By Alan Cho
Have you sat down, turned on the radio or TV, and actually listened to what they call “rap music?” It seems since mega-producers like the Neptunes and Timbaland exploded into the cortex of the public consciousness, the emcees’ been drugged and left to smile at the pretty camera. Jay-Z’s debilitating dyslexia reached a zenith with his last album, 50 Cent enunciates as well as Don King after a stroke and Eminem spits corporate-approved inspirational music for children.
Who will lead the young aspiring emcees away from such banality?
A white girl from New York with platinum blonde hair has grabbed the mic and cemented her place as the saviour of emceeing with her fourth album Princess Superstar Is. The usual cliches and tropes of hip hop most emcees awkwardly fumble with are spun on their head and made anew by Concetta Kirschner, a.k.a Princess Superstar. Clever wordplay, outrageously ballsy humour and a critical look at the woman’s place in the world of hip-hop fill out the tracks, tongue placed firmly in her cheek.
Not that the album is burdened with academic pretension, Princess Superstar never lets things get too heavy. The punk flavor of her last few albums is dropped for a slinkier, sexier sound comfortable on a velvet dance floor.
Princess Superstar is unstoppable and with Princess Superstar Is she shows all the wannabes how it’s done.