September 22, 1999
< JFocus>
Jhe JJortlanb ffibaerucr
% r G ospel legend Y olanda
m e ssa g e . “ I ’m n o t o n e o f th o s e s in g ­
e v ery d a y o f m y lif e .”
e rs w h o w a n ts to e x p a n d m y a u d i ­
I t ’s p re c ise ly th a t k in d o f convic­
tio n th a t h a s c a u s e d c ritic s to re fe r
J ’A dam s, her stirrin g E lektra
t/d e b :
d e h n t M o u n ta in Higtv A /a jle y
e n c e a t th e e x p e n s e o f th e p e o p le
w h o a lr e a d y k n o w m y m u s ic ," she
L ow w as a n o p p o r tu n ity to b r in g
b o th h e r i n s p ir a tio n a l v isio n a n d
says d e te r m in e d ly . “A n d I ’ve g ro w n
to Y o la n d a as o n e o f g o s p e l’s “ s e m i­
n a l” v oices. It h a s a lso e m p o w e re d
b o th v o c a lly a n d s p ir itu a lly s in c e
h e r w id e ra n g e o f in f lu e n c e s to a n
a u d ie n c e h u n g ry fo r s p ir itu a l fru it.
b y firs t a lb u m , t h r o u g h e a c h p h a s e
h e r to v e n tu r e o u t o f g o sp e l’s m o re
sa n c tim o n io u s c o n f in e m e n ts , a n d
w as ju s t a n o th e r s te p o f g ro w th .
h o o k u p w ith so m e o f p o p ’s m o st
fo rm id a b le p ro d u c e rs , su c h as K e ith
G o s p e l m u s ic h a s s te p p e d u p a n d
T h o m a s , J im m y J a m
all o v e r th e w o rld . N ow in 1999,
g a th e r e d a m y r ia d o f in f lu e n c e s -
f o u r s tu d io a lb u m s a n d o n e liv e
ja z z , h ip h o p , R&B. I n e e d to b e in
Lew is. Y o la n d a stre sse s, h o w e v er,
th a t it w as th e p ro c e s s o f “ sh a rin g "
o f m y c a r e e r . So c h o o s in g E le k tr a
S in c e h e r 1988 d e b u t, th e a c c la im e d
a n d n p l i f t i n g j u s t A s 1 A m , Y o la n d a
h a s b e e n w o w in g g o sp e l a u d ie n c e s
a p la c e w h e re m y m e s sa g e c a n b e
a lb u m la te r (th e G r a m m y n o m i
n a te d Y o la n d a - L i ve In W a s h in g
r e a d y to e x te n d h e r m a g n if ic e n t
and
1 e r ry
ta le n ts th a t m a d e th e u n iq u e c o l­
m y p u rp o se . 1 u n d e rs ta n d w h at I
la b o r a tio n s su c h a g re a t su ccess.
T h o m a s p r o d u c e d a n d w ro te “ T h e
w as p u t h e r e fo r. I ta k e th a t o n
T h in g s W e D o."
h e a r d b y e v e ry o n e . I u n d e r s t a n d
t o n k th e H o u s to n , T e x a s n a tiv e is
Page 3
r e a c h w ith o u t w a te r in g d o w n th e
Ilackstreet
W hile R hythm a n d blues has never
been m ore popular o r com m ercially vi­
able, it has also reached a creative im ­
passe. Beats that were once innovative
now seem form ulaic as hit after hit
reaches the airwaves b u t the record buy­
ing public is left still w a n tin g .fe e lin ' for
m usic th at does m ore th an taste great.
It is into this a re n a th at Blackstreet
releases th eir th ird C D , Finally. M ore
th an a follow-up to '9 6 ’s phenom enally
successful A n o th er Level (which w ould
go on to sell 6 m illion copies a n d spawn
the chart b usting a n d G ram m y w in­
n ing # 1 sm ash “N o D iggity”), finally is,
as the title m ight evoke, a definitive
statem ent. A declaratio n for th e e n d of
the century. O r to p u t it m o re suc­
cinctly and less poetically, the bom b.
