Crystal Waters
VIVIAN OWENS
ign th iacket cov r
Th �r
Pubucauon ,P 0 Box 11 6, Wayne oro,
VA 22 O. I ncluding hLPPLIlR c t I
18 5
By TUREKA TURK
"'#Chlf1!n Citizen
It w a big hindranc for
Cry tal Waters to be known
the woman who brought the
words/phras "La da d , la da
dah" to fame. An excellent lyri­
cist, it was unfortunate that a
phr that d n't capture her
capabiliti as a torytell r p­
tured the ttention of listene .
"Gyp Woman" was actually
a detailed account of the day-to­
day lift of a homel woman in
Wa hington, D.C. But orne­
where, that fact got lost in the
Top 40 consciousn of dance
club ravers across the country.
But, perhaps, with her new re­
lea e "Storyteller", Water' in­
tent to focus more on lyrics won't
be lost in mainstream shuffl .
"With thiS album, I've really
worked hard on my lyrics. I think
the title 'Storyteller' tell Ie
to focus on my writing tyl
rather than the actual vocals. In
my mind, I pictured a very
Go hie scene, a man with a big,
long beard is writing a tory and
the characters in this story are
battling with him becau he's
ttin dy to b k up th ir
l' hi. err'
tryin to atop thi toryt ller
from finishing the story," Waters
said.
It is this kind of imagination
and imagery, along with heart­
thumping tracks, that uncovers
the real Crystal Waters. It i not
so much her vocal ability, which
would be pretty average, if not
unacceptabl , if her mu ic went
in any other direction.
"In the back room baby starts
to scream
I'm mahin' kool-aid in the sink
Girl don't you put pork in my
gn ens
Rent's late again so it seems
Sometliin' good, somethi n'
good' gonna come my way &
broth rsay omethin'obout a '40'
on a summer afternoon
& grandma say the Lord,
gonna make eo ry tlu ng, He
gonna Make it alright"
- "Ghetto Day"
WA1'�
'M omnia aid h w uldn 't l t
It happ ti a am,
It l asri 'f ta) ing anyni r
It was her right to protect her
baby
So in her hand he'd take the
law,
She found the rifle, he was his
unf,
She had to take hi life,
What did your daddy do 1"
-"D ddyDo"
WATERS HA LEARNED
the busin very well. Unfortu­
nately, record execs dictate a lit­
tle too much control over her
music. "When I write songs," he
says, "I usually come up with the
melody first. Lik 'La da dee, la
da dah' was a melody that I
couldn't fit words to, so I went
back and wrote around that. Lots
oftimes I'll hum a part and say,
'well this should be the horn.'
. And the producers say, Well, we
like the way you do it, 80 it stays
in there'."
Waters doesn't really consider
herself socially aware. She ys •
what she writes about isn't on
purpose, but it doesn't "bother .
her."
It would be an amazing com-
b Uon if h did ct 11y 00 •
ntrate on being socially aware.
To an ext8n , h lyrics pro
that she is observant of her sur­
roundings, which i , in a w y,
being ocially aware. But h r
mu ic will benefit tremendou ly
if it were a conscious effort.
"Do you believe in yourself,
cause I believe in you
I'm gonna be there by' your
side, & get you through what You
got to do
You uianna be your own man
shake the world with you bare
hands
Gotta have the best of it all be
proud & stand tall"·
- "Relax"
" TOR'YTELLER" I A
wonderful collection of beats and
lyrics. Waters' vocal abiliti add
to the tyle she has cr ted for
hers If. It is appar nt tha sh
has grown in thr y rs. It is
also apparen that sh has a lot
of room to grow till.
Wat rs h v n man ged 0
low jam, which
ound v ry good consid ring
h' known for hou y dan
tr. cks. "Lov r Lay Low" is proof
th Wat rs h a tal nt to x­
nd h r tyle t6 boundar: not
v n r ched by her y t.
'Vocally, " he y, "this re­
cord . n tim tt r than th
1 You don' hav to be th
in r in th world if
titud ," h lau hs
combination of tti-
in h r lyri nd h r tyl
h r ov r.
" It wa a littl girl, in agr at
bLg world
Wah bi brown
But not big enough to a it ,
'au he wor a disguis ,
looked iLk a priz
Wah a brand new tart
Enough to break / r I art
Ji" promi ed h would call
n
- "I It For M "
LI E,B2