Electrifying

Ursula Rucker w/ Tim Motzer
Jazz Cafe, London
08/10/2003

“The revolution will not be televised”. But maybe it’ll happen at the Jazz Cafe©. Philadelphia’s spoken-word queen, Ursula Rucker, performed at the famous Camden venue, leaving a spellbound audience dreaming of a less ignorant world. Recently, Ursula released her second album, Silver or Lead, dropping poetical science over progressive Hip Hop and future jazz rhythms crafted by the likes of 4 Hero and Jazzanova. Firmly regarded as the hottest poet on wax, Ursula first won hearts with her collaborations with Philly’s finest, the Roots, now she sells out in advance, overseas at the Jazz Cafe, whose audience was treated to a rare reading of Ursula’s tales of racism, sexism, heartbreak and loss, accom- panied by collaborator and producer, Tim Motzer. Armed with two guitars, an Akai sampler and pedals, Tim replayed the layers of music which accompanied Ursula’s recordings, sampling everything but pre-programmed beats to create a wall-of- sound. Ursula’s voice is captivatingly, her delivery succinct and articulate, whilst rhythmically on point. Her words are sincere, steeped in true Hip Hop culture, yet not cliched, and are extremely personal. To paraphrase Ursula herself, she isn’t doing this to hear the sound of her own voice, this is her fucking life!

Oliver Brunetti, London Student Culture