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New York City native K7 had success in the mid-’90s with his fusion of rap, dance hall, and dance. His 1994 album, Swing Batta Swing, spawned the pop hit “Come Baby Come” and a club favorite, “Zunga Zeng.” Prior to his solo success as K7, Louis “Kayel” Sharpe was one-third of Latin freestyle group TKA. Both K7 and TKA remained quiet throughout the rest of the ’90s before each re-emerged with new albums in 2001. K7’s debut album Swing Batta Swing breaks loose with a rare style of rap verging on club or dance music, along with a bit of swing, before Gap commercials made it “hip” again. Everything in the album involves high-speed vocals, usually with high-speed backing beats to accompany. K7 adds in a tiny touch of a Latin flavor with some of the lyrics as well, which can aid in the speed factor that he seems to enjoy. To boot, he throws in some call and response working in absolutely every track. The final component of the album is sexuality, coming forth on “Body Rock,” “I’ll Make You Feel Good,” “Hotel Motel,” and “Beep Me.” A pair of commercial hits are also on the album, “Come Baby Come” and “Move It Like This,” both of which involve a good deal of those call and response patterns, but at a higher speed than most of the tracks, very dance worthy for a club (at least in 1994). Finally, there are a few rewordings of songs from other genres, infused with K7’s vision. “Hi De Ho” is an overhaul of Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher” made into a street-tough rap ballad. “Zunga Zeng” is presumably some sort of evolutionary step for Yellowman’s “Zungguzungguguzungguzeng.” Finally, “A Little Help From My Friends” takes a tiny bit away from the Beatles, again with K7’s personal infusion. Overall, the album is noteworthy for the quality of the rap. The only gripe with the album is the similarity of the songs, though that’s part of what makes it a good dance album. Though another album never came from K7, this one is probably all that’s needed for any given listener or collector. |
