I was ten yards away from the Listen & Be Heard Poetry Café, on my way to pick up a new CD to review, when the woman walking ahead of me turned around and asked whether she could give me her card. I told her I could always use another card; she gave hers to me and mentioned she was always looking for new talent. The card contained those very words, along with “full exotic dance, toys, lap dance” and “our secret…shhhhh!” below her name. I assumed she was using an alias for business purposes; per this review, I will not divulge the name on her card. What happens in Vallejo stays in Vallejo.
I doubt I will ever see my above-mentioned acquaintance again but I think she would enjoy Zero Tolerance, the new hip-hop CD by the Ovaseeahz.
Consider the CD’s second track [Note to readers: this reviewer’s copy of the recording was a burned CD with no information except band name and title written on it. Any misquoted lyrics are unintentional.], which begins with its narrator being in a club “sittin’, sippin’, watchin’ all the girls pass,” he then sees one particular woman and goes from ribald to raunch in zero to sixty beats. Or track eight, with its verses regarding hooking up and a clever call-and-response chorus that uses a looped four-beat piano riff and a falsetto vocal singing “Girl, you know you’re so sexy/And you know you impress me/But I don’t want to waste your time” followed by the same voice from track two stating “I just want to get to know your other side.” Both of these songs bring to mind an image of Tony talking to Silvio at the Bada-Bing on an episode of “The Sopranos.” You know – love songs, love optional and not included with purchase.
The CD’s lyrics range from swagger to a surprising and well-considered sensitivity. Track four is dedicated “to my father” and contains sections like “every time it rains/I embrace each drop like a hug.” Track three is a trilogy of profiles, a verse apiece for “Charlie,” “Sunshine,” and an unnamed man and woman, all sharing the same chorus of “I take the good with the bad/But never let it drag my spirit/I can’t mirror it/I can’t fear it/I gotta face it/Malt liquors and sweet swishers can’t erase it/No matter how tough it gets.”
As with the above-mentioned tracks, the Ovaseeahz engage in clever use of wordplay. Even something used out of context, like track six’s “Night life/Out living the name/Kinda like Short Dogg/Out living the game/No fame needed/Stack on blocks like Lego/Fleet were pancake, you’d waffle like Eggo” has a certain surreal sense of completion. And product placement. The rhythm is there, too – a reader can hear the accented beats in his or her head – which is make-or-break for any hip-hop artist.
Leading the Ovaseeahz are Deepthought and Nyte. According to the band’s website, the two met in 1998, recorded their first album Shake The Foundation for Dream 21 Records, and then decided to form their own label to release their own music. Since the label’s formation, The Ovaseeahz have released the CDs Osmosis, RePresenting Hip-Hop, and now this one.
The Ovaseeahz will be performing at the Zero Tolerance CD release party held at Listen & Be Heard on July 13, 2006. Showtime is 8 p.m. Tickets are $5.00. Check it out. It’s NOT “our secret…shhhhh!”
For ordering and additional information, visit www.kavindra.com.
Technorati Tags: Zero Tolerance, hip-hop, CD, Ovaseeahz
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