Kid Sister Performs At Art Basel Event In Miami + Interview

Photos from the Kid Sister event:
Star Traks Photo

Tuesday 11/17 Street Date Album Reviews 50 Cent, Leona Lewis, Kid Sister And Rakim

via the New York Times

50 Cent 'Before I Self Destruct' (Shady/Aftermath/Interscope)

Taken as a whole this album has a pleasingly morbid tone, in keeping with the best moments from 50 Cent’s first two albums. But context is this album’s undoing. This summer he released a series of mixtapes and a book: both arrived, and disappeared, quietly. “Before I Self Destruct” is the ramblings of a stubborn heavyweight pushing retirement, not clever enough to replace declining agility with wit.



via the New York Daily News

Leona Lewis 'Echo' (J Records/Syco)
3 out of 5 stars

For Lewis' second swing at bat, she launched a makeover of her own, and not a moment too soon. "Echo" has a sense of fun, and a youthful vim, rarely on display on "Spirit." It's faster, harder and way catchier.

While "Spirit" favored flabby ballads, encouraging Lewis' naive will to show her chops, "Echo" focuses on trim, upbeat pop songs, inspiring in her a new sense of pith. She cut her showy melismas in half, hitting the melodies head on. Luckily, they're melodies worth hitting.



via the Los Angeles Times

Kid Sister 'Ultraviolet' (Downtown Music)
Three and a half stars (Out of four)

Chicago's hip-hop newcomer Kid Sister likes to talk up her girl-next-door appeal in interviews. While it's a safe bet that your neighbor isn't pals with Kanye West -- his DJ A-trak is Kid Sister's go-to producer -- "Ultraviolet" is brimming with the artist's down-to-earth candidness.

A two-time veteran of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Kid Sister's long-awaited debut is, first and foremost, an upbeat and futuristic club record. It also showcases her Midwestern work ethic and sense of humor. Over the ambient, Tangerine Dream-sampling "Let Me Bang," she's doing her laundry before hitting the dance floor, where she declares that she likes "to do it nice and slow." But don't get any ideas. "By that I mean my flow," she clarifies.



via the Los Angeles Times

Rakim 'The Seventh Seal' (Ra Records/Tuscan Villa/SMC Recordings)
Two and a half stars (Out of four)

The apotheosis of rap's first Golden Age, Rakim spent the lion's share of the 2000s mired in label purgatory at Dr. Dre's Aftermath Records. Sadly, the fruits of their collaboration remain unheard, with Rakim unwisely discarding the Dre beats in favor of a cast of mostly unknowns. Indeed, the "Seventh Seal" is undone by its boilerplate production -- rote drum patterns, predictable piano lines and antiseptic studio technique.

The rappers who have stayed artistically vital despite advancing age (Ghostface Killah, Scarface, Slick Rick) are champion storytellers who continue to burnish their craft. Rakim remains frustratingly opaque, with the brunt of his songs dedicated to rapping about rapping. The 41-year-old attempts to channel the ferocity of his Reagan-era rhymes while balancing a spiritual side ("Man Above") and romantic disposition ("You & I," "Psychic Love," "Still in Love.")

Source referenced articles:
NY Times - 50 Cent 'Before I Self Destruct' Album review
New York Post - Leona Lewis, 'Echo'
L.A. Times - Album review: Kid Sister's 'Ultraviolet'
L.A. Times - Album review: Rakim's 'The Seventh Seal'

Kid Sister: Kanye West And Estelle Lend A Hand On 'Ultraviolet'

via Spinner

After a lengthy delay, Chicago's Kid Sister will finally release her long-awaited debut album, 'Ultraviolet,' on Tuesday. "I'm putting on a pair of running shorts and I'm breaking through that tape," she tells Spinner, laughing.

The album was originally set to come out under the guise 'Dream Date' this past spring, but Kid Sister, aka Melissa Young, wasn't comfortable with the package at the time. "I heard things on the album that I wasn't proud of or didn't really gel for me," she says. "There were little quirks about it that I didn't particularly care for, so we just went back and polished it up and got some new stuff and made sure it was a really cohesive-sounding piece of work."

The polished up version still keeps old favorites, like her indie hip-hop breakthrough hit 'Pro Nails,' which features Kanye West, and a handful of new, clubbier tracks. "I added more up-tempo songs and some songs that show my versatility and my growth a little bit more without departing from the sound that makes me me," she says of the new additions. "It's just supposed be fun, pure fun, and we wanted to make it a cohesive-sounding project."

In making it more cohesive, Kid Sister went to work with a handful of super producers including Brian Kennedy (Rihanna's 'Disturbia') who tackled 'Daydreaming,' a cut that wouldn't be out of place on a Kylie Minogue record. Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso of house music super team Swedish Mafia took on 'Right Hand Hi' and Herve and Sindo turned on the heavy beats of 'Big and Bad.' Grammy-winner Estelle also makes a cameo on 'Step,' which an emerging producer took the reigns on.

"That was produced by Rusko, who is kind of at the forefront of the whole dubstep thing," she explains. "He's a friend of ours too so it was just kind of natural to get us all together."

Despite the lengthy wait for the release, Kid Sister is skipping a super-bash and opting for an event in the lanes on the day her album actually hits shelves.

"That's what I wanted to do, have the party in a bowling alley," she says. "That's what I like to do anyway. I'm a bowler. It doesn't have to be a special occasion for me to bowl."
(source)

Kid Sister 'Right Hand Hi' (Video)

Kid Sister - 'Ultraviolet' on Downtown/Fool's Gold in-stores November 17.

Shockhound interviews Kid Sister