Newspaper Page Text
Monday, March 30, 1998
THE MAROON TIGER
PAGE 13
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Kia Phillips Swings her Way to Success
by Deisha T. Galbreth
Contributing Writer
Clark-Atlanta University's
own Kia Phillips, of bass music
duo KP & Envyi, has fame and
notoriety dangling from her
fingertips.
Twenty-two year old "KP"
(as she prefers to be called) is
a native Atlantan and
graduate of local Benjamin E.
Mays High School. Presently
a graduating senior in early
childhood education, KP is
also part of a group called The
Kaperz on Legacy Records.
As a member of The
Kaperz in high school, KP was
surrounded by high profile
performers like Jermaine
Dupri on a regular basis.
Surprisingly though, her
interest in music
entertainment evolved slowly
but surely.
"Now I like a whole lot of
music, not just rap, R&B or
bass—I like almost anything
that anyone tries to do," said
Phillips.
KP & Envyi's single
"Swing My Way" was chosen
by Black Market Inc. to be
featured on the compilation
album for Elektra Records
entitled "Rhythm and Quad
166."
While KP has discovered
fame and popularity, she is
faced with new obstacles to
overcome. How does she
balance academics and a
recording career? How is she
successful in both?
"It's not really hard, but
it's a whole lot of work," sai
KP. She is also fortunate t
have very understandin
professors who appreciat
what she is trying to do am
help her keep up with he
school work.
"[These professors are not]
saying that I can miss class,"
she said. "But, if I do miss a
day, they understand and I still
have to do all my work."
She often gets home from
the studio late at night with a
lot of homework to do. A
typical weekend with KP
might include a number of
shows, then getting home at 4
a.m. and still making it to her
8:00 class. Few students have
her dedication and drive.
According to KP, the
hardest part is when
something important is going
on in both her academic and
musical life, r
"The two coincide a lot,"
she explains. "It's hard to meet
with my group for a class
project and be on a plane to
New York at the same time."
KP and Envyi, with Clark
Atlanta's Kia Phillips on the
right.
Once, she was even
interviewed via telephone in a
hallway while listening to her
professor lecture at the same
time.
KP's mother, recent CAU
grad Bertha Phillips-Furcon, is
"very supportive" of her
newfound success.
"One of the things that
makes me feel good about
[KP] is that [she is] a believer
in the Supreme Being and His
ability to give them the desires
of their hearts," said Phillips-
Furcon.
KP's father recently
passed and she has erected
her career goal in his honor.
"I've been in the business
for a long time, so I plan on
staying in it ...when I get my
first lump sum of money,
g instead of buying a recording
studio like most artists, the
= first thing I will do is make a
ta huge learning center and
| name it after my dad," she
3. said.
C/5
g "Swing My Way" became
O number two on the Billboard
^ Hot Rap Singles Chart after
only nine weeks. The single
has surpassed gold status and
sells about 100,000 copies bi
weekly.
KP & Envyi are now
working on a promotional
Class Dismissed: “01 Skool” almost Flunks out
By Johnathan Howard
Associate A&E Editor
The current R&B scene is
chock full of three- or four-
member male groups that take
us down the same road of lost
love, i.e. "I want you back
baby" and "love you down"
songs.
Now, along comes Ol
Skool — a group that promises
to take you back to the good
oT days of soul. However,
they fail in their valiant
(though badly-crafted)
attempt.
The album is produced by
Keith Sweat, which assures the
listener that there will be an
obligatory amount of begging
and pleading. Ol Skool gives
you exactly that on nearly
every single track.
Their vocal ability also
leaves much to be desired.
These brothers sound like the
four guys who came in second
place at your high school
talent show. Their vocal
training must consist of
singing lessons from someone
named Ms. Jenkins and
harmonizing along with Jodeci
on the radio.
There are few high points
on this debut album, but even
the decent songs are lacking. Dreaming." "Dreaming" is
They become so full of one of the better slow jams of
synthesized drum beats and the year. But the question is :
heavy bass =a
w
that you
eventually
lose the
lyrics.
This,
though, is
no great
loss. Lyrical
gems such
as "...we can
get kinky"
and "...feel
my nature
rise"
proliferate
the album.
