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M People's Elegant Slumming (Epic) inspired much stupid talk when it snuck off with Britain's prestigious Mercury Prize last year, and if you too think disco sucks, read no further. Everybody else, do what the judges must have--run it through your head a few times, put it aside for a day, and then concentrate. I personally guarantee that every tune, every beat will present itself as an old friend you hadn't known you missed. The music, by DJ Michael Pickering and bassist Paul Heard, is spare, deep, tricky; the vocals, by diva Heather Small, are rich, soulful, commanding. Not an especially ambitious achievement, granted. Just a flawless one.
Two New York crews with best-selling debuts have toughened their follow-up message without brutalizing it. Digable Planets' Blowout Comb (Pendulum/EMI) emphasizes Afrocentrism and gets a jazzy groove from live musicians. FU-Schnickens' Nervous Breakdown (Jive) shifts focus from kung fu movies to the East Flatbush streets and pulls out the stops on Sum Dum Monkey, as technically breathtaking a rap as you could hope to hear.
Playboy, Jan. 1995
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Nov. 1994 | Feb. 1995 |  |