26 - Friday, October 28, 1988 - North Shore News

RUN DMC are back and
tough, with rap for a crowd
who can’t get enough;
Raheem lets go with the law
of the street and raps you on
the noodle with a vigilante
beat; Salt ‘N Pepa catch a
groove that'll make you flip,
it’s slick and sassy and super
hip; a compilation for the
nation wraps the genre ina
package, pump it up, party
down and then run from the
wreckage.

Run DMC — Tougher Than
Leather, London Records 1988

Rap elder statesmen Run Joseph
Simmons), DMC (Darryl
McDaniels) and deejay Jam Master
Jay (ason Mizell).strike again with
a swaggering mix of braggadocio,
social commentary and solid
movement-inducing vibrations.

The Queens, New York, rappers
were among the first to assault
mainstream musical consciousness
with the release of their debut
album in 1983. The recording in-

troduced provocative new street
sounds from black America to the
rest of the world.

The voice masters were the first
ever non-athletes to sign an en-
dorsement contract with Adidas

MICHAEL
BECKER

music reviewer

Sportswear and the first black
group of any kind to sell four mil-
lion copies of one release (Raising
Hell) since Prince's Purple Rain LP
tacked up the sales in 1984.

Tougher Than Leather sees
hip-hop scratch blended with
some tough guitars. Papa Crazy, a
cool look at the pitfalls of material
excess, is based on a sampling of
The Temptations’ Papa Was A
Rolling Stone turned inside out.
The collections’ closer, Ragtime,
chronicles the lot of a rapper who
just can’t turn off the rhyming
mode. The tune is built on a soft-
shoe rhythm complete with New
Orleans-style jazz breaks.

No chill here. The guys with the
big gold jewelry are fresh.

: Come Celebrate
7 ~©Halloween
With Us! _

~~
c

GREAT MUSIC Ow

921-7616

EVERY WEEKEND!

NO COVER
Don’t miss the
LANCE HARRISON
DIXIELAND BAND
every Saturday
3-6 p.m.

Friday & Saturday
Night

Kool Rays

6422 Bay St., West Van.
(Horseshoe Bay) :

Raheem — The Vigilante, A&M
1988

A kind of black Charles Bronson
in rapper's clothing, newcomer
Raheem has a bone to pick and
some turf to carve out.

The rap is funk-laced and heavy
onthe posturing, “I’m like a
scientist, rap’s my chemistry.”

The teen is in a sub-category of
his own. His trademark is a cold,
deadpan look and a red beret. A
gold chain and pendant, big
enough to brain an elephant,

al Phote submitted

~ hangs from his neck. There’s a

disclaimer on the back cover dis-
counting any mistaken connection
between Raheem and street gang
activity. So what do you get once
you've chilled out and pumped up
the volume on selections like
Shotgun, Punks Give Me Respect
and You're On Notice?

The answer is a pretty decent
rap record. Raheem cruises real
bad on Shotgun and is the
speaker-smoking baddest on The
Vigilante — check out the S&M
explosions. Say No, delivered

Jamaican dub-style, chronicles
with empathy the crack-addicted
downfall of a young mother.

Rap gladiator Raheem is one
fierce dude.

Salt ’N Pepa — A Salt With A
Deadly Pepa, London Records,
1988

This one gets my vote for the
year’s best album title and best
name of a producer (Hurby “Luv
Bug” Azor) for an album released
in 1988,

Rap’s reigning female trio serves
up sassy, silly, supercharged
sounds. There’s a twisted remake
of Twist And Shout. Shake Your
Thang pays funky, flirtatious
homage to The Isley Brothers’
biggest hit, /t’s Your Thing. There's
even a cover of the Joe Tex tune, |
Gotcha.

Three years ago Salt (Cheryl
James) and Pepa (Sandra Denton)
were nursing students and Luv
Bug, their supervisor, was studying
to become a sound engineer. To-
day, along with deejay
Spinderella, they're topping the
spin lists with a hot-selling record.
The American Dream can still
come true. Simply consider
premeditated A Salt With A Dead-
ly Pepa,

Now Rap’s What E Call Music
(Call 1t What You Want Jack!
House Hip Hop Rap) PolyGram
1988

Ten tracks of melting pot music
all set to a big boom beat provide
quick-fix therapy for those sudden
and unanticipated rap anxiety at-
tacks.

The highlights are to be found in
the sampling master cuts Pump Up
The Volume by MIAIRIRIS, Simon
Harris’ Bass (how fow can you go),
and the James Brown Payback
Mix, the most sampled man in
rapdom. The Housemartins prove
even a WASP pop outfit can be
hip to the hop with Rap Around
The Clock. The compilation also
includes a previously unreleased
version of The Fat Boys working
out on Wipeout. The track
features the Beach Boys on back-
ing vocals.

ON A RETURN ENGAGEMENT
FROM THE LOEW’S HOTEL IN
MONTE CARLO AND WRAPPING
UP A RECORDING SESSION WITH THE
LONDON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

THE THREE GREENHORNS IS

ee
THREE NIGHTS

OCT. 27, 28, 29
WITH

PROUD TO PRESENT:

\S
Oe KENNY COLMAN

OCT. 31
Vocal Night!
with

Kate Hammett-Vaughn

LINTON GARNER QUARTET

Romantic Adventure « Live Entertainment
We serve tll 1 am — No coupons apply
ae tes

and the
Linton Garner Trio

Wednesday Guitarist/Vocalist
MICHAEL CUMMINGS