a e dctdjt u ztg Firebird Balalaika Ensemble Come hear one of the best Balalaika ensembles around. The Firebird Balalaika Ensemble will perform heartwarming Russian and Eastern European Christmas music on traditional instruments today at 12:10 p.m. The performance is in the University Hospital Lobby on the first floor. Best of all ... it's free! Thursday January 9,1997 f a wrap-u of the highs and lows of 1996 'Tne Fugees saw success in 1996. De La Soul (center) and Shaquille O'Neal (right) released big records last year. By Eugene Bowen Daily Arts Writer It's been one crazy year for the hip-hop community. In A6 Bugs Bunny began his basketball / rapping career (c heck out the "Space Jam" movie and soundtrack). And coincidentally, so did Shaquille O'Neal, with his $120 mil- lion trade to the Lakers and the release of his third album, "You Can't STOP the REIGN," which, unlike his previous two, is actually pretty good. Rap-A-Lot Records turned 10, Chuck D'(of Public Enemy fame) started his own label (Slam Jamz) and Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight changed the company's name to "The New and Unto'uchable Death Row Records." I wonder how long it took him to come up with that moniker. *ut seriously, Death Row Records was unquestionably the central rap-world newsmaker of the 9-6. Did a week go by when the Death Row camp wasn't the center of some- thing? News surrounding the label and its artists included the expected albums released by Tupac Shakur last year - the two-CD "All Eyez on Me" and the posthumous "Makevelli" - have gone multi-platinum while the Lady of Rage remained completely unheard from. Dr. Dre made a surprise departure from jath Row to begin a new label, ermath Records, while Shakur's death on Sept. 13 tops the list of news stories. Some of Death Row's decisions were so outrageous you didn't know whether to cry or laugh, like when Knight signed MC Hammer to the label, and then promoted the minimally talented Danny Boy as Death Row's first venture into R&B. Lastly, we have the .release of "Death Row Christmas." Tupac Shakur had t 6e possibilities for jokes are endless. albums in 1996, but And it didn't end there. On Nov. 26, Suge Knight was found guilty of violating his probation by beating a man. He's been in jail since October, and now he may be sentenced to up to nine years in the pen. Plus, as reported by the Los Angeles Times, the FBI is probing possi- ble Death Row involvement in drug trafficking, money laun- dering and other gang-related activities (The FBI has not con- firmed or denied these reports). It will be interesting to see what comes of all this. For all its intrigue, the Death Row hoopla unfairly cloud- over the many other happenings of the year. Heavy D's umption of the presidency of Uptown Records on Jan. 25 received relatively little coverage. The Aug. 2 murder of Rap-A-Lot recording artist Seagram Miller went underre- ported, as well as MCA's decision to purchase controlling interest in Interscope Records from Time Warner after pres- sure to stop supporting hardcore rap. Other interesting events included Craig Mack's decision to leave Bad Boy Records (there was probably some bad blood between him and CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs), FatLip's decision last sum- mer to leave Pharcyde and 01' Dirty Bastard's decision to change his name to Cyrus and to shave that crop of crabgrass off of his head. In terms of big names in hip hop '96, we had the Fugees killing us softly with their sophomore smash "The Score." With more than 11 million sales worldwide, this trio - and especially member Lauryn Hill - has created a comfortable niche for themselves. Meanwhile, "ATLiens" and "Soul Food" propelled Atlanta-based groups Outkast and Goodie Mob, respectively, into the limelight and proved that there's more to Georgia than peaches, Confederate flags and booty- bass rap. The return of the Long Island trio De La Soul with "Stakes Is High" was one of the biggest breaths of clean air the rap community has felt in a long time. Their constant attacks on the wannabe playas, hustlas and macks soiling the rap biz brought a much needed level of realness to the game. And of course no rap group praises can be sung without dedicating a verse or two to the Lost Boyz and their debut album, "Legal Drug Money." The group's raspy voices and raw flava, exuded on cuts like "Jeeps, Lex Coupes, Beemers and the Benz" and "Renee" o successful made them one of the year's most promi- was also murdered. nent new groups. Solo rappers who hit big in '96 included the almost shy-sounding Nas ("It Was Written"), zaniac Busta Rhymes ("The Coming") and the stoic new- comers Jay-Z ("Reasonable Doubt") and Smoothe da Hustler ("once upon a time in America"). And let's not forget the great LL Cool J and his '96 release, "Mr. Smith," on which he continues his personification as the ultimate ladies man (just in case his older cuts like "Jinglin' Baby" and "Around the Way Girl" didn't con- vince you). Incidentally, he also has a "Greatest Hits" album out now. Here's wishing the best to hip hop '97. efunct group Arrested Development continues spilling ebut solo album, "Speech." nitely grounded in the East Coast underground, is r solo release, "kollage," proves that only the igno- of "Beats, Rhymes and Life," the group's fourth le if you're true to the mission. )ay in the Life of My Asspipe" interlude on their album abut release, aptly titled "This Is My First Album." est solo release, "Doggfather," features him rapping the decade. Maybe Shakur's death or all that heat Buc Wild was right to advise him to "consider crawl- >rking on Doggy Style Part 2.' w I READ IT "0 Ak Nobody prepares you like KAPLAN Kaplan has the most complete arsenal of test prep tools available. From videos to virtual reality practice tests, to software and on line services, nobody offers you more ways to practice. Kaplan's dynamic teachers will show you the proven skills and test-taking methods that help you get a higher score.