Funny ladies release their R-rated songs - SOUNDS FAMILIAR by Baby A. Gil

Those lachrymal ballads with double-entendre lyrics that often border on the obscene or the merely ludicrous are all over the airlanes. I do not know if listeners take them seriously, but it cannot be denied that they sell, have already launched the careers of several new artists and may now be considered the new millennium counterpart of Didith Reyes’ Nananabik, Eva Eugenio’s Tukso and Imelda Papin’s Bakit.

But why hide the humor behind those mini soap operas set to music when you can go all out and create something truly funny? Why keep the smiles to yourself when you can go to town with roaring laughter? And that is just what two of the most exciting newcomers to the field of recording did. Funny ladies Rufa Mae Quinto and Marissa Sanchez recently made their Viva Records debuts and if you want large doses of fun then you should listen to their albums.

Rufa Mae Quinto is better known as Booba these days. Booba is the title of her hit movie. Booba, the film’s theme song with lyric input from Rufa Mae’s own vocabulary, is also one of the cuts in her album. Of course, you have already seen the music video, which never fails to get people moving or at the very least, singing Booba along with her.

Long before Booba happened, Rufa was one of the regulars in the TV show That’s Entertainment. After a few years on television, she realized she had booming assets she can make use of to reach stardom. But contrary to expectations it was not as screen sexpot that she made her mark, Rufa became an awardwinning film and television actress as a comedienne.

So for that all important solo launch pad, it was probably decided to combine all that Rufa has. And these are the singing, she started out as a singer, her boobsie assets showcased via an all-low-cut wardrobe and sense of humor. Hence we have the film Booba directed by Joyce Bernal and the album, teasingly titled Rated R.

And Rated R it is indeed as Rufa goes to town with tunes like Jumbo (Jambalaya), Bitin Na Bitin, Ismael, My Darling (The More I See You), Mga Lalaki Sa Buhay Ko, Kiss Kita Sabay Hug, Lupaypay, Lalabas Na and others. Best of the lot is of course, Booba but Rufa Mae also acquits herself rather well with the mock serious pop ballad Para Sa Iyo. The production in terms of mix, arrangements and other things is mostly uneven but as she does in the most ridiculous of situations, Rufa Mae carries everything off with aplomb.

I do not recall if Marissa Sanchez was ever a regular in That’s Entertainment but she also probably moved in the same circle that Rufa Mae did where she was a young? Imelda Papin wanna-be with a pretty face. But as anybody who ever reached ansuccessfully for the brass ring will tell you, looks, talent and connections are not always enough to make a star. Luck and timing also count and if possible, a gimmick. In Rufa Mae’s case it is her fantastic figure. It is no different for Marissa, although in her case everything is doubly fantastic.

Marissa has always had a weight problem. Years of diet and exercise kept her trim for a while but keeping the excess pounds off was getting to be more and more difficult. And as everybody knows, Pinoys require their torch singing ladies to be able to fit into the gowns of Pilita Corrales. But instead of becoming her problem, Marissa decided to keep the pounds was on and add comedy to her xxxx. As a result, she has become a most in demand performer.

Her first album is titled Mag Date Na Tayo and it has songs like Fax Me, Ibaon Mo ng Todong Todo, X-Men, Ayan Na, Sige Pa, Dahan-dahanin Mo and others. That she is a good singer doesn’t hurt and she has serious moments like Don’t Forget Me. It also helps a lot that she has Andrew E., steering the production. The actor-rapper has become a competent producer even with non-hip hop numbers. His Dakota Nota for Marissa is simply-rip roaring although I cannot for the life of me recall having read or heard something that goes pluck your brains out as he wrote in If Only I Can.