And just when you thought it
couldn't get any more cliched,
one of the members shouts,
"Ol Skool, can you hear me
sing?" Sheer poetry!
To match the lyrical
wizardry, there's "Come with
Me," an ode to the 3:00 a.m.
booty call. The album does get
better as it nears the end. Both
"It Won't Let Go" and "Don't
be Afraid" are the compulsory
"uptempo jams with guest
rapper (place name here)."
Ol Skool slightly redeems
themselves with "Touch You"
and their first single "Am I
Ol Skool's promising future disappears in a self-
titled LP with a prototype sound.
Does the song work because of
Ol Skool, or because Xscape
and Keith Sweat are featured
vocalists? I wasn't the only
one who didn't even hear Ol
Skool in the verses.
Ol Skool, true to their
name, bring nothing new to
the music scene except four
fresh faces. If your music
collection ranges from R&B to
... well... R&B, you may want
to pick up Ol Skool's self-titled
CD. For those whose musical
tastes do vary, your fifteen
dollars might be better spent
elsewhere.
tour, new video and an R&B
remix of "Swing My Way." The
new video will have an
entirely different format with
Envyi singing mostly and KP
rapping at the end.
The duo recently
performed at an Atlanta Glory
basketball game and appeared
on BET's Teen Summit and
Soul Train. They are also
talking about going on tour as
an opening act for Immature.
KP asks that Atlanta
University Students continue
to support her by buying their
single and the album.
"A lot of people have come
up to me and said 'I like your
video' or 'I just bought your
single.' Stuff like that really
keeps me going," she said.
Xaught Up" in a Mediocre Soundtrack
Personally, I'm tired of seeing the "black man who goes
to jail — gets out and tries to do the right thing - falls into a
different trap" movies. Somehow, between adulterous divas
(Waiting to Exhale), murderous home girls (Set It Off) and
black buffoonery (Senseless), we get a locked up bruh - trying
to go right — ends up going wrong again in Caught Up. At
least the others had better soundtracks.
Don't get me wrong, Caught Up has a few decent tracks
on it. DJ's Quik and Premier, True Master (Wu-Tang), and
Jermaine Dupri bring star power to the album. But please,
don't get caught up in the production or the flashy names.
The songs may actually pace the movie and push along the
action but the only thing it made me push was the 'eject'
button on my JVC.
Snoop Doggy Dogg and Kurupt perform the title track
"RideOn/Caught Up." It has an infectious beat but
characteristic of much of Snoop’s music in the post-Dr. Dre
era, it's light on the rhymes. Guru and DJ Premier, in the
company of Pete Rock, Terminator X (and Eric B. when it
comes to beats), does not disappoint on "Work" while Joe’s
”U should Know me" proves that Mr. Thomas is well on his
way to R&B stardom.
The tracks by Do or Die featuring Danny Boy and
Johnny P ("All in the Club"), Lost Boyz ("Ordinary Guyz"),
Luniz featuring Daz and Kurupt ("My Buddy") and Killah
Priest featuring Inspectah Deck and the GZA ("Cross my
Heart") solidly round out the middle of the album. This is
where Caught Up begins its downward spiral.
Imagine a song where Mad Lion sounds like Dikembe
Mutumbo and sings an old hook by the Bangles. That’s track
number nine ("Ey-Yo"). How about a girl with a "for studio
only" tag on her voice singing a song with MC Lyte rapping
a few bars? That's song number twelve ("I Like”). "1 Like"
will probably get some airplay because studio-only voices
are "in" these days (T-Boz, Total, etc). A group named "O"
sings the soundtrack's last song. Oh <sigh>.
If you are a West Coast fan, then this is the soundtrack
for you. Throw up W's and pump it up to your heart's
content. However, even though I don't like a lot of West
Coast, I have a hard time believing that Snoop, Daz, Kurupt,
Luniz and Mack 10 are the only westside groups worth
putting on a soundtrack. What about Ice Cube? The
Pharcyde? Dr. Dre? WhoRidas? For God’s sake, there is a
group named "O" on the soundtrack!
Caught Up walks a thin line between mediocrity and
potential. Unfortunately, potential does not guarantee
record sales.
—Brian L. Thompson
