Over The Edge Page 8

January 24, 2000

Soun

DJ Rap A classical pianist, vocal-
Learning Curve ist, former solicitor-in-train--
Sony ing, and drum and bass DJ

extrordinaire, DJ Rap (aka
Charissa Saverio) has
already accomplished
much in her life. Her debut
solo album off of Columbia
and Higher Ground, titled
Learning Curve, portrays
much of her musical tal-

Jay-Z Jay-Z, strong believer in
Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. capitalism, believes that
Carter having a thick bankroll

ranks just below having
fresh air and shelter. Jay-
Z, AKA Shawn Carter,
hence the name of the CD
“Life and Times of S.
Carter,” comes from a tur-
bulent past, and his lyrics
‘are more based upon per-
sonal experience than
other similar R&B artists.
The Life and Times of S.
Carter speaks of Jay-Z’s
past as a kid growing up in
the ghetto - a poor kid. He
reminisces about the time
when his_ sixth grade

Roc A Fella/Def Jam/Universal

=

Kittie In a scene dominated by
Spit all girl bands, judging by
the cover | would have

Artemis / Universal
. expected Kittie to be anoth-

er Shirley Manson
wannabe or an L7: knock-
off, but like they are doing
all over the continent, Kittie
is busting the “chick-band”
stereotype.

When someone said that
“they don’t just purr, they
roar’ - they were right. Just
what sort of a nasty kitty-is
Kittie?

ents and passions that
includes grumbling bass
drops, varying speeds of
breakbeats, melodic piano
riffs and haunting female
vocals. However, unlike her
first full length album, a duo
with Voyager that featured
amazingly fast breakbeats
and fast drumlines,
Learning Curve focuses

teacher took the class to
her home and he saw a
refrigerator with an ice
machine in it for the first
time. When he set foot on
“the burning sands of man-
hood,” he didn’t want to be
poor anymore and never
had any intention of being
so. With an unfortunate
limited set of options given
his former social .status,
Jay-Z found himself hus-
tling drugs on street cor-
ners for money to make
sure that his family was
able to eat right.

Jay-Z kept a low profile
through the years to come

Kittie combines bliss and _

chaos in a_ heavy
guitar/drum rhythm. The all
girl teenage four is
expressing the anxiety felt
by youth everywhere today.
Wake up world -. there’s a
message here! Kittie live is
a dominating experience -
with “coy but dangerous
looks and a dominating
stage’ presence.”
Consequenily, this cut has:
been garnering industry
attention everywhere.

more on pop-style breaks
and emotion-filled vocals.
The exceptions to this are
tracks nine, ten, and eleven,
depicting Rap’s more hard-
core and drum and bass
roots.

Moreover, what does not
appear in this album is
straight-beat style, four-on-
the-floor techno, this being

to make certain that he did-
n't wind up in the state pen,
a habit which has carried
through to today. In his
own words, “I ain’t flashy
like some of these other
niggas, owning three cars,
wearing a while bunch of
gold, and showin’ off” His
only indulgence, a Lexus
equipped with a Sony VCR
and three TV screens in
the headrests and passen-
ger visor.

In the future, Jay-Z plans
to book Budweiser-type
fests and do some touring,
maybe with Lost Boyz and
Yvette Michelle.

Shaped under the watch-
ful eye of famed producer
Garth Richardson (known
for Rage Against the
Machine, L7, Red Hot Chili
Peppers, and Ozzy
Osbourne) Kitties aggres-
sive stylings have launched
them deep into the harda-
core/metal scene.

Smooth rhythms inter-
rupted by aggressive emo-
tionally charged rants
make this cut best formerly
described as “a god damn

due to Rap’s passion for the
more hardcore breakbeats.
So if you enjoy female
vocals, flowing piano or
deep groove bass, this
album will speak to you, be
you mainstream or under-
ground.
«DJ Weasel

The Life and Times of S.
Carter offer the listener a
taste of Jay-Z’s former life,
what he now bases his
music on. Gang lyrics,
killer break beats, and
smooth transference’s
make this a hard core R&B
typical of the Def Jam fam-
ily. Guests to Jay-Z include
Mariah Carey, Juvenile,
Amil, Dr. Dre, and UGK.

-Kevin Milos

smack in the face with a
crowbar.”

-Kevin Milos