Artist.......: Ursula Rucker
Album........: Ruckus Soundsysdom
Label........: Five Six Media
Genre........: Electronic
Catnr........: n/a
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Dec-20-2008
str.date.....: Nov.-11-2008
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: http://www.myspace.com/ursularucker
track title time
01. Ever Heard of it 05:38
02. Dirty Chi P.A. 02:53
03. Read Between the Lines 03:58
04. Catholic 03:16
05. I Am 05:51
06. Interlude #2 00:37
07. Electric Santeria 06:13
08. Anduknowhat 04:47
09. Thinkin 'bout U 04:59
10. Winter 05:47
11. Cypha 02:44
12. Interlude #1 00:41
13. Call to Axiom 03:45
14. End of an Era 04:22
15. Tron 03:51
16. She 03:15
17. Static 05:18
18. Interlude #3 01:30
Runtime 69:25 min
Size 88,9 MB
Release Notes:
You might recognize the velvety voice of Ursula
Rucker from four of the The RootsÆ albums,
including the achingly beautiful, yet painful,
track ôThe Return to Innocence Lostö from Things
Fall Apart. After a two year hiatus from her own
recording career, the soulful artist is back with
an eclectic selection of tracks that make up the
impeccably produced album, The Ruckus Soundsysdom.
Known for her politically-charged, socially-
conscious musings, Rucker shows her lighter side
with this album, declaring ôSometimes I just want
to sit in front of the fire and listen to that shit
crackle/IÆm not always lying awake for the next
problem to tackle/sometimesàI tell jokesö on ôRead
Between the Lines,ö the first single. And she does.
In a musical climate where lyricism and poetry are
often compromised in the face of gimmicky (if only
because you hear it every damn second on the
radioà) production techniques, Ruckus pokes fun at
the latest fads by employing them respectively
during the first verse of the opening of the album,
ôI was thinking/ maybe youÆd listen if I chopped
and screwed it while I do it/ or perhaps if I Auto
-tuned it then you could groove to it/ahhàfuck ità
let me just do me.ö
With a steady and often hushed tone throughout the
album, Rucker proves that you donÆt have to build
up to climactic explosions of emotion in order to
resonate with your listener. Tracks like ôCatholicö
sound like what youÆd expect from a traditional
performance poetry piece, with eerie and sparse
production, but full of lyrical zingers, like
ôMaybe in a strange, but familiar way/I wasàam your
religion/you practice and unpractice meàat
will/When you feel like being faithfulàyou come to
me/prayerfullyàand lovingly/with feigned devotion.ö
ôDirty Chi P.A.ö demonstrates RuckerÆs power as a
female emcee whose flow is up there with the
leading ladies of hip hop, and then makes a 180
degree turn on ôEnd of an Eraö where her voice
literally oozes sex α la Sade, crooning against a
lounge music background. Working once again with
producer King Britt and others, Rucker adds in the
musical styling of several Brooklynite female
producers, including the avant-soul duo FISHEYE,
who ultimately take RuckerÆs insightful words to
the next level in what is an impressive and
refreshing listen.