Formerly of Toni Tony Tone and the short-lived
Lucy Pearl, Raphael Saadiq returns to the forefront with
his solo debut Instant Vintage, on which the tracks roll
like butter on warm baked bread. Whether drowning your sorrows
in between the melodic masterpiece “Be Here” (featuring
D’Angelo) or pimp walking to the guitar-heavy and bass-laced
thump of “Charlie Ray,” ear treasures are always
within reach. Saadiq’s classic lounge installment of
rotational jewels includes the political observation of
“Blind Man,” the hypnotic trance of “What’s
Life Like” and “Uptown,” an aria of personal
growth and upward movement. Instant Vintage’s gemstone
is cocksure in comparison to the mediocrity of the new age
neo soul, proving Saadiq rocks pearls with style, but is
also a classic hit without them.—Mahogany L. Browne
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DVDs
Life In 310 Southwest Wholesale
The 310 Motoring Company has customized all
types of cars for stars like Academy Award winner Denzel
Washington, Jennifer Lopez, a gang of Los Angeles Lakers
and, of course, the Cash Money Millionaires. Already boasting
a racing team (the first ever minority-owned team), a 310
Motors calendar featuring bangin’ models, a website
and a luxury auto rental service, 310 CEO Marc Laidler has
expanded the brand into the world of film and DVD. Imagine
the MTV’s Cribs format, using celebrities’ rides
as the focus, and you have Life in 310. Take a cruise with
Gary Payton (who boasts a 12-car garage), Dr. Dre, Jermaine
Dupri and many other celebrities who ball out of control
as they take flossin’ and joyriding to another level.
Who got shotgun?—Sean A. Malcolm
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GAMES
Street Hoops Activision
For PlayStation 2, Xbox
By Day, Anthony Heyward is a mild-mannered
school-teacher. But on the weekends, he's "Half Man,
Half Amazing," one of the fiercest street ballers to
ever step on the courts of Bed-Stuy. And while that hasn't
led him to his own comic book, movie or TV show, it has
gotten him a role in Street Hoops, Activision's new street
basketball game.
In the game, players take to such blacktops
as NYC's Rucker Park, Atlanta's Run N' Shoot and Oakland's
Mosswood Playground for games of one-on-one up to five-on-five,
with fewer penalties, rougher action and fancier moves than
in a pro ball game. It even lets you play half-court matches,
or go shirts vs. skins like a couple of fourth graders.—Paul
Semel
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BOOKS
The Caribbean Cook By Patrick Williams
Penguin U.K.; available in U.S. through www.Patrick-Williams.co.uk
Patrick Williams is the U.K.’s hottest
new chef—literally. His smash cookbook is full of fresh
takes on Caribbean favorites like jerk chicken, new jack
creations like black-eyed pea salsa and good old-fashioned
brownies—and it’s turning British cuisine on its
starch-fed ear the same way upscale soul food has impacted
the U.S. The irony is that Williams is doing it by getting
back to the just-like-mom-used-to-make classics (if your
mom was Jamaican) with a little comfort food thrown in for
good measure. “Chocolate brownies aren’t really
Caribbean,” Williams admits with a laugh, “but
I like them—and England’s part of my heritage
as well.” His secret is simplicity. “The least
amount of ingredients you have on the plate, the better,”
he says. “With my dishes, you can taste everything.
It’s very clean—fresh and clean, that’s me.”
—Hobey Echlin
See all the photos and read the complete story in KING Magazine, on sale now!
