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URSULA RUCKER - "Supa sista" (!K7106 LP/CD)

(release date: September 3^rd 2001)

There is a new sound emerging from Philadelphia. URSULA RUCKERıs debut album SUPA SISTA (!K7 Records) strikes an intricate balance between new jazz, hip-hop and Philly soul - all infused with poetic vision.

Since 1994, performance and recording artist, URSULA RUCKER has collaborated with some of the most innovative artists in the music. Admired and respected for recordings with 4 Hero, Jamaladeen Tacuma, King Britt, The Silent Poets, Josh Wink, and Bahamadia, Ursula has been honored to  close The Roots three studio lps.

SUPA SISTA is a departure from Ursulaıs previous work as she pushes lyrical poetry to places itıs never been by fusing multiple genres.  Throughout SUPA SISTA, she flexes her skills as a song writer, lyricist and vocalist. Touching on subjects ranging from womanhood, the state of black music, love lost, and child abuse, Ursula teamed with an array of producers to create an unprecedented effort that is entertaining, provocative and socially conscious.

4 Hero (Talking Loud/Mercury), Alexkid (F-Communication), and Jonah Sharp (Spacetime Continuum) contribute to the soundscape of SUPA SISTA alongside Philly producers King Britt (SYLK130), Philip Charles (SYLK130/Retrofonix Labs), Tim Motzer (SYLK130, Jazzheads), and Ursulaıs frequent collaborator Robert Yancey III.  SUPA SISTA was recorded in Philadelphia, San Francisco, London, and Paris.

Music and art critics have embraced Ursulaıs socially conscious works. The Philadelphia Inquirer describes her work as ³portraits of street life with the punch of a musically endowed Eric Bogosian monologue.² and hip-hop journalist Tom Constabile (XXL) declared that ³URSULA RUCKER is the truth Jack Nicholson told Tom Cruise he couldnıt handle.²

The alluring tales she created for the The Roots contained subject matter that was motivated by heightened consciousness.  Whether exploring sexual exploitation as in The Unlocking or introducing the lifestyle of a crack-dealing single mother in Adventures in Wonderland, she provided listeners with an intimate glimpse of urban reality.  Whatever the content, Ursula has an uncanny ability to strike with unrivaled, softspoken and seductive lyricism.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Ursula is a graduate of Temple Universityıs journalism department.  She coveted her poetry until making her debut at Phillyıs Zanzibar Blue in 1994.  Attracted to diverse genres, with roots firmly grounded in hip-hop, Ursulaıs collaborations throughout the 1990ıs included Loveless (4 Hero/Talking Loud), Get Ready (Silent Poets/Idylic), and the Gravity Games (ABC) anthem Sixth Sense (Josh Wink/Ovum Recordings).  Ursulaıs later work illustrated her growth as an artist and her ability to transcend the bounds of poetry.  The life and death saga Return to Innocence Lost (The Roots/MCA); an unsettling portrait of slavery Soon (Rob Yancey/Realized Recordings)  and classic Jazzanova remix  of the mer-fantasy driven

Circe (Guidance Recordings).

TRACKLISTING:

in her elizabeth

featuring daniel ³gravy² thomas

Ursula met Daniel at the University of North Carolina when she performed with his band at the bi-annual UNC poetry festival.  The connection was instant. Danielıs

talent, deep understanding and appreciation of womanfolk, made him the perfect gentle(man) to introduce SUPA SISTA.

womansong

All around mad music aficionado, Phillip Charles (SYLK130, Shaboom) engineered and mixed six traks and mastered SUPA SISTA.  Wooh!  In addition to his

technical skills, Phillip collaborated with Philly legend Mark Boyce (The Goats) to create the perfect vibe for Ursula to morph from word to song.  Womansong

encourages women to reclaim their power by recognizing the inherent value of SHE.

7 featuring M.A.D.

Ursula knew when she received the instrumental from 4 Hero that 7 would fulfill the collaboration she longed for with M.A.D. (Tek 9).  A perfect blend of 4 Heroıs

lush strings, Vicki Miles dropping the hook and M.A.D. sounds like butter...a hip-hop love song for 2002. 

letter to a sister friend featuring vicki miles

Proving that poetry need not be limited to spoken words, Vicki Miles

(SYLK130: The Reason) delivers an angelic letter to sister friends.

Produced by Ursulaıs frequent collaborator Rob ³Life² Yancey (Tek 9,

Unbound), sister friend is soulfully topped by a violin solo from Philadelphia's Cynthia Cooperman. 

what??? featuring u-love

A message for the millennium produced by the incomparable 4 Hero.  A

challenge for the masses, what??? questions the motives of music artists and encourages greater social responsibility.  Feauturing u-love, Ursula's hip-hop alias, she

exhibits once more her vocal dexterity. 

digichant

While Ursula is a techno-phobe, she is not entirely disenchanted with technological progress.  Rather, she questions the human relationship to computer technology.

 This Rob Yancey produced trak has been tested in concert and the response is always enthusiastic: "Weıre going to utilize it!!² 

philadelphia child

Children of Philadelphia, Ursula and Rob Yancey paint a portrait of urban youth that so visual, it leaves the listener with an intimate sense of the City of Brotherly

love.    Featuring Lennie Seidman on tablas,  Rob Yancey's (Soon/Unbound) trademark minimalism strikes an emotional chord.

supa sista

Produced by Phillyıs Tim Motzer, this trak has a groove all its own.  supa sista is based on Ursula's personal experience as a mother, lover, woman and artist.

 Minus the beats that drive the bulk of the lp, supa sista is a song that crosses the boundaries - at once bluesy, jazzy, and hip, supa sista is an audience favorite. 

brown boy

Brown Boy is one of those traks that Ursula knew she wanted to make years before recording SUPA SISTA.  Recognizing there are always two sides to a coin,

Ursula poignantly acknowledges the historical chains that bind the psyche of African American men.  Featuring the Philly soul-vocalist Ovasoul7 - part of the

infamous Rennie Harris Puremovement hip-hop ensemble - brown boy is an honest and loving song priming men to break with an historical cycle.  

spring

Ursula accidentally caught the tail end of a King Britt/Tim Motzer demo

and requested they recreate it for SUPA SISTA.  She knew immediately that Spring would mark her debut as a singer - and, insisted on singing like she would in

her car.  Featuring Philly tablas master Lenny Seidman, Spring is a departure from the often drama laden love song.  Matter of fact in itıs simplicity, Spring captures

the essence love lost.

one million ways to burn

Ursula traveled to Forest Knolls, California to create this piece with Jonah Sharp (Spacetime Continuum).  Surrounded by the remnants of California forest fires, this

bitter sweet love song is one everyone can relate to.  Fueled by anger, pain, and grief, One Million Ways to Burn bass driven groove is a song of mourning and

redemption. 

song for billy

As the intro states, ³this is a story sad, but true.²  Inspired by true stories about children of addicts, song for billy becomes more than a nightly news story.  Injected

with a dark, trance-like setting created by Alexkid (F-Communication), the reality of a childıs suffering is undeniable when communicated in this context.