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Ali Elabbady on Muck Rack

Ali Elabbady

(He/Him)
Minneapolis
As seen in: MSN, Substack, Eater Twin Cities, KCMP-FM (St. Paul, MN), Racket, KBEM-FM (Minneapolis, MN), The Future State Of Podcast
Covers:  Music, Food, Diasporic Communities
Record excavator. Sound Motivator. Co-curator of @RapBooklets. Host/Producer of @tacotastemakers. Food & music critic.

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Ali Elabbady’s Biography

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I’m currently a food writer based in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), MN since 2019. Currently, I write about food and music for Eater Twin Cities/Vox Media, Racket, and The Current. In September of 2020, I launched the pilot season of a TV Show called Tacos & Tastemakers, which I host & produce. Think Parts Unknown meets Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee…but with tacos. I also moderated a discussion on food and cultural appropriation called Beyond Hummus with James Beard semifinalist ch…

Ali Elabbady’s Journalist Portfolio

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30 essential red, white, and blue album covers

30 essential red, white, and blue album covers

To ring in the United States’ Semiquincentennial, here are 30 essential album covers — many for recordings by…

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Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Spots for African Food

Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Spots for African Food

According to MN Compass, nearly 180,000 people from East and West Africa call Minnesota home, including membe…

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Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Best Restaurants for Asian Food

Minneapolis-St. Paul’s Best Restaurants for Asian Food

Judging by a growing number of national accolades (the James Beard Awards, Food & Wine, The New York Times), …

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Minnesota's Best Spots for South Asian Food

Minnesota's Best Spots for South Asian Food

A community that continues to grow within Minnesota, yet is sometimes overshadowed by other cuisines, is the …

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Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Spots for Middle Eastern Food

Minneapolis-St. Paul's Best Spots for Middle Eastern Food

Minneapolis, St. Paul and the greater metro area have some of the most noteworthy Middle Eastern cuisine you’…

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Minnesota State Fair 2025 live music and food pairings

Minnesota State Fair 2025 live music and food pairings

Whether folks are getting hot in "herre" with Nelly, or relishing summer's final days with Atmosphere and Fri…

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Articles

30 essential red, white, and blue album covers

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By Ali Elabbady
| KCMP-FM (St. Paul, MN) Verified
On Saturday, July 4, 2026, the United States of America will be 250 years young. A lot has happened in our country’s history, and the red, white, and blue colors in the American flag have been there through it all. These days, Olympic athletes, World Cup stars, and frozen treats are among the examples of pop-culture iconography keeping this color combo visible in our lives. There are also many great albums with covers dominated by red, white, or blue.
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Three Dollar Pistol Music LLC

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By Zilla Rocca, Curly Castro, Ali Elabbady, Peace God Gibran
| The Future State Of Podcast
By the end of 1961’s "The Hustler", Fast Eddie Felsen has reached the phase Disco Vietnam and Zilla Rocca are in now. Falling in love with pool or rapping or making beats begins with hungrily learning the fundamentals. Most spend years finding the standard and meeting it. Once you arrive and leap over it you get to where Paul Newman’s character is as the movie starts: the search for more power, the inescapable temptation to flex on people who can’t hang with you.
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Easy Street Mixtape, by Zilla Rocca

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By Zilla Rocca, Ali Elabbady, La Dog
| threedollarpistol.com
Before the album "FAST EDDIE" drops, we have the "Easy Street Mixtape"! This is Zilla Rocca's third official mixtape, starting with 2008's "Bring Me the Head of Zilla Rocca" and 2013's "Neo Noir". But it's 2025 so why the hell is this mixtape here? Well, something is missing when the communal hot beats all rappers and DJs would get busy on have been mothballed for the ongoing inventory of brand spanking new projects dropping on a weekly basis.
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Interview

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What was your first job as a journalist?

I haven’t formally had a job as a journalist, but one of my favorites was doing a radio show called The Beat Box for 7 years.

What does it mean to be a journalist?

It means to be able to give a reader a fly-on-the-wall perspective and insight into any experience.

What tools and software do you use to do your job?

My most frequently used tools and software are Zoom, Google Docs, and Otter.ai.

Awards

Third Place

2024 - Arts & Entertainment Reporting (big)

Up to three stories covering arts and entertainment in Minnesota that demonstrates thoroughness, diversity and mastery of coverage. Awarded for “21 years ago, rapper Eyedea showed the world ‘Oliver Hart’” and “This YouTube channel unearths raw footage of ’90s Midwest punk”

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