Featuring Blackstreet’s finely honed
harm onies and solo turns, a n d the in­
* i lthough
.i
A- n
i
A
Blackstreet
has enjoyed
th at the group has taken
continuous acclaim since its platinum
debut in 1994, the pressure was on when
it to the next level. From
it cam e dow n to recording Finally. “It was
of “C a n Y ou Feel It,"
the pyrotechnic grooves
all internal pressure,” T eddy explains.
which uses snippets of the
“Because we really w anted this album to
Ja c k s o n ’s song o f the
be it, we went back hom e," T eddy points
sa m e
to his heart, “here," he gestures out into
lo w d o w n g rim y b a ss
beatsof “D on’t Stop," the
the room , “and then we went into tom or
row. f h e Bound a n d the styles of m usic on
nam e,
to
th e
sw eeping ballad “In a
this C D are so broad. It sounds like such
R ush” (which boasts har­
a cliché to say, ’there’s som ething for
m onica from Stevie W on­
everyone,’ but there s so m uch here that
der) or the inspirational
everyone who hears this album isgoingto
be able to say, “T h a t’s the jam . T hat's the
m essage of the title track
song. T h a t’s the one.
O f f e r s co f o u n d i n g
(featuring the renow ned
gospel sta r H e z e k ia h
m em ber
W alker), Finally is about
C h a u n ce y , “I kept th in k in g this tim e,
we n e ed to com e o u t of the box with
R&B th at is willing to
a n o th e r 'N o Diggity ' B ut the m ore we
w rote a n d th o u g h t ab o u t it, the m ore 1
work w ithout a net. It is
confident a n d schooled
enough to give the people
realized, ‘N o. L et’s b e different, again,
rean z eo , « u .
,
like we w ere w ith 'N o Diggity. Let s
w hat they w ant a n d de­
um parable, b u t thankfully never pre-
com
ictable production and songwriting (not
lat word) skills of T eddy Riley, Finally
not go by those re co rd in d u stry rules,
T eddy Riley has touched
•ts the tem plate for w hat R&B m ust
□und like as we en te r the year 2000.
L et’s m ak e som e new ones up.
O n e listen to Finally and it s clear
in his 15 years m aking
music, and n ot ju st a col­
serve, like e v e ry th in g
lection of dope ass beats.
It is that bag of chips and
1
•>
the possibilities a n d the
■ 4
prom ise o f R&B, deliv­
ered by four of its soulful
practitioners.
T hree of those practi
rest , relaxation and rejuvenation .
They're all yours in our beautiful
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natural mineral hot spring pools.
Sip a capouccino at Miss Margaret s
tioners are no d o u b t (no
Espresso Bar. Then savor the live
d ig g ity )
entertainment and Fraser Valley
f a m ilia r
to
cuisine
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the
Copper
Room.
Midweek and weekend packages
available. O nly 1-1/2 hours from
Vancouver
and
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hours
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Seattle, the Harrison Hot Springs
Resort
is
an
all-tim e
favorite
throughout the Pacific Northwest.
Blackstreet fans. T h e lat­
e st
f
fefe
e
com ponent
FOR
of
R E S E R V A T IO N S , C A L L
1 -8 0 0 -6 6 3 -2 2 6 6 .
B lac k stree t is T e r r e ll
Philips A native of N orth
C arolina and a seasoned
«i
studio and touring vet,
vA/tirrison
T errell’s powerful sing­
ing style is showcased on
tSprintjs
RESORT
the anguished track “Mis­
Photo by Taryn Simon
iddy Riley, Eric Williams, Terrell Phillips, ChaunceyHannibal
SR
-T a ?
r o a u u VOM lK O • w w w .h a rris o n re s o rt.c o m
BRITISH COLUMBIA • C ANADA, VOM w
OPERATEI' BY HOSTMARK HtYSPITALITY 1.111*1
ery.” “Finding som eone
like T errell is a blessing,"
says T eddy
I_______