专辑简介

by Alex Henderson

Rap purists, much like jazz purists, can be extremely protective of their genre--they're always fearful that people from the pop, rock or dance worlds will corrupt their music and water it down. But truth be told, not every commercial performer who incorporates hip-hop elements has sinister motives; in many cases, they're simply acknowledging an art form they admire and respect. This 1992 debut by Belgium's AB Logic shouldn't be judged by hardcore rap standards because it never pretends to be hardcore rap. Comparable to the C&C Music Factory, Technotronic and Snap, AB Logic uses rapping for club-minded purposes--not to chronicle the challenges of life in the ?hood. This CD must be judged by dance-pop standards instead of hardcore rap standards, and from a dance-pop standpoint, AB Logic's first album is highly engaging. Throughout the disc, AB Logic favors a rapping/singing contrast--K-Swing is the aggressive rapper who handles the verses, while Marianne is the female vocalist who sings the choruses. And together, the two of them provide a lot of infectious grooves (with the help of Belgian producer Peter Gillis). Anyone who spent a lot of time listening to C&C, Snap and Technotronic in the early ?90s should have no problem getting into infectious, ultra-energetic tracks like "Turn Up the Music," "Get Up (Move Boy Move)" and "The Hitman". Most of the material is extremely danceable, although AB Logic slows things down on "Sea of Love" (a haunting gem that successfully combines pop-rap and Euro-pop). Again, AB Logic's work shouldn't be judged by the same standards one would apply to Public Enemy or Big Daddy Kane because that isn't what they're going for. But from a club perspective, AB Logic's debut is among the strongest dance/rap outings of the early ?90s.