Last week, while Sasha Frere-Jones and the rap duo Das Racist debated whether Jay-Z’s new album is evidence that hip-hop is dead, and if so, whether it’s OK for a white guy like Frere-Jones to make that call, Minnesota’s Brother Ali was proving, one wildly heralded tour stop at a time, that such discussions are best answered in rhyme. Jay-Z may be tired, but Ali is proof that hip-hop ain’t nowhere near dead. —Mike Riggs

Read the full City Lights pick here; deets below the jump.

BROTHER ALI PERFORMS AT 9 P.M. WITH EVIDENCE, TOKI WRIGHT, BK ONE, AND CUBBIE BEAR AT OTTO BAR, 2549 N. HOWARD ST., BALTIMORE. $13. (410) 662-0069.