Philadelphia-born poet Ursula Rucker's career began gradually, with guest appearances on dance productions by Josh Wink, King Britt, the Silent Poets, 4 Hero and the Roots. This led to her 2001 solo CD Supa Sista, on which she collaborated with artists such as Bahamadia, 4 Hero and Jazzanova. The latter two, like King Britt, the Roots and Lil Louie Vega, can be found on Silver Or Lead, a CD on which,
… following Supa Sista, Rucker's poetry about sexism and politics in the broadest sense of the word is accompanied by a moody trip-hop beat. . And that is where the problem lies. Rucker's recitation is too monotonous to take the accompaniment to the next level. On the opening track Damned If I Do she still gets away with it, but as Silver Or Lead progresses, she sounds more and more like a woman who just keeps whining on and on, when you actually want to listen to music. Only producer Lil Louie Vega of Masters At Work understood this correctly. By building a skilfully elaborated arrangement in the form of a cheerful Brazilian rhythm around her voice, he manages to save Release from monotony. (AD)more
