82
T
he
Sounds
of Music
Drum celebrates the finest in forthcoming
releases from both new and established artists.
S
he maybe a newcomer but not even the cynical audience at Ministry Of Sounds Smoove
Live night can put songstress Ayak off her stride. Opening her mouth wide she lets rip
the opening chords to underground hit Drop Da Dub and instantly captures her crowd.
Based in South London but born in Southern Sudan,
the 21-year-old winner of this year’s Urban Music
Festival Unsigned is a force to be reckoned with.
The nearly 6ft descendant of the Dinka tribe was
originally signed to a record deal in Germany, but
disliked the pop direction Polydor Records tried to
push her in. “Everyone thinks signing to a major
label is the Holy Grail,” she notes sagely. “But that’s
the easy part; the hard part is what happens after.”
Promptly wriggling out of the deal she moved to
London in 2001 and has since strived to make her
music heard. Cautious to sign a new deal just yet,
Ayak is instead spreading her uptempo soul sounds
at a number of live shows, with one hope her
ultimate goal. “I want to be successful enough with
my music to make a difference to Sudan,” she says.
“I want to build Southern Sudan’s first performing
arts school.” Catch Ayak’s new single Wild On U
out now on Liquid State label and watch out for
another to drop in February 2005.
Two years ago Ms Charlene ‘Tweet’ Keys wowed
the R&B world with her outstanding debut Southern
Hummingbird. She’s kept us waiting a while, but the
woman signed to Missy Elliott’s Gold Mind Inc label
is about to storm the soul world once more. Beg,
borrow or steal the promo EP floating about, or else
content yourself that the wait will be over in
February when she releases her second album It’s
Me Again. If the sampler is anything to go by, expect
hard-knock hip hop beats made oh-so-sweet by
Tweet’s superbly smoky vocal, and ballads that
will have goose bumps on the go. One of R&B’s
brightest talents, it looks like the wait has been
worth it.
Another woman to watch for is inimitable emcee
Jean Grae. Formerly known as What? What? the
potent poetess offers a fine alternative to the
diamond-studded, sex-soaked rhymes other rappers
are renowned for. Instead This Week is in turns a