Chi Ali - Music Career

Music Career

Chi first made his first appearance as Jeff on various B-Sides of singles from De La Soul's 3 Feet High and Rising. He reappeared as Chi-Ali two years later on Black Sheep's debut album A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing on "Pass the 40," a posse cut about drinking 40s, rocking women, and ripping the mic. Chi Ali at the time was a member of the Native Tongues and also had connections with the Legion family, along with Showbiz and A.G..

Soon after "Pass the 40," Chi released his first solo single "Age Ain't Nothing But a #," which was a moderate hit. It was popular on urban radio stations, and the video got good rotation on Yo! MTV Raps and Rap City. The album in which the song was featured was released shortly thereafter, which yielded two other singles, "Roadrunner" and "Funky Lemonade," which were both remixed and rerecorded, making them different than their album versions. They featured Chi with a slightly more mature voice. It received mixed reviews.

Chi Ali seemingly disappeared from the hip hop world until the late 1990s, when he appeared on Dres's solo album Sure Shot Redemption. The album got little press and mixed, though overall good reviews.