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diversions:
cd review
Nikka Costa gives
something for everyone
By Alex Roman
On-line Forty-Niner
The success of
Lauryn Hill, Macy Gray and Erykah Badu has kicked open the
door for new soulful female artists to capitalize on a market
that had been extinct for some time.
On her new album
due out next month, "Everybody Got Their Something,"
on Cheeba Sound/Virgin Records America Inc., Nikka Costa not
only emerges as the next voice in the songstress market, but
also in many ways pushes music to another realm.
The 28-year-old
Costa is the daughter of Don Costa, noted arranger, producer
and composer for legends such as Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington
and Sarah Vaughan.
Costa began singing
at the age of five with Don Ho. She recorded her first album
at age seven and at the ripe old age of eight was opening
up for The Police.
Now Costa's smoky,
powerful and soulful voice seems to ooze out of the speakers
and into the soul, lifting one to her reality, both tortured
and beautiful.
"Everybody..."
is produced by Justin Stanley and Mark Ronson and fuses rock
and soul with funky beats, soulful melodies and a harder edge.
Ronson and Stanley
meld these forms together cleanly, as both the album's production
and sound are as flawless as Costa's vocals.
The sound of the
album is not quite that cut and dry however.
On the title cut,
a samba beat mixes with a riff that is an obvious nod to Sly
and the Family Stone's "If You Want Me To Stay,"
while Costa sings "Somehow I know there's a time for
every star to shine."
Ronson and Stanley's
production is further assisted by guest appearances by what
is probably one of the hottest production teams in music at
the moment, the Soulquarians' Ahmir "?uestlove"
Thompson, Pino Paladino and James Poyser, who have recently
worked on hit albums by D'Angelo, Jill Scott and Erykah Badu.
Meanwhile the vibe
of the album switches from laid back and soulful to hard-edged
and funky almost effortlessly as Costa's lyrics, though pained
at moments, can be uplifting.
On "Tug Of
War," Costa sings "My soul wants to go a long way
but my heart and mind are playing a tug of war with me baby."
Her delivery is
an example of the power and rawness with which she delivers
her words.
It is rare to be
able to enjoy a singer who is feeling what she is singing
so much that it actually can force a listener to feel it as
well.
What makes "Everybody
Got Their Something" so great is Costa's ability to create
a roller coaster ride of emotion, mixed with Ronson and Stanley's
near flawless production.
This 50-plus minute
album is an eye opener for anyone who is still moved by music
and not fads, as Costa seems to be pushing the doors opened
up by others just a little wider open.
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