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MYA: T h e CD, T h e P a r ty , T h e A f te r s e t
N ew Y ork,N Y ...U n iv ersity M usic
E ntertainm ent Interscope/Interscope
R ecording A rtist M Y A celebrates her
platinum self-titled debut album along
side O rganizedN oizeC E O /President-
p ro d u c e r ex trao rd in aire R ico W ade
a n d O rg a n iz e d N o iz e /In te rsc o p e
R ecords latest rap d iscovery C ool
B reeze. U n iv ersity M usic E n tertain ­
m e n t/In te rs c o p e R e c o rd s-M Y A ’s
self-titled p latin u m d ebut in stores
now , featuring h er hit singles “It’s A ll
A b o u t M e” , “M o v in O n ” , & “M y
F irst N ight W ith Y o u ” O rganized
N o iz e /I n te r s c o p e R e c o rd s - C o o l
H its in stores M arch ’99. D ebut G old
Single “W atch F or The H ook” featur­
ing O utkast and G oodie M ob in stores
now . A fter the H it M en o v er at O rg a­
n ized N o izse set and the m illions
w ith in its earsh o t o n fire w ith p lati­
n u m -sellin g O u tk ast, g o ld -sellin g
G oodie M ob, W itch d o cto r and K ilo
album s a C ool B reeze is finally co m ­
ing from th e so u th ern region, su re to
sh ak e up any n atio n about w h o a
p ro u d ly so u th ern rap p er can an d can
n o t m ove. C ool B re e z e ’s O rg an ized
N o iz e /In te rs c o p e R e c o rd s d e b u t,
“ E ast P o in t’s G reatest H it,” aim s at
h ip -h o p fans fro m all co asts, an d re ­
gions, and fires aw ay w ith som e o f
the m o st d eftly d eliv ered an d diverse
style to hit since, well, O utkast, G oodie
M ob, W itch d o cto r...C o o l B reeze is
actu ally a nam e he g o t from his older
sister, (A rapper herself, C o o lB reeze’s
sibling gave him the title/ apt descrip­
tio n o f his d em ean o r w hen he w as
ju s t a 13-year-old trying to m ake his
w ay in his n ative A tlan ta suburb E ast
Point. “ She said I looked like C ool J,”
explains C ool B reeze. “ It d id n ’t have
an y th in g to do w ith w hat I sounded
lik e.”) B ut to F reddie C alh o u n his
only rap nam e has com e to m ean " I ’m
like the w eather. A in ’t no telling w hat
I m ig h t be doing nex t!”
L ike on the a lb u m ’s sw inging first
sin g le, “ W atch for the H o o k ,” C ool
B reeze trades verses w ith fellow D un­
g eon F am ily m em b ers (O rganized
N o ize calls the studio it crafted its
m illio n -sellin g hits in T h e D ungeon)
D re a n d B ig B o i o f O u tk a s t ,
W itch d o cto r, and G o o d ie M ob on a
track p o w erfu l en ough to form ally,
and p ro p erly introduce C ool B reeze
b o th the d iscs (“ S oul F o o d ,” “ Still
S tan d in g ”) G o o d ie M ob has pu t into
m o re th at m o re th at one m illio n C D
and tap e p lay ers, com bined.
“ T h at so n g goes b ack to m y b e ­
ginning,’’ex p lainsC oolB reeze. “A nd
I ’m n o t talk in g about th is reco rd hit-
this m om ent. I ’ve tak en m y career
seriously befo re I really knew I w ould
have one. A n d m e an d the D ung eo n
F am ily go b ack sin ce th at far too.
A n d w h en th ey fin ally g o t so m e
equip m en t, I cam e w ith the raps. I ’ve
alw ay s b een ab le to co m e u p w ith the
h o oks, like 'W h a t y ’all really know
about the D irty S o u th .’ S o ’W atc h fo r
the H o o k ’ has like tw o m eaning;
W atch for the hook in the song. A nd
look out for the h o o k , the p o w er o f
this track, ‘cau se it’s g o n n a hit you
square in the face!” ‘“ W atch for the
H o o k ’ is ju s t o n e o f th o se songs, one
o f th o se tracks, y o u get o n an d ju s t
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In early Irish M ythology, music was
divided into an emotional triad ofgeantrai
- The M usic ofH appiness, goltrai - The
M usic o f Sadness and suantrai - The
M usic o f Sleep A nd Meditation. Draw­
ing on an archaic oral tradition, the Celtic
music maker, like the seer and the poet,
had an abundant repository with which
to w oo his admirers, eulogize his patrons
and satirize his detractors.
Filled with a depth ofhum an passion
and spiritual repose, K obilaka’s quilt
invokes the freedom o f the air in its
settings o f Turtle Dove, Three Black-
birdsand The L ark in the Clear Air, the
latter o f w hich is based on an ancient
G aelic m elody. The Celtic predilection
for exile and discovery is portrayed viv­
idly inO/i, Why Left I M y Home? And The
R oad To D urham , while Greensleeves
brings us to the musical boundary be­
go fo r yours,” adds A ndre “ D re”
B enjam in, w ho along w ith Ice C ube is
one o f cool B reeze’s b iggest influ­
ences. “ It’s som ething you can hear
T y so n have them play before he en­
ters the ring. S om ething to hype up
the crow d. O r E vander Holyfield could
use it to, if h e really, really w anted to
straight represent his ho m eto w n .”
I
'
I
tin g stores. I’ve b een w ritin g for like
15 years, so I ’v e b een p rep ared for
tw een celtic andTudorsociety, the latter
o f w hich w as spawned originally by
W elsh antecedents. The resilience o f
Gael ic Scotland is sum moned to the fore
in the pow erful cadence o f Braveheart
w hich is followed b y the love ballad
A nnachi Gordon popularized by itiner­
ant street singers throughout Britain
and Ireland. In its reprise and finale,
Celtic Q uilt ushers us back into the
relam ofrom ance and the fairy lore ofthe
Gaelic word. The LassofG lenshee con­
jures up the continued presence o f the
O therw orld in G lenshee - the valley o f
m agic - whence w e came.
Daniel K obialka’s Celtic Q uilt is in­
deed a rarejoum ey through musical time
and space; through the realms o f an
archaic Celtic w orld w hich refuses to let
us forget its presence in the Emerald
Pools o f our imagination.
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