Kid Sister: New/Old Album Reviewed (Not!)

New release date for Ultraviolet Nov.17 - a year after the originally slated release date. So we're going to go ahead and tell you about Dream Date.

By Blurt Staff

So we were all set to review, like, ages ago, Kid Sister's new album Dream Date (Downtown) then got the word from the rap diva's handlers that it had been reworked, with some tracks being removed and new material cut, and that an Oct. 6 date was now planned.

That, it turns out, has also been changed. The latest info is that the album is being called Ultraviolet and that it will be released Nov. 17. According to Downtown: "The album features the new white-hot single "Right Hand Hi", produced by Swedish House Mafia's Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso, as well as the now infamous track, "Pro Nails" featuring Kanye West. The album boasts collaborations with Estelle and Cee-Lo and musical production by A-Trak, XXXchange, Count & Sinden, Rusko and DJ Gant-Man among others."

She'll be undertaking a handful of concert dates in October and November, full itinerary below.

Meanwhile, since we are kinda tired of hanging on to this old review of the album and have an entirely new review in the works, we figured why not go ahead and let you see what we thought of Dream Date  in its original incarnation. It was penned by ace wordsmith Jonah Flicker. Enjoy!

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Is "guilt by association," hereby known as GBA, a valid concept? The American people (well, a slim majority, anyway) chose to ignore the intentional issue muddling perpetrated by the Republican Party, via accusations of "palling around" with Bill Ayers, and elected Barack Obama president. Verdict: over-hyped GBA. Kid Sister, on the other hand, surely hopes to benefit by palling around with Kanye West and DJ A-Trak. Kanye's presence on her debut album is minimal, allowing her talents to stand mostly alone, with crucial support from producers including Spank Rock, XXXChange, and Trackademicks. The GBA verdict is still out on this one, but the American people will soon decide.

Kid Sister's rhyming style is buoyant and effusive, as she allows her mood to burst forth in a bubbling cadence peppered with vocal dips and dives. "Family Reunion," a nostalgia track featuring David Banner, is evidence of this, as visions of barbecues get her singing - one of several instances on the album. It's also one of the few traditional hip-hop tracks on Dream Date. The majority of the record consists of banging, up-tempo, garage-house club numbers. "Life on TV," "Control," and "Pro Nails" (featuring Kanye in a throwaway verse) flaunt acid bass and stuttering drums as the bedrock for Sister's rapping. The acid house rhythm of "Beeper" may be modern, but the technology embraced isn't - if you aren't running drugs on The Wire, rocking a beeper is just a gimmick. But she seems to be keeping it relatively real, admitting on "Let Me Bang" that what really makes her happy is "a fresh box of donuts and a sundae, start my diet Monday, I'm-a get around to it one day..."

She may not yet be 30, but Kid Sister has found her niche in the old-school electro neighborhood of hip-hop, popularized when she was just a baby. It doesn't matter, though, because she sounds and looks good updating these classic sounds. Near the album's end, she plays Queen Latifah to British rapper Estelle's Monie Love on a reinterpretation of the classic "Ladies First." The playing field may be limited these days, but Kid Sister is leading the female hip-hop renaissance in terms of creativity and legitimacy. Let's see how far she can take it.

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Tour Dates:

MON 10/19        VANCOUVER, BC        Venue*
TUE 10/20        SEATTLE, WA            Neumos*
WED 10/21        PORTLAND, OR            Holocene*
THUR 10/22        SAN FRANCISCO, CA       Rickshaw Stop*
FRI 10/23            COSTA MESA, CA        Detroit Bar*
SAT 10/24          LOS ANGELES, CA        Echoplex*
SUN 11/8             AUSTIN, TX            Fun Fun Fun Fest
WED 11/25          CHICAGO, IL            House of Blues
FRI 11/27             NEW YORK, NY            Webster Hall                                                               SAT 11/28          TORONTO, ON            Mod Club
*w/ Flosstradamus