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:::Music Review:::
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Underground Special:
Goapele – Comin’ Where I’m From
by William Ashanti Hobbs
author and co-owner of Meroen Press
January 2004
"She sho’ll smiling hard. Where is this here place?"
my Granny asked, looking at Goapele’s CD cover. Then
she tried to pronounce the name: "Goh- Peel? Where the
hell’s that?"
I had to laugh; when I first saw the
flyer, I too imagined it to be some mystical tourist
mecca somewhere near Jamaica where women that look
like the one on the cover sit on pristine shores
eating mangoes in slow motion and getting you in
trouble with your other half because you can’t help
but to look, then I figured it to be a mix CD of
dancehall music.
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I pronounced the name: "Gwah-pelay,
Granny. It’s Gwah-pelay. She’s an artist I’m
reviewing." "Hmmh," Granny snorted, "sound
like a damn Jamaican fruit. You and your damn nappy dreadlock friends…"
Goapele came to me from a friend who knows my love for
music and how I can be as much of hard-ass as my
Granny when critiquing things.
So here goes my first
underground review: Goapele is a west coast artist
(likely to be pegged neo-soul) looking to make a name
for herself. As underground as she may be, somebody
damn sure believes in her; "Closer", the first song,
is to be featured on the soundtrack of the new movie
"Honey."
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Goapele’s voice has a bird-like warmth that
reminds you of Amel Larrieux. "Closer" is seductive and
obvious as to why someone would have it in a movie.
It’s only weakness in fact is a keyboard that sounds
cheap and Radio Shack-ish, making the cut only a step
above demo.
It isn’t until "Got it" that the album begins to shake
of its sluggish, demo status. Here, the fruit of the
Cali neo soul scene samples some serious,
crip-walkable west coast funk. Although the
arrangement is slight on some bass, Goapele’s lead and
background vocals and command of the track is fairly
on target for such a sonic piece. "Romantic" is the
dead on piece that will put this singer over the top.
It’s a laid back, uninhibited neo-soul number that can
be the standard for the classiest exotic dancers from
the Casa Rosso in Amsterdam to Rio de Janeiro’s
Barbarella. The production, delivery, and edginess
brought out in Goapele’s virtuous voice is compelling.
"Too much of the same" solidifies the reflective
constant in the album. It adds more depth to the
typical broken relationship/men ain’t **** lyrical
content in most songs these days. The soft, mellow
keys set a pensive tone for a tale of two hard-headed
people playing a game of chicken in the road of love.
Relaxed enough to be poetry café – friendly.
Goapele’s style keeps a sunny face, but is anchored in
such a wise and concentrated center that it may find
a home with mature crowds that go for Cassandra Wilson
type jazz moreso than youthful Alicia Keyes-typed
styling. It makes the marriage the beauty makes with
the volatile nature of hip hop tenuous. (Goapele is
supposed to be working with E40 on a track for his
upcoming album. Cross your fingers.) "The Days" is an
example. The muddy demo style works best for her with
neo-soul. Here, the hip beat’s smothered almost to
vintage Wu-Tang level. The ruggedness of that and the
empathetic tale of hustling for a better life by
slingin’ rocks clashes and seems best as the jewel to
a soundtrack to a straight to video movie. "Things
Don’t Exist" has the complexity in chords of a Stevie
Wonder in his "The Secret Life of Plants" phase. This
is the one India.Arie missed (and needed) in her last
album. Goapele’s voice sparkles and is not weighted
down by reverb, but upheld by it. Flashes of
impressive poetic focus are clear: "In my fear I
feel/We’re seas apart in old Worlds/ We begin in
vibrant colors/ but one off thing is said and I dread
it."
Even Closer gives the impression of being a sophomore
album in that Goapele is already pushing beyond
"neo-soul" categories as if already impatient with the
music industry’s marketing machine. The ambition works
both for and against her in the strangest ways. For
instance, "Salvation" sounds like at least two
thoughtful enough songs weaved on as the extensions of
an elusive concept. Her voice does an admirable job of
hiding the glue and the tracks. By "Back to You," that
sweet, snake charmer of a voice seems iron-fisted in
not letting the instrumentals of her music help her
set the atmosphere. Here, a sax solo would work well
to make the most of the innocence in her voice.
The next two prove to be more successful attempts of
past experiments. "Butterflykisses" does a better job
of the tempo and melodic changes than "Salvation." It
has a Spyro-Gyro feel which forces you to recognize
its impressive, fusion-jazz-like craftsmanship even
if you’re not mature enough to fully appreciate it.
"It Takes More" is a better meeting of the talents
concerning Goapele and hip hop. Though more R&B based
musically, she serves delicious, self-reproaching
lyrics about the breakdown of the black community in
raising children. Thus, creating potentially violent
thugs "you’d never give your real name to."
"Red, White and Blues" shows a turning of the corner
for Goapele stylistically. Again that bird-like voice
goes after an edginess that cannot be attained without
the full support of her accompanying musicians. A
guitar solo is the first assist Goapele allows in
arguing with her the crisis of the state of American
society and politics. As radiant and engaging as she
is, you’d expect a more upbeat ending, perhaps a sweet
outro would work. Ah, found that outro at the end, and
as short as it is, it does make you impatient for
whatever fruit Goapele has next to offer.
For info:
www.goapele.com
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