City High
(Interscope Records)
By Sheng Yuen
Sounds like:The belated soundtrack to a movie like Michelle Pfeiffer's 1995 showcase,"Dangerous Minds,"albeit from the student body's, instead of the educators', perspective.You May Have Heard:"What Would You Do"has risen up the charts with its heartfelt resonance. Another contender for popularity is"Why,"which barefacedly outlines the problems of teenage romances that are often rooted in gratuitous physical rather than deeper emotional gratification.We Fancy:Says Robby Pardlo, who was the first member signed on to City High:"We're trying to say to the world, don't shy away from us because we sag our pants, wear bandanas, or talk with slang."Indeed, pride and prejudice are key to the theme of City High's songs. Listen carefully to the words and you will find stories of disenfranchised youths who are crying out for empathy from a society that jeers, fears, and veers away from them. Kudos to the threesome for successfully infusing their catchy compositions with gutsy reality-based topics.We're Not Sure About:Let's hope the future of this group, brought together by producers Wyclef Jean and Jerry"Wonder"Duplessis, will not be limited to pre-college pursuits. Currently, their identity, like all youngsters, remains blurry, and they could thus be buried in an industry that is inclined towards favoring clearer stereotypes.Verdict:Robby Pardlo, 20, Claudette Ortiz, 18, and Ryan Toby, 20, (who appeared in Whoopi Goldberg's"Sister Act 2"and wrote Will Smith's hit single"Miami") make up this trio that calls themselves City High. Young, brash, and outwardly immune to flinching from life's curveballs, these hipsters look set to act as ambassadors for Generation Y.
|
|||||
