Little Jackie is unabashedly sassy, spunky and feisty, and it’s apparent from a first listen. What isn’t as apparent is that Little Jackie isn’t just some self-assured woman who can spit witty rhymes over catchy-yet-smooth R&B sounds. Instead, Little Jackie is actually a pop duo made up of vocalist Imani Coppola and multi-instrumentalist Adam Pallin.
But it’s Coppola who really steals the show. With a solo career mostly comprised of self-released albums already under her belt, her husky voice sounds polished, but still fresh, and her songs always have an edge to them. Hell, Coppola uses the word “yessiree” on the album’s first single, “The World Should Revolve Around Me,” and still manages to sound badass.
Her lyrics read like a hip, sarcastic autobiography, showing pride for herself, her race and the duo’s hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. In fact, Little Jackie’s debut album, The Stoop, and its title track both pay homage to life in one of NYC’s most colorful boroughs.
What is most refreshing about Little Jackie’s songs is that they dismiss standard hip-hop topics of cars and bling and are instead always rooted in reality. Coppola is more than willing to sing about human vices with lines like, “Another bottle of whiskey has been emptied/I know you wouldn’t put it past me” on “28 Butts.” Even on “Black Barbie,” where Coppola compares herself to the iconic doll, she sings, “Cheers to my publicist for making me look like an angel.”
Pallin provides a unique musical backing, ranging from jazzy brass sounds to psuedo-reggae beats to more traditional hip-hop percussion. With these diverse soundscapes serving as the backdrop for Coppola’s velvety voice and cheeky lyrics, Little Jackie creates perfect music for a mid-week pick-me-up, a Friday night dance party or just an afternoon chilling on your front stoop.
One Be Lo – “Gray”Download (Right Click and select “Save Link As”)
One Be Lo’s acronymic ’07 release, The R.E.B.I.R.T.H., which stands for “Real Emcees Bring Intelligent Rhymes to Hip-Hop,” says it all: forget hooks, forget fat club beats, forget phony rappers — this is how authentic hip-hop is supposed to sound. (An interesting aside, each of the lyricist’s proper albums boasts complex wordplay: Look up S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. and S.T.I.L.L.B.O.R.N. when you get a chance.)
One Be Lo’s style — clean and clear and under control — screams “conscious independent,” with lyrics to match. In “Keep it Rollin’,” the emcee, cruising through city streets, raps, “Turn the key, let the engine rumble / Make a left, make a right, everywhere I see my people struggle / You can make a decent hustle but you need the muscle / Because in the food chain the strong eat the weak amongst you.” Couple this ability to rhyme with One Be Lo’s acute sense for making beats — or picking producers (there are nine different mix-masters on R.E.B.I.R.T.H.) — and you’ve got an indie artist covering every niche of the hip-hop spectrum. Take the album’s closing track, “Hip-Hop Heaven,” on which the emcee meshes old-school lines about his days as a b-boy with an in-vogue drum-and-bass pattern.
In claiming that all rappers bring smart rhymes, One Be Lo sets a self-imposed high bar — one that he gracefully clears with his classic approach to underground hip-hop.
Rap today is all about the hook. Just look at artists like Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em and will.i.am — neither has anything worthwhile to offer between choruses. (And sometimes even during the choruses.) Socalled, however, has an entire mess of things up his sleeve — all the time. Throughout his second release, Ghettoblaster, the rapper/producer continuously challenges his listener with controversial — and often hysterical — lyrics, as well as musical combinations that no mix-master would, in his or her right mind, ever attempt.
“These Are the Good Old Days,” the first single off his newest album, begins with the controversial line, “My god’s going to kick your god’s ass,” followed by short, spoken prose from emcee Subtitle about text messaging and contraceptives. These, according to the L.A. rapper, are among the great innovations of world history, much like what the “Egyptians reached when they had, like, magical building and secret things.” These quick, witty lyrics set the stage for an album that ignores — and even defies — mainstream hip-hop norms.
But Socalled’s scandalous writing takes a backseat to his brilliant blend of oft-obscure genres. From hardcore rap to accordion riffs and Middle Eastern, uh, noise, the Canadian rapper is truly out of his mind — and thank god for it. As radio-rap now seems to follow some club-conscious formula, Socalled represents an underground movement that bends — no, breaks — those rules.
Editors at The Emory Wheel, Emory University's student newspaper, sound off on their favorite albums and artists of the moment. You can find more info here.
Courtesy of Audible Beats
