Word: hip-hop
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...Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding estimates the fraction of immigrants who attend mosque at a mere 10%, many American blacks, with converts' zeal, memorize verse after verse of the Koran and are extremely serious about Islamic injunctions against premarital sex, abortion and alcohol. Most also shun MTV, Hollywood films, hip-hop and dancing. Such social conservatism also translates politically: the tally of Bush votes among African-American Muslims was 25% higher than in black America as a whole. The community is thoroughly patriotic: W.D. Muhammad sometimes leads his flock in the Pledge of Allegiance before worship. And although...
Branch has obviously benefited greatly from the adroit producing hands of Jeff Shanks, who straps Branch’s voice and guitar centre stage, underscoring with hip-hop beats, richly textured orchestrations and densely ethereal atmospherics. Shanks gives a decidedly varied spin to jangle/folk-rock, but does almost too much; throughout, you wish he’d get out of the way and just let the kid sing. It’s a testament to Branch’s musical poise that she doesn’t get lost in the over-zealous mix. That said, the pairing of rolling acoustic...
...purrs like Isaac Hayes and screams like Jay Hawkins. He slips from quoting a standard hymn--"Just as I am, without one plea/but that Thy blood was shed for me"--almost straight into hip-hop: "Transform me/Translate me/I release you to rearrange me/Are you willing to be changed?" He does this without warning or acknowledgement. (If you miss one riff, don't worry, there will be another one along in moments.) And however leisurely Jakes' presentation may seem, each sermon eventually reveals itself as perfectly calibrated and balanced, cohering into an often exquisite extended metaphor...
...young and black; she also stands out because of the range of people for whom she can make such homes. When she started her business in 1994, most of her customers were wealthy African Americans. Since then, her clientele has diversified. Her work on the several homes of hip-hop entrepreneur Andre Harrell is masculine, bold and warm. She uses classic pieces but freshens them with brazen upholstery or colors. The home she made for Eileen and Peter Norton, of Norton Utilities fame, is more eclectic, incorporating the Nortons' vast and pluralistic art collection, but it's not jumbled...
...mind. Maxwell's laid-back CD Now lacks the fire and immediacy its title seems to promise, but the immaculate production and Maxwell's thoughtful, nuanced vocals raise the album above standard R.-and-B. fare. Bilal's smart debut, 1st Born Second, has an admirably adventurous spirit, blending hip-hop, scat, reggae and rock. On a few tracks, Bilal's eclectic musical vision flies out of control, but on the best songs, such as Sometimes, he conjures up gritty grooves that keep his spacey melodies tethered securely to planet Earth...