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Ursula Rucker's
debut album Supa Sista strikes an intricate balance between new jazz, hip-hop
and Philly soul - all infused with poetic vision. 'Supa Sista' is a departure
from Ursula's previous work as she pushes lyrical poetry to places it's never
been by fusing multiple genres. Throughout Supa Sista, she flexes her skills
as a songwriter, lyricist and vocalist. 12 tracks in all. A Studio K7 release.
Reading poetry for the length of a CD and keeping it interesting is a pretty
big challenge. Ursula Rucker does it, though. The tempo is a bit slow and
unvaried, however Rucker tastefully varies her delivery enough to keep the
listener engaged. Mostly she speaks, but sometimes she sings and other times
kicks the rhythm to the verge of rap.
Although there
were times I wished she'd rapped or sang more fully, overall I think the CD
wouldn't work as well if she at all seemed like "I know reading poetry
isn't interesting enough so now I'll sing or rap". By holding true to
what she is - a poet of spoken word - she creates something uniquely her own.
Besides, she's
supported with some incredible talent for the CD and they are obviously totally
in touch with her vision. 4Hero and King Britt produce tracks. Vicki Miles
make an appearance. There's also live instrumentation combined with the programming.
Overall, the musical landscape of the CD has a vibe not far removed from Roni
Size and Reprazent-land.
Best of all,
Rucker deserves the attention she gets. Her poetry is full of strong images
and themes, and she uses her gift to celebrate and skewer equally well. She
slams black musicians who glorify violence ("What???"), celebrates
women ("Letter to a Sister Friend"), relationships ("7"),
or ponders the potential of technology ("Digichant") all with skill.
Her delivery is very appealing: a soothing, spoken rhythm that oozes cool.
It's so effective that even when the poetry is a little flat ("Spring"),
she can carry things off.
Excellent example
of someone who absolutely doesn't fit the mold, refuses to conform, and by
taking the hard road creates something completely their own. Excellent!
Reviewer: Pete
Cholewinski
Check out Ursula
Rucker at: http://www.ursula-rucker.com
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