Ursula Rucker - Silver or Lead

Without question, Ursula Rucker is one of todays foremost young poets. A well-versed intellectual, in her second album “Silver or Lead”, Rucker flexes her muscles delivering a full-on spoken word collection, with her characteristically frank, open and brutally poignant style. She offers heavy commentary on womanhood, slavery, politics, music and sexism, all in her trademark soft-spoken voice, set to music by dance music titans Jazzanova, 4 Hero, King Britt and Little Louie Vega. The effect is at times unnerving, at times palatable, but always full of depth and passion.

Sound good? Well it is, but the question that has arisen in many circles is-- Is the formula played?

Spoken word suffers from thematic and stylistic redundancy. And while this is inherent in the very nature of a genre, it is perhaps more endemic to spoken word than in other music categories. Rucker does speak on the tried and true poetry slam/jam topics, but she does so in such an individualized way, and effectively uses music to enhance her unique personal style.

And though I miss the presence of Rucker’s singing as found on her first album “Supa Sista”, she is one of the few spoken word artists/poets who has put forth a full length album--most definitely a laudable feat.

It could be that “Silver or Lead” would be more manageable if it is considered a hip-hop album. In that case, Rucker clearly stands head to head with other conscious hip-hop artists like Mos Def, Common, Dead Prez and The Roots. Hip-hop is, after all, poetry, right? However, I would venture to say that “Silver or Lead” dances around classifications and stands on its own as an accomplished work by one of the pre-eminent poets of our time.