The Compass Wednesday, December 6, 2000 7
The Soul of the Streets
Michael Fournier
Arts & Entertainment Editor
"Like love and spirit, trying to neatly
define the nature of soul is hard."
That quote is from the opening liner
notes of Guru's new project, Jazzmatazz
Streetsoul.
This is the third installment to Guru's
Jazzmatazz series, the first of which
was released in 1993. The aim of the
first volume was to show hip-hop
heads the common fibers that consti
tute hip-hop and jazz music through a
fusion of the two genres. That experi
ment continued in 1995's Jazzmatazz II:
The New Reality.
But now, five years after the last
Jazzmatazz project, it seems that Guru
has altered his aim a Little. Streetsoul is
fundamentally a hip-hop album, but
in flavor, direction and quality,
Jazzmatazz Streetsoul is a far cry from
the average hip-hop album you'll find
in your local record store.
As Guru puts it, "It's a laid back
record... the mood on this CD is ma
ture, playeristic, laid back and sophis
ticated." That is Streetsoul in a nutshell.
The album is an expansive collabo
rative effort that includes everybody
from Guru's Gangstarr partner, DJ Pre
mier, to the legendary Isaac Hayes and
pianist Herbie Hancock. As explained
in the liners, "Part of the cohesive vibe
and vision comes because all of the
participants on Streetsoul are longtime
friends, musical allies and sharers of a
common creative dream."
The lead single. Keep Your Worries,
features the smoky vocals of Angie
Stone and the production skills of DJ
Scratch. The song is a smoothed out
head-nodder, with Ms. Stone's harmo
nies adding the perfect compliment to
Guru's monotone vocals. The distinctly
militant B-side, Lift Your Fist, features
High Spirits, Low Attendance at
Homeconning Concert
Michael Fournier
Arts and Entertainment Editor
As part of Homecoming 2000 at Eliza
beth City State University, the music
groups Jagged Edge and Rare Essence
were invited by the Student Govern
ment Association to perform at the Fine
Arts Center. The concert, which only
cost $10.00, took place on Friday night,
November 3.
Less than 100 people attended.
The night began with several open
ing acts, including a 20-plus minute
beat-boxing session by Lamaj and War
ren McCain. The Greensboro natives
performed their renditions of
Common's "The Light" and Musiq's
"Just Friends."
Another opening act was a rap group
called Trained Assassins. I don't know
who trained them, but they should have
reviewed what they were taught. When
they came out they were hyped to the
fullest with an energy that only lasted
through their first song. Their music
sounded alright; however, their stage
presence, which admittedly is one of
the hardest things for amateurs to mas
ter, needed some work, especially when
you consider the fact they were coming
on right before a national act.
But before Jagged Edge even came on
stage and sang one note, they posed the
question, "Where's everybody at?" That
was the question running through most
people's minds.
According to Mr. ECSU and SGA
member, James Polk II, Destiny 2000
[SGA] worked diligently to produce a
week's worth of quality events, but en
countered several problems. "There
were many administrative and logisti
cal obstacles; communication channels
were not as open as we would have
preferred."
The lack of a suitable venue and the
fact that SGA was not made aware of
that problem in a timely manner were
also hindrances to the concert's suc
cess according to the SGA.
No matter what the reasons behind
the low attendance, those who did not
attend missed a hot show. The small
but enthusiastic crowd, comprised
mainly of ladies, cheered Jagged Edge
on through a solid 30-minute routine.
There were some minor technical prob
lems, but JE showed true professional
ism and performed as if the show was
for a coliseum-sized crowd. The dance
routines were tight and their vocals
were on point; the talent that JE dis
played that night made it easy to see
that they could be on the verge of
superstardom.
Rare Essence followed with an even
more electrifying show. This long-time
favorite performed many of their most
popular hits including "The Freaks
Come Out at Night" and "Overnight
Scenario." Even though the crowd had
shrunk even more, RE put out all the
energy you'd expect to see at a big-
time DC Go-Go. And even though Go-
Go music is usually not my style, they
had my head nodding for the entire
performance. They were definitely
worth checking out.
Hopefully the low attendance at this
year's Homecoming Concert won't
have any negative repercussions for
ECSU hosting any future events of this
magnitude. But if quality events con
tinue to be brought to the campus and
participation continues at this level,
don't be surprised if we all end up
crying about the fact that nothing re
ally ever happens oh this campus. ; '
Black Thought of The Roots on the mic
dropping gems like, "From the time
their eyes open 'tU the clock strikes
death/Brothers is stressed/Walk
around holdin' their chest."
Although rap is at the heart of this
album. Guru created the majority of
the songs with some of the best of
today's most talented soul artists. The
baby boy of the new soul movement,
Bilal, throws down with Guru on the
Jay Dee produced Certified, in which
Guru takes a few moments to claim his
respect as an artist in the game. Kelis
demands Guru's Supa Love on the in
fectious Neptunes-produced track.
Even the French female duo Les
Nubians comes through on Who's
There?, Guru's open-ended question to
society about the lack of compassion in
the world.
Other highlights include Plenty, fea
turing Erykah Badu, HustUn' Daze with
-Photo courtesy of Virgin Records
Donnell Jones and Guidance, Guru's
dedication to his new son, which fea
tures Amel Larrieux, formerly of
Groove Theory
Guru and his massive group of allies
have, on this album, taken hip-hop to
another level. By er\hancing his street-
sensible music with R&B, soul, jazz and
reggae. Guru has once again pushed
the envelope in hip-hop.
"I felt a void in hip-hop," he explains.
"I felt a void in music in general and I
was like, let me fill this gap up right
here. I longed to do another Jazzmatazz
record and frankly, I think the first two
were ahead of their time and that now,
I felt like it was a perfect time for me to
add on."
Although trying to neatly define the
nature of soul is hard, its essence is
revealed in Guru's Jazzmatazz,Streetsoul.
See if you can discover it.
Radio Personality
Frankie Crocker Dies
Veteran radio broadcaster and pro
gram director Frankie Crocker died on
October 21 from pancreatic cancer. His
age was uncertain.
Mr. Crocker was hospitalized for four
weeks in the Miami hospital where he
died. The Associated Press reported
that he hid his illness from his family
and friends.
Mr. Crocker, the Chief Rocker as he
called himself, enjoyed a long and pros
perous career. He played a major role
in pushing New York City's WBLS-FM
to the number one spot among 18 to 34
year olds twice in the last three de
cades.
The Buffalo native is also credited
with coining the phrase, "urban con
temporary" in the 1970's, a label that is
still prevalent today.
In the mid-1970's; Mr. Crocker was
indicted in Newark on charges stem
ming from a payola scandal. He was
charged with making false statements
before a federal grand jury when he
denied that he received money from
record companies to promote and play
their records. He was convicted, but
the conviction was later overturned.
Most recently, Mr. Crocker worked
on a gospel radio show in California
and on a Saturday night countdown
show on New York's KISS-FM.
Throughout his broadcast career, Mr.
Crocker was also employed by stations
in Los Angeles, St. Louis and Chicago.
Mr. Crocker's career also included
emceeing at the Apollo Theater in
Harlem, becoming a V.J. on VH-1 and
hosting the TV show, "Solid Gold."
He is survived by his 82-year-old
mother, Frances Crocker.