(Fools Gold/Inertia)

Chicago rapper channels the dance music of the last three decades

From the rave-y synth stabs that open Kid Sister’s debut, it’s clear that Ultraviolet is shooting for the kind of dance-rap crossover success that Kanye enjoyed after cuddling up with Daft Punk, and Dizzee took to the stratosphere by rapping over Armand Van Helden and Calvin Harris tracks. Up-and-coming rapper Kid Sister worked with a dizzying array of producers on this record – Angello & Ingrosso, A-Trak, Sinden, Yuksek and Herve amongst them – so as you can imagine, the end result is a bit of a stylistic mish-mash. With everything from house-y bangers to fidgety electro, trance-lite, hip hop and more radio-friendly pop on offer, it’s a head-spinning selection of tracks – the overall effect is not unlike walking through a Westfield and stopping in at twelve trendy clothing stores, each one with the sound system pumping disparate tunes at full blast. As for the individual songs, highlights include Big N Bad, which skitters along on a dinky sample of Yaz’s ‘80s hit Don’t Go, and Let Me Bang, which floats by in a haze of twinkling synths. Pro Nails features an addictive chorus and a guest rap from Kanye West, Life On TV comes on like L’Trimm, while Daydreaming features the kind of dramatic synth hook that will go down great in clubs. Fun and bouncy, if a little light on sleazy pop thrills of the Ke$ha and Lady Gaga variety, Kid Sister’s debut is still solid.

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ALASDAIR DUNCAN

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