“I am not beautiful, I am an elegant beast … I will pillage your heart with language so lavishly violent,” Brother Ali both warns and promises on “Pen to Paper,” from his 2017 opus, All the Beauty in This Whole Life. The album was a major statement of purpose, as the albino Minneapolis rapper plunged into both the personal and the political as he surveyed the state of the world while also bringing it home with rueful contemplations of suicides in his family. Ali’s new release, Secrets & Escapes, takes on a completely different and more spontaneous vibe as the rapper digs into his various collaborations with Dilated Peoples’ Evidence. “Anytime they made something that reminded them of what they’ve become known for, they threw it away and started something new,” according to Ali’s Facebook page. With Marlon Craft.

El Rey Theatre, 5515 Wilshire Blvd., Miracle Mile, L.A.; Sun., Nov. 10, 8:30 p.m.; $25; all ages. (323) 936-6400, www.theelrey.com.

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