declined to comment however stating in his album, "The Undisputed Truth"; "they ask me if I'm black or white, I'm neither/ race is a made up thing; I don't believe in it". He then goes on to explain how black people have played a major role in his life:

"My genes tie me to those that despised me/ Made a living killing the ones that inspired me/ I ain't just talking about singing and dancing/ I was taught life and manhood by black men/ So I'm a product of that understanding/ And a small part of me feels like I am them"

He has been practicing Islam for the past 13 years.

Career[link]

Ali's first release was a cassette-only demo tape called Rites of Passage; which Ali produced, recorded and arranged himself. The tape cemented his relationship with the local independent hip-hop label Rhymesayers Entertainment. Rites of Passage was released in 2000 and was sold almost exclusively at shows.

In 2003 Brother Ali released his first studio project, entitled Shadows on the Sun. Atmosphere producer, Ant, provided all of the instrumentals. Although the album had no major national distribution, it was heavily praised by independent hip-hop fans and publications. Ali used the album to explain his childhood and identity.

Ali's next CD was The Champion EP, released a year after Shadows on the Sun. It was presented as an extension of the full-length. Leading with a reggae inspired remix of Shadows' "Champion," the 9 song EP offered up highlights such as "Rain Water," a song about Ali losing his mother and grandfather to cancer and suicide.

In spring of 2007 Rhymesayers released The Undisputed Truth, Ali and Ant's full-length follow-up to Shadows on the Sun. "Truth" tells the story of Ali's divorce from his first wife, his struggle to gain custody of their young son, Faheem and the homelessness he faced as a single father. The first of his releases to be distributed by Warner Brothers Music, the album debuted at #69 on Billboard 200.

Brother Ali released an EP and DVD package titled "The Truth Is Here" in March 2009. The album is made up of 9 tracks including a collaboration with Rhymesayers label-mate Slug of Atmosphere.

In September 2009, Brother Ali released his follow-up to 2007's Undisputed Truth. The album was originally titled "Street Preacher" but was later changed to Us. It debuted at #56 on the Billboard 200. Ali, his DJ BK-One, and fellow Rhymesayers crew members Toki Wright and Evidence recently finished their Fresh Air Tour this fall.

Brother Ali will release his next album "Mourning in America and Dreaming in Color" on August 13th 2012.

Production[link]

Brother Ali produced the tracks "The Feeling" and "Little Girl" on Rhymesayers artist Toki Wright's debut album, "A Different Mirror."

Press[link]

Brother Ali has twice been featured in the hip-hop magazine The Source, first in August 2007, when the "Hip Hop Quotable" was from a verse in "Uncle Sam Goddamn", and second in October 2007, when he was interviewed. In May 2007, he was featured in Rolling Stone as a "New Artist to Watch". Brother Ali's personal struggle with race issues, his politics and his music are discussed in the 2011 book "From Jim Crow to Jay-Z: Race, Rap and the Performance of Masculinity".

TV appearances[link]

On August 13, 2007, Brother Ali appeared on The Late Late Show and performed his single "Uncle Sam Goddamn" from The Undisputed Truth. On October 19, 2007, Ali appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and performed "Take Me Home" from The Undisputed Truth.^[4] On December 16, 2009 Ali appeared on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and was featured with late night band, The Roots.

Inspirations[link]

Brother Ali has said many times in interviews that he finds much of his inspiration in the early 1980s rappers of the golden age of hip hop, especially KRS-One and Rakim.^[5][6]

In an interview in early 2007, Ali responded to a question about the response to his and his label's music, and the current music industry:

They just like to see something new. Like, we benefit so much right now from the fact that music sucks, and that there's so little originality. And there's so few people that are really trying to do something a little bit different so that if you're just even a little bit different...you know what I mean? People are just like "yeah," you know. As long as you're good and as long as you know how to present yourself, and, you know...but I think that people are just happy to see something a little bit different for a change, you know.^[7]

He has, however, spoken against coastal beef and mainstream vs. underground divide in hip-hop, claiming that worthwhile rap music is made by many rappers from across the spectrum, and expressing fandom and appreciation for "mainstream" artists such as Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, T.I. and 50 Cent as well as respected artists who are more associated with the underground or the purist tradition, such as Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Aesop Rock, Lupe Fiasco, Jay Electronica, and his friends and frequent collaborators Murs and Joell Ortiz. Among his personal favorites are several rappers who are less acclaimed by the traditional rap purist canon, such as WC, Joe Budden, Chubb Rock and Paris.

"Uncle Sam Goddamn" Controversy[link]

Brother Ali has been under pressure from the recording industry due to lyrics from his song "Uncle Sam Goddamn", claiming creative interference from "somebody I don't wanna name, but some of you probably has their cell phones." The unnamed corporation ultimately withdrew its sponsorship of Ali, causing him to truncate parts of his 2007 tour.^[7][8] Furthermore, on the song "Second Time Around" with Benzi and Wale, Ali makes references to being kicked off a tour followed by the line "Verizon dissed me too, cuz I was too political." The song is notably critical of the United States government, with accusations that the political system is addicted to war.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

EPs[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website
• Artist profile at Rhymesayers Entertainment
• Live at SXSW 2007 on 89.3 The Current
• 2009 State of Mind interview
• 2009 National Public Radio - All Things Considered interview
• "Dark Star," City Pages, April 11, 2007
• Interview on GermanRhymes.de