Ursula Rucker "Ma'at Mama" Album

« Sway - "This is My Demo" | Main | New Jay Z Album with Dr. Dre.. Or Is It Kanye West? »

February 7, 2006

Ursula Rucker "Ma'at Mama" Album

A new CD from the noted spoken-word-speaker and Roots colloborator.. Chart Attack up in Canada is not feeling it:

Ursula Rucker is a smart, passionate woman and a well-respected spoken-word slinger who can no doubt hold a live audience spellbound with her verses about black culture, female pride and the general state of a messed-up world. Too bad her style isn't well suited to the CD format, a deficiency that's evident on Ma'at Mama. This disc is long on Rucker's repetitive, asymmetrical cadence and strident politics, but what it lacks is strong backbeats. Only the horn-powered "Rant" qualifies as a truly enjoyable listen. More representative is "Black Erotica," with its clinical and cringe-worthy description of oral sex. Personal empowerment is a noble goal, but Rucker makes it sound like no fun at all.

Boomkat offers a kinder judgement though:

First things first; a bit of etymology for your perusal... A distant cousin of the Indo-European linguistic tree, 'Ma’at’ is taken from ancient Egyptian and represents the Kemetic principle which presumes an underlying foundation of universal order and balance. The Mama bit? Get a dictionary hobo! The latest release from Ursula Rucker, 'Ma'At Mama' could readily be lost in a cloud of joss-sticks, as people interpret her spoken word lyricism and social consiousness as another album of worthy (but ultimately dull) polemic. Yet for those who stow away any preconceived prejudice prior to departure, 'Ma'At Mama' is a coruscating treat. Opening with 'Humbled', Rucker (alongside Sonia Sanchez) weave a tapestry of burnt-sugar dialogue around grand-standing choirs, compressed breaks and tongue-clicks. This is what the radio station in The Warriors would have sounded like on Valentines night... From this soft-centered opener, 'Rant' (featuring Malene Younglao) is a spasm-bucked slap of horn-popped hip-funk; over which Rucker lists the ills of modern society, whilst somehow making it all sound like an MTV-felling Beyonce from an alternative universe. If only The Herbaliser had heard this first, they might not have bothered with 'Take London'. Elsewhere, 'Libations' indulges in some RIP list-action (the effect; Saul Williams sans a chromosome), 'Poon Tang Clan' is a brittle drum break garnished with honeyed discourse, whilst album closer 'L.O.V.E' is a starry-eyed dedication to the eponymous emotion - bolstered by swathes of Stevie Wonder-strings. Mama Mia!

Posted by jsmooth995 at February 7, 2006 6:22 PM

Search

Archives

Recent Entries

Syndicate this site (XML)

hiphopmusic.com

Movie Stuff