THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 24, 1996 TAG: 9603240103
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Music review
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Coolio has old-fashioned values. The Southern California rapper, whose tour stopped at the Boathouse Friday night, is something of a rarity in that he acknowledges the importance of entertainment. Where many current hip-hoppers find it difficult to do much onstage beyond flashing attitude, Coolio remembers that it all began with the impulse to have a good time.
Like a street version of the Temptations, Coolio and his three-man crew the 40 Thevz displayed rough but spirited steps while working their way through a set composed largely of songs from the star's two platinum albums. Those tunes were linked by a series of classic party chants that the crowd - unfortunately sparse - happily joined in on. Even the hoary ``put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care'' gambit was welcome in this context.
As on the current ``Gangsta's Paradise'' album, Coolio's set list drew on both his social comment and relatively lightweight but true-to-life material. The metrically challenging ``Kinda High Kinda Drunk'' received a strong treatment, with the rapper suitably Method-acting its hilarious conclusion.
A few songs later, Coolio was delivering himself of a safe-sex lecture in the form of the recent single ``Too Hot.'' He and the Thevz nearly obliterated the song's smooth R&B chorus by defiantly shouting their message over it. Coolio then brought the message home to fans once more by calling out a list of HIV statistics by way of warning.
His wish to build a community of the audience was further manifested in a showcase of rap skills by two ticket-holders. One was pretty good, but the second's weak effort quickly got him ``knocked out'' by the star and his outfit.
Coolio saved his two greatest hits for last. He set up the Utopian throwdown ``Fantastic Voyage'' by name-checking a list of favored food and beverage that included potato salad and cognac. The happy vision, though, inevitably made way for the grim reality of ``Gangsta's Paradise.'' With Coolio and the Thevz in clerical garb, the performance was equal in drama to that on the Grammy telecast last month, even with less elaborate staging.
Before quitting the stage, Coolio proffered some hope. Intensely addressing the crowd again, he seemed eager to wipe away the rivalries between various sectors of the hip-hop nation.
``People can just kick it, and it don't have to be about nothin' but the party.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Hip-hop rapper Coolio performed to a sparse crowd Friday night at
the Boathouse.
by CNB