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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 1995)
Summer’s hottest rap is explosive School’s back in session, and that means summer’s about over. But for those of you who missed it or just plain got lost looking for the latest hip-hop albums, here’s a rundown of this summer’s hottest. We started with a bunch of old friends like Naughty By Nature, 2Pac and King Tee. Three groups seemed to favor a mellow flow this summer. King Tee had the funk (“Dippin”), 2Pac was retrospective (“Dear Mama”) and Treach was still Trcach. Masta Ace was a personal favorite with more of the laid-back groove and lyrical flow to match. The Wu-Tang Clan is still repre sented with 01’ Dirty Bastard’s “The Return of the 36 Chambers.” He cre ated quite a stir with his single “Shimmy, Shimmy Ya” that sported the chorus, “Oooh, baby I like it raw,” which some said referred to sex. ODB says he was referring to hip-hop. Following the success of the ODB came another oflthe year’s fattest al bums, Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cu ban Linx,” which entered the Bill board album charts at No. 3. This is a must-have! Speaking of must-haves, ifyou want the most real hip-hop since Nas, check out “The Infamous” ^Mobb Deep. These Queens teens come with track after track of dope cuts with a gritty New York edge. Soundtracks abound! We started the summer with “New Jersey Drive” and the Dr. Dre-produced “Friday.” The hottest new tunes are flying off Russell Simmons’ “The Show,” not to mention Coolio’s “Gangsta’s Para dise” from “Dangerous Minds.” The West Coast was well-repre sented in the summer of’95. Ice Cube protege Mack 10 finally dropped his album. The Luniz kept the Bay going strong. MC Breed came back as the “Big Bal ler” while AMG was “Bal lin ’ Outta Control”. The biggest West Coast attack came just last week as the Twinz and the Dove Shack albums were released. Warren G productions strikes again! Once again back in New York, ' Grand Puba will blow you away with his second album that includes a guest rap by Lord Jammar. Word has it that Brand Nubian is set to reunite and drop a new album. On a quick dance hall tip, Shabba Ranks’ “A Mi Shabba”'Mad Lion’s “Real Ting” and Shaggy’s “Boombastic” were this summer’s bombs. The queen of the pack, Patra, just released her new album last week. Expect it to be a good one. Thd fall should bring out some fat albums. Roundingouf August, wg hope to see Souls of Mischief-for the sec ond time. Anyone *who’s heard AZ’s “Sugarhill” is eagerly awaiting his debut in late September, as well as Wu-Tang’s “The Genius” about the same time. KRS-ONE and Onyx are also on the board for new albums. October holds in store tentative DAS EFX, Erick Sermon, Ice T and the Pharcyde. Although the buzz is still out on the Dr. Dre/Ice Cube album, the next Dre produced album we’ll probably see is The D.O.C. “No One Can Do It Bat ter,” finally back and sporting a grav elly voice after throat Surgery. Jay Calderon/DN Lee Nickolite talks with one of his pit-crew members after competing in the demolition derby at the Nebraska State Fair Saturday night. H was Nickolite’s seventh derby. Playing in the mud Demolition derby a !smashing ’ success Bv Jeff Randall Senior Reporter As the smoke rose over the grand stand at the Nebraska State Fair late Saturday night, it would have been hard for a passerby to fathom what exactly had transpired.there. The mud-covered wreckage of doz ens of cars was heaped info shapeless piles. The wildly painted steel was twisted and burned, often beyond rec ognition. But this wasn’t a particularly ugly case of reckless driving. Angry driv ers and lawyer-beckoning whiplash victims were nowhere to be found. In fact, most of the people present at the scene were smiling, and many were applauding wildly. This was the at-first-glance chaos of the State Fair’s annual demolition derby. Hundreds of eager audience members piled into the grandstand and clubhouse at the State Fair Park’s. race track to witness the systematic destruction of automobiles from ev ery comer of the state. • • At a little after 7, all eyes in that audience were directed to the rectan gular mud pit that was dug out of the track’s infield. Eight cars and drivers revved their engines and, with the wave of an official’s flag, proceeded to ram into each other until only two cars were left in working order. * This process was repeated through out the night, much to the satisfaction of the al 1-ages audience. bach anticipated impact was greeted with smatterings of applause, the occasional laugh, and the ever present “oohs” and “aahs” that tend to surface whenever a quarterback is sacked or a figure skater falls while attempting a triple axel. The inexperienced members of the -audience sat in wonder of the pro ceedings. “What ’ s going on? 1 can ’ t even tell what they’re supposed to be doing,” one woman exclaimedas the first round of competition began. Others sat with hands folded and eyes fixed on the mud pit, waiting for . the kill. “There, you see?” one man said as a car was put out of commission. “Must have broke his axle. He s finished. But by the time the first heat was finished and the two victorious ca». rolled out of the pit, nearly everyone there knew what to do. Applause filled the air, mingling with the gaseous plumes of smoke that hovered above the track. Each heat followed with much the same results, until the victor was fi nally named and applauded as a hero.' The crowd gave him his accolades with shouts and whistles, and then audience members began their march to their own cars. “Remember,” said a security of ficer as the crowd walked up the stairs and out the gates. “Just don’t drive like that on the highways.” ‘Rangoon’ takes walk on Burmese wild side Performances lacking, directing works in true story By Emily Wray film Critic ” Looking for a good first-date movie that doesn’t require a lot of thought? Try another show. Lookingfor a chal lenging, “based-on-a-true-story” flick? Try “Beyond Rangoon.” Starring Patricia Arquette and U Aurtg Ko, “Beyond Rangoon” is a walk into the mysterious, sometimes dangerous country of Burma. Politi cal instability, brought on by two de cades of repressive military rule, abounds in 1988 Rangoon, Burma’s capital. Arquette gives a convincing, yet uninspiring, performance as Laura Bowman, a doctor who, by traveling to Burma, hopes to escape the pain of her husband’s and son’s violent deaths. Haunted by those flashbacks, Laura one night breaks a military-imposed curfew and witnesses an illegal politi cal demonstration led by Aung San Suu Kyi (Adelle Lutz), the rebel leader in the pro-democracy movement. In the chaos of the demonstration, Laura loses her passport and must stay in Burma. She.meets U Aung Ko (U Aung Ko), who offers to give her an “unofficial” tour of the Burmese coun tryside, going “Beyond Rangoon.” Laura’s adventure grows and be comes more dangerous as the movie unfolds. Between numerous appear ances by the military, U Aung Ko teaches Laura to deal with her grief. Thankfully, Laura loses her glazed look long enough to save her tour guide and friend when shot by a sol dier. ' . High-speed chase's on dirt roads and many, many shots of dead bodies break the monotony of runningthrough tropical jungles, fording rivers and watching sunsets. ' These many “delights” do not as sist the plot. The script is poorly writ ten, making the film slow from the beginning. Among the movie’s brighter spots —U Aung Ko is excellent as a profes sor/political dissident-turned-tour guide who doubles as the wise’father figure. And director John Boorman shows talent in the filming of the country side. Beautiful shots of the landscape \ Film: “Beyond Rangoon” 't ' m Stars: Patricia Arquette, U Aung Ko Director: John Boorman Rating: R Grade: C Five words: Troubled country meets troubled doctor . " : i and sunsets are oddly comforting as such destructive images continue tcj flash across the screen.