Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / Feb. 13, 2002, edition 1 / Page 9
Part of Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
Arts & Entertainment NAS: STILLMATIC MURDERED DREAMS: THE REVIEW Clayton Mercer Arts & Entertainment Editor Cnice40 @ collegeclub.com “Went from Nasty Nas to Esco’s Trash” was a line from Jay-Z’s “Take over”, a song that has helped inten sify one of hip-hop’s most memo rable lyrical battles to date. Shawn Carter’s words summarize what many people have been saying about Nasir“Nas” Jones since his 1994 classic debut, lllmatic. His crafty lyrics and views of street life took a back seat to a life of fur-coats and nights full of Cristal and beautiful women in nightclubs with P. Diddy After three lackluster albums and a not-so- well-received Firm fiasco, Nas has returned to his glory days with his latest album, Stillmatic. Nas spends little time acknowl edging the war of words between himself and Jigga.The scorching “Ether” finds Nas using Jay-Z’s mantra, “I will not lose” to perfection. With lyrics such as, “You seem to be only concerned with dissin’ women/ Were you abused as a child?/ Scared to smile/ They called you ugly?/Well, life is harsh/ Hug me, don’t reject me” and his verbal jabs towards the Roc-A-Fella Records family “Ether” is a killer-reply to Jay- Z’s “Takeover.” The verbal battle continues on “Destroy & Rebuild” as Nas ad dresses his conflict with Cormega, former Firm associate Nature, and, most surprisingly. Prodigy of Mobb Deep, who he feels disrespected the legacy of Queensbridge. The gem of the album is the Chucky Thompson produced “One Mic,” which Nas experiments with the pitch of his voice. Nas begins with a whisper and gets louder as he adds more impact to his lyrics. On “Rewind,” Nas tells a descriptive story from ending to beginning. The reunion of Nas and Large Professor on “Your Da Man” is well received because it gives the album a feel of their work on lllmatic. However, Stillamtic does have its problems. The Swizz Beats pro duced “Braveheart Party” featuring Mary J. Blige seems out-of-place on this album {Stillmatic will be re- released and the album will not contain the track “Braveheart Party,” which Mary J. Blige asked to be cut for “personal reasons”). And al though the chemisty of Nas and AZ is great on “The Flyest,” the track seems to be a misguided attempt at crossover appeal. Even with the flaws, this is the album Nas fans and hip-hop enthu siasts alike have been waiting for. Nasty Nas has returned to the formula that made him one of hip- hop’s finest MC’s. Stillmatic is not lllmatic, as Nas did not intend it to be. Michael Jackson may never have a better album than his blockbuster Thriller. But Nas can have a better album than lllmatic. Stillmatic is a step in that direction. FAITH EVANS: FAITHFULLY Clayton Mercer Arts & Entertainment Editor Cnice40 @ collegeclub.com Bad Boy Record’s first lady. Faith Evans, has returned with her most introspective album ever. Faith’s third album. Faithfully, delivers a mixture of old school and new school anthems. The first track on the album, “Alone in This World”, includes the notorious beat and excerpts from “Who Shot Ya” by Evan’s late hus band, Notorious B.I.G., and is Co- Produced by Sean “P. Diddy” Combs. The track uses light piano tunes to lightly enhance Faith’s beautiful vocals. The retro influence also shows up later on the title track “Faithfully' as the instrumental from Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” is easily notice able. Super-producers, The Neptunes, show up on the album for the radio friendly “Burnin’ Up”, which also features new Bad Boy artist Loon. The standout track on Faithfully is “I Love You”. The song, co-written by Jennifer Lopez and Co-Produced by P. Diddy, is a platform for Faith to show her vocal skills and demon strate why she is one of the best soul singers today. With lyrics such as “First time I saw your face/ My heart just erase/ All the guys I knew before”. Faith easily grabs your attention as she blatantly releases her true feelings. “You Gets No Love” is an up tempo groove that shows Faith having fun with the music. Helped out by a rap by P. Diddy and Loon, Faith uses lyrics such as “Played with my emotions/You gets no devotion/ You gets no love” to re lease her anger towards a man who has done her wrong for the last time. “Can’t Believe” sees a soulful Faith sharing time with label-mate Carl Thomas in what has to be consid ered Faith’s best collaboration to date. Faithfully is easily Faith’s best album ever. A typical Faith album with strong vocals, great use of old school/new school flavors, and great production, Faithfully sho\NS maturity and an overall great effort. PREVIEW: “OUMES OFTHE HEART’ Public Relations Reports Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) announces upcoming dates for the Pulitzer Prize winning play “Crimes of the Heart.” ECSU’s Univer sity Players will present the family drama February 20, 21, 22 and 23, 2002 in the G. R. Little Theatre. Cur tain time for each performance is 7:30 p.m. The play zooms in on the lives of three Mississippi adult sisters awaiting news from the local hospital on the condition of their gravely-ill father. One sister, Lenny the oldest, has never married and is running out of pros pects. The middle sister has returned to heal from wounds of a failed singing career on the West Coast. The young est wounded her husband after a disagreement. Other characters such as a prudish cousin and a young lawyer add sparks to this drama. Critical comments include those from The New York Times. “While this play overflows with infectious high spirits, it is also, unmistakably the tale of a very troubled family.” “It has heart, wit and a surpris ingly zany passion that must carry all before it. It would certainly be a crime for anyone interested in the theatre not to see this play.” The New York Post. ECSU’s performances will be directed by a senior drama student, Laura Nykki Houston. Admission for the general public are $7, $2 for ECSU faculty and staff; $1 for ECSU students. Antonio Barrow Assistant Editor thegreatchefOI @yahoo.com Murdered Dreams, a mystery novel by Lola Scales Boone, is a great story for those who love mystery. This Elizabeth City State University gradu ate provides us with a sense of realis tic details. The story takes place in a city called River’s Edge. Talbert Micheals, the protagonist, is just released from prison and is now looking for his brother. When he arrives at River’s Edge, he finds out that his younger brother Desmond is dead. Outraged by his brother’s death, he teams up with police officer Grant Lewis to find out who the murderer is. They try to find any acquaintances or close friends of Desmond to see if they could give Talbert any important information. Other people also have their share of pains. Kyle Stanton, a Viet nam War veteran, relives his painful childhood and also, suffers from the memories of the war. Raven Turner, Desmond’s girlfriend, was accused of killing Desmond, but later, she is released. Raven’s ex-boss, Jeanette Horton, was caught charging her ' employees extra commission, but she charged Raven more. Serena Mor gan, the antagonist, suffered from a- psychological disorder due to her childhood. She is Kyle’s daughter, ' who now blames Kyle for the pain and abuse that she suffered from her adopted parents. This novel is a great mystery and I enjoyed reading it. The writer has. used her mystery writing skills fantas tically. The novel was very factual in some details such as the police investigations. I also liked the way the past changed the fate of the people If you love mystery novels, this is truly, a good one to read. To purchase a copy of this mys tery novel and to learn about the author, visit http://www.travlobooks.com. f Photo Courtesy of genocites.coip\ "•K. Photo Courtesy of stillmatic.com
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 13, 2002, edition 1
9
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75