Be warned: once you slot Constructus’s debut CD, The Ziggurat (African Dope), into your CD player and press play, your perception of hip-hop will never quite be the same again. Actually, any tendency towards hyperbole aside, listening to their 80-odd-minute, part sci-fi rap fantasy and part epic hip-hop fairytale is rather like being abducted by aliens and hyper-spaced through a sonic black hole on to some kind of forbidden planet populated by a succession of musical circus freaks. Think I’m kidding? The skewered broken beats and evangelist-preaching raps of self-made millionaire Rick Flare are sure to give you some serious pause for thought. Navigating your way through the looking glass, you also get to meet and greet those kooky adolescent ninja rappers Random Boy and Kidtronic, who guide you by the ears on a seriously blunted stroll down Long Street while doing a body-mutating dance called the Jellyfish! And at this juncture, your edification in sound has only just begun. The Ziggurat is more than just a mesmerising journey into the offbeat psycho-geography of South African hip-hop’s most quirky crew. To rhapsodise these rhymes as ‘deliriously lyrical” or the beatscapes as ‘mind-bendingly illbient” barely scrape beneath the surface of what is simply one of the most singular declarations of the power of hip-hop as a revolutionary art form. Actually, fuck all the words, it already comes packaged in its own hand-written and -illustrated hardcover book. Just listen and learn.
Faith Hill: Cry (Warner)
This multimedia-enhanced album won Hill a Grammy for best female country vocal performance (1999’s Breathe won three). But don’t expect country in the cowpoke-Dolly Parton sense — this is country crossing over into clever, calculated diva pop, sometimes with a dash of R&B, with songs crafted by Nashville’s best writers and Hill’s strong vocals leaving a lasting impression. Sometimes the love’s too much, like on the soppy ballad When the Lights Go Down, but mostly Hill is a hit. — Riaan Wolmarans
Janis Joplin: The Essential Janis Joplin (Sony)
There are not many singers around whose voices can match the texture and visceral power of Joplin’s. Here are two CDs with 30 tracks by the Sixties rock icon, including previously unreleased live versions of To Love Somebody and Kozmic Blues, recorded at Woodstock in 1969. It’s a compact introduction to the magic of Joplin for newcomers and a neat collection of great moments for her fans. The first CD has a more playful feel, opening with the upbeat folk of Down on Me and including the foot-tapping blues of Women Is Losers and the singalong Piece of My Heart. CD two is more introspective and emotional, with the slow, regretful sounds of Maybe, the laidback blues of Work Me, Lord and the heartfelt A Woman Left Lonely, to name a few. It also has, quite unnecessarily, a dance mix of Mercedes Benz, included like a hasty afterthought. An essential collection indeed. — Riaan Wolmarans
Various: Rock 2003 (EMI)
A lively, likeable collection of tracks ranging from Coldplay, Turin Breaks, Supergrass, The Vines, The Music and Richard Ashcroft to Audio Bullys and Röyksopp. It’s more inventive and original than the usual rock-hits-of-the-moment collection. — Riaan Wolmarans