Hip-hop’s First Lady returns

Rock has returned to the hit charts with a vengeance and it has become difficult for hip-hop releases to make the grade these days. Pinoys have always been selective as far as hip-hop music is concerned. Not everything that sells in the US also sells here. Despite this, there are still some hip-hop artists I make it a point to listen to, assured with the knowledge that genuine music talent lies beneath the studio gimmickry and street dissing. One of these is the truly noteworthy Faith Evans, who recently released an album entitled The First Lady.

Before you start thinking it was quite presumptuous of Evans to title her new album The First Lady, please remember that she is the widow of rap artist Notorious B.I.G. Now, Biggie was gunned down during a heated battle among hip-hop acts and their producers, Bad Boy Records and Death Row Music some years ago. B.I.G. was a big star in the realm of rap and Faith was transformed into legend as grieving widow. After this, she began to be referred to as the First Lady of Rap.

The incident propelled Evans to the forefront of the music business. Even her joining then Puff Daddy in I’ll Be Missing You, the big selling version of the Police’s Every Breath I Take was in homage to her late husband. However, it also identified her totally with hip-hop, which was quite unfair because Faith was already making a name for herself as an R&B artist excelling in jazz, gospel and even Motown soul before the death of B.I.G. So while everybody suddenly knew who Faith Evans was, it was only as the widow of Notorious B.I.G. and not through her music.

But widows, even first ladies eventually move on to live their own lives. This is what Faith has done. First came her Platinum album Faithfully from three years ago. Sweetly soulful, the album reestablished Faith on her own with tunes like I Love You, Don’t Cry and Brand New Man. Then she left Bad Boy Records and joined the more mainstream Capitol label. Then she recorded The First Lady, an album that stays true to her husband’s hip-hop legacy but which also allows her to explore other aspects of R&B music.

The First Lady is Evans’ highest charting release with No. 2 ranking in the Billboard 200 album chart and sales of 157,000 copies when it hit the stores last May. Best cuts are the infectious Goin’ Out featuring Pharrell and Pusha T, the Motown-dipped Mesmerized and the sexy Until You Came. Teens however are rediscovering Faith via the soundtrack of Coach Carter. That one includes the hip-hop hit Hope by Twista which features Faith. The track is also included in The First Lady plus Again, I Don’t Need It, Stop N Go, Tru Love, Jealous, Ever Wonder featuring Mario Winans, Catching Feelings, Get Over You, and Lucky Day.

Video hit list

Hip-hop has not been doing well in the local hit lists for some months now. In fact, the only rap tune I hear on the radio is Black Eyed Peas’ Don’t Lie and the only album that manages to hit the top 20 is Monkey Business also by the Black Eyed Peas. I have no cause for complaints though, not when I find the recordings by Filipino artists doing so much better than the foreigners.

From MYX, the Filipino music channel, here is the video hit list for Aug. 20 to 26: The Day You Said Goodnight by Hale; Gemini by Sponge Cola; Stay by Cueshé; First by Lindsay Lohan; Someday (I Will Understand) by Britney Spears; Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day; Break You by Marion Raven; Behind These Hazel Eyes by Kelly Clarkson; Makaaasa Ka by Rivermaya; All I Need by Side A; I Want to Know What Love Is by Sarah Geronimo; End of Me by Marion Raven; Cool by Gwen Stefani; Cater 2 U by Destiny’s Child; Helena by My Chemical Romance; Make a Move by Incubus; Lose Control by Missy Elliott; Don’t Lie by Black Eyed Peas; Wordplay by Jason Mraz; and Fix You by Coldplay.