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Rating: Rather than going on and on once again about Led Zeppelin, REM, U2, Genesis, Iron Maiden, or even “my” Queen, there's a far better way to exploit the potential of a site like DeBaser: tell stories that few remember, talk about artists who maybe had a brief commercial success but, despite their skills, talent, and personality, never managed to emerge from anonymity; Imani Coppola, a New Yorker of Afro-Italian-American descent, falls into this category of artists particularly dear to me and had the merit of introducing me to a musical universe that I had never explored before, which I had always seen as something distant from my horizons. Well yes, I candidly admit, at least for now, I am a clueless neophyte when it comes to hip-hop and its derivatives, but I will still try my best to talk about this album and this intriguing and original songwriter.
Born into a family of musicians but without financial means, the fascinating Imani showed great musical inclinations from an early age and, by a stroke of luck, some of her demo tapes ended up in the hands of Mike Mangini, currently the drummer of Dream Theater, who secured her a recording contract with Columbia Records at just nineteen years old, in 1997. Thus, Imani Coppola presents herself on the music scene, far from any cliché that might be associated with hip-hop: laid back, calm, with that sly smile of someone who knows it all, a hairstyle to say the least creative, and an ironic and nonsense title, “Chupacabra”. Mangini, a drummer usually engaged in rock and metal fields, accompanies her in this adventure as a producer as well, and his expertise proves decisive in supporting Imani’s compositional flair. The fact that an American teenager might have composed such an album, in years where most of her peers were eager to join girl bands and Disney-sponsored talent shows, is already impressive: fresh and intriguing melodies, full of vitality and irony, interpreted by a spirited and enticing voice. The intelligence and personality of this girl are evident from her first single and only radio hit, “Legend Of A Cowgirl”, where she samples the base of Donovan's “Sunshine Superman”: yes, Donovan himself, a connection between two artists with great elective affinities: both never rigid, playful and eclectic, two extraordinary talents who never took themselves too seriously and made nonchalance their additional asset.
Mike Mangini's drumming provides that essential rhythmic backbone for hip-hop, while never intrusive synthesizers and acoustic guitars draw appealing melodic textures, more folk-oriented than a funk/R'n'B as one might logically expect. In “I’m A Tree” Imani claims her identity, acknowledges being an anomaly, a tree born in the city, and she quite likes it, her hip-hop is exquisitely feminine, colorful, and coquettish just enough, a bit hippie if you will: from the very first listen one finds themselves nodding to the light rhythms of “Pigeon Penelope” and “Soon (I Like It)”, enjoying catchy and elegantly poppish refrains, including that of “Karma In The Blizzard” which seems to quote, in my opinion not at all accidentally, Nina Hagen's “Spirit In The Sky”. The bossanova rhythms of “Naked City (Love To See U Shine)” and samba of “It’s All About Me, Me And Me”, showcase a fresh and spontaneous sensuality, “Piece” revisits the psychedelic aura enveloping the entire album in a more shaded and pleasantly disorienting key, “Forget Myself” and especially “One Of These Days” add a touch of velvety elegance between jazz and soul, which culminates in the flamenco languor of the suave, intense, and passionate concluding ballad “La Da Da”, a song that's a bit like dark chocolate, somewhat bitter but with a rich, intense taste full of nuances. To not miss anything, Imani also includes a ghost track, “My Day”, an eccentric and theatrical psychedelic pastiche that once again demonstrates uncommon eclecticism and creativity.
The citation of “Legend Of A Cowgirl” seems anything but accidental, anyone who knows and appreciates Donovan from the late '60s, the one of “Mellow Yellow”, “The Hurdy Gurdy Man” and “Barabajagal”, cannot help but love and appreciate Imani Coppola and “Chupacabra” in particular, a disc with a thousand shades, full of influences and sonic refinements serving an alternative, forward-thinking, innovative, and intelligent pop: hip-hop mind, hippie heart, black soul, folk elegance, and youthful freshness for an adorable album, the debut of an artist who will pay for her nonconformity and frankness with a swift expulsion from the gilded cage of the major, eventually landing in the following years in a more underground dimension more suited to her artistic and creative needs.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 I'm a Tree (03:33)
There's a tree in the city
It ain't lookin' pretty
Blessed with stress
Smog clogging feelin' shitty
There's a river on the highway
Things aint goin' my way
Turn around, go away
Come again another day
To the bed I go
Stumble to and fro
Tired from another day of lookin' for my glow
It's hard to get up
You can say I'm fed up
One things for certain
I gotta keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up girl, keep your head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up girl, keep your head up
The sun ain't hard to see
Just turn off your TV
Everything around you is just part of every other thing
I'm a tree
Why you gotta do what you do
Why you gotta tell me how to be
Gee, make me feel like you do
I'm tried of messing around
It's time to let these people know
A tree in the city
It needs somewhere to grow
River on the highway
I've never seen a grayer day
It's sad, its crappy, it needs somewhere to play
As for me, I'll sit under the tree
Cuz there ain't no better place to be
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up girl, keep your head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
The sun ain't hard to see
Just turn off your TV
Everything around you is just part of every other thing
I'm a tree
Yo, what a freak
Are you all staring at me? I'm a tree
Yo, what a freak
I'm a tree! [no you're not]
I'm a tree! [stop lying]
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up girl, keep your head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up - keep my head up
Keep your head up girl, keep my head up
The sun ain't hard to see
Just turn off your TV
Everything around you is just part of every other thing
I'm a tree
The sun ain't hard to see
Just turn off your TV
Everything around you is just part of every other thing
I'm a tree
I'm a tree
02 Legend of a Cowgirl (03:47)
I'm gonna drink my whiskey
I'm gonna have my man
I know you got nothing to say
I'm gonna have my man
Gonna steal their hearts
and save them for another day
Ain't gonna hang my hat
Ain't gonna take off my boots
Ain't nothing gonna stop me in my pursuit
My stage, time to rehearse
Gonna see all the wonders of the universe
CH: Pack my bags and mount my horse
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Spend all my money on absolutely nothing
Need no man to pay for anything
Ain't got no shame, nobody knows my name
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Pecos Bill, couldn't hang for long
A female legend with a song
Such a beautiful day, Such a beautiful day
I think I'll wear my brand new negligee
I'll probably change my mind
It happens every time
Just speak to my ex-fianc�
I'm gonna hunt the hunter, gonna serve'em well done
Nowhere to hide, nowhere to run
Up goes the moon, down comes the sun
Cook my dinner while I shine my gun
CH: Pack my bags and mount my horse
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Spend all my money on absolutely nothing
Cause their ain't no thing like a chicken wing
Ain't got no shame, nobody knows my name
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Pecos Bill, couldn't hang for long
A female legend with a song
I'd give my life to be her
I'd give my live just to be her
I'd give my sight to see her
I'd give my sight just to see her
So here's the way I'm gonna break it down
Speak my mind any time 'cause I got the master plan
Power in my soul, strenght from my hand
I'm going up north to claim my land
Won't settle by river, might make me shiver
So look out and hide your fans
I'm a woman on fire with huge desire
To be as good as any man
CH: Pack my bags and mount my horse
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Spend all my money on absolutely nothing
Need no man to pay for anything
Ain't got no shame, nobody knows my name
I'm gonna ride on into the next town
Pecos Bill, couldn't hang for long
A female legend with a song.......
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