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Beat Street

The Notorious B.I.G. Duets: The Final Chapter

Virgin Records, CD, Rs. 395

I have not and will never be too much of a fan of gangsta' rap, which is the case I expect with much of the music-listening population anywhere outside of the U.S. After all, this is a form of music that is an integral part of the street culture there, and one that fails to capture the more universal values that other mainstream music styles such as rock and pop manage.

That said, however, I must also admit that the little I have listened to of the rap greats such as Dr. Dre, Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. has had a certain appeal. After all, under all the bravado and machismo that these artistes exuded, there lay a grain of truth and a fleeting sense of vulnerability that one certainly cannot be moved by.

Which is why (though I will not rant and rail about it), the latest B.I.G. tribute album leaves me with a distinctly unpleasant sense of selling out. Unlike the posthumous Tupac albums which brought to the public much of his previously-unreleased material, Duets is simply a rehash of many of B.I.G.'s most famous tracks hidden under a somewhat slimy layer of slick production and unending cameos by guest rappers. The guest list for the album is an amazing line-up that includes everyone from Diddy, Eminem, Nas and 2Pac to Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans and even Korn.

However, as is predictable with such a star-heavy cast of performers, the main purpose of paying tribute to B.I.G. is lost. In fact, most of the songs feature only a brief appearance by the man, while two songs manage to keep him out entirely. And as if realising that his absence is conspicuous, every artist tries to work the tribute angle into every song, resulting in a farce that stinks to high heaven of opportunism.

But, for those who've never heard a single song of B.I.G. and are looking for a feel of gangsta' rap, this album might suffice. There are a couple of highlights here, such as "Living In Pain", "1970 Somethin'" and "Hold Ya Head". The first song features the powerful rap stylings of 2Pac and Nas bridged by a wonderfully haunting chorus by Mary J. Blige, while the second has Faith Evans and The Game make magic over a piano-rich background. The last meshes together an upbeat Bob Marley chorus with B.I.G.'s heavy, bleak verses.

Rakesh Mehar

Sugama Sangeeta: Sri Mysore

Ananthaswamy

Prasar Bharati, CD, Rs. 195

Having to work with outdated or inadequate technology is, ordinarily, nothing to celebrate. But as you listen to this compilation of the All India Radio recordings of the late Mysore Ananthaswamy (a pioneer of the sugama sangeeta tradition in Kannada), you realise what a blessing so-called primitive technology can sometimes prove!

The songs composed and sung by Ananthaswamy in this compilation are recorded in mono (since All India Radio doesn't give any other option) and do not have even a whiff of the synthesiser anywhere (since they mostly use the staff artistes of AIR). And it is for this very reason that you actually pay so much more attention to the lyrics and the distinct nature of Ananthaswamy's voice and style of composition.

The CD opens with Lakshminarayana Bhatta's well-known composition on nature, "Ee Baanu ee Chukki... ". The easy-flowing tune reflects the sense of wonder the poem reflects, with no more than a few violins and tabla for accompaniment. The second song by Doddarangegowda, "Male Banda Marane Dina", which describes the freshness in air the day after a rainy night, continue in the same mood, with the flute adding to the mood.

With Da.Ra. Bendre's famous "Naari Ninna Maari Myaala" the tone turns playful and naughty. "Antharangada Mridanga", again by Bendre, is quite a contrast to it, marked by a solemn inwardness, with sweeping violins accentuating the feeling. The two songs, at once, reflect the enormous range of the poet and the possibilities they offer a sensitive composer.

Of the other songs in the collection, a good number are romantic reveries, including Itagi's "Ninna Hesare Heluvanthe" and "Nagu Nanna Nalle". The later is interesting because it is by Gopalakrishna Adiga, the pioneer of the modernist poetic tradition in Kannada, and is completely unlike his better-known poems. Equally interesting is K.S. Narasimhaswamy's "Anthintha Hennu" because, unlike the playful version of it by the legendary Kalinga Rao, this is mellow and romantic. The tape closes with the folk song "Ele Kempi Bare", a duet he sings with his student M.K. Jayashri, whose name isn't mentioned in the inadequate sleeve notes.

This tape surely doesn't present the best of Ananthaswamy, since it is exclusively from AIR achieves. This, by definition, excludes his celebrated numbers — all the Ratnana Padas, songs from Makkuthimmana Kagga, T.P. Kailasam's naughty compositions and those from his cassettes such as Nityotsava. (Nisar Ahmed's Nityotsava was, incidentally, the first ever bhavageete cassette made in Kannada.) But for a hint of it in "Omme Nakku Nanna Nagisu", none of the songs in this collection reflect one significant part of Ananthaswamy's style — a certain western twist he lent to some of his best songs such as "Madikeri Mel Manju".

But this lack of range is more than compensated by the sheer starkness and simplicity of the songs this CD offers — something sorely missed in most of today's sugama sangeeta tapes.

BAGESHREE S.

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