Chupacabra (album)

This article is about the Imani Coppola album. For the Phideaux Xavier album, see Chupacabras (album). For the Soil EP, see El Chupacabra (EP).
Chupacabra
Studio album by Imani Coppola
Released October 28, 1997
Genre Pop, hip hop, alternative rock
Label Columbia
Producer Michael Mangini
Imani Coppola chronology
Chupacabra
(1997)		 Come and Get Me...What?!
(2000)
Singles from 25
  1. "Legend of a Cowgirl"
    Released: 1997
  2. "I'm a Tree"
    Released: 1998
  3. "It's All About Me, Me, and Me"
    Released: 1998

Chupacabra is the debut album by Imani Coppola, released on October 28, 1997. The title refers to the legendary chupacabra (literally "goat sucker"), a creature believed through some parts of the Americas to drink the blood of livestock.[1] Ann Powers wrote in The New York Times that Coppola's album was buoyed by "fanciful raps and supple vocals as she establishes her identity as a modern-day flower child with common sense."[2]

Among the album's tracks, the song "Legend of a Cowgirl" became a hit on MTV.[3] According to Coppola, the rap song, which includes a sample of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman",[4] started as an idea she had for a movie about women who "love 'em and leave 'em and ride off into the sunset."[1] Part of Coppola's marketing included a music video for "Legend of a Cowgirl" that received heavy rotation on MTV.[5] The video for the follow-up single, "I'm a Tree", featured Imani as a New York corporate working girl craving something outside of the 9 to 5 dead-end job. Many of the vibrant colored scenes show her on an elevator stopping at every floor and as the door opens it shows Imani's imagination come to life with a singing dog as well as a jam session of Imani with a band. The video mostly found its following on MTV2. The single version was remixed for radio. A third and final single titled "It's All About Me, Me, Me" was released without a video.

Sampler

Ahead of the album's release, Columbia Records released a sampler in Europe, which featured five of Coppola's songs: "Legend of a Cowgirl," "Naked City (Love to See U Shine)", "I'm a Tree", "It's All About Me, Me, and Me", and "Piece".[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Entertainment WeeklyC[8]
The New York TimesPositive[9]

The album garnered polarized reviews from music critics. Entertainment Weekly's review, written by Matt Diehl, was negative, commenting that "Coppola's folk-rapping forges the missing link between Missy Elliott and Bob Dylan, which results in a forced eclec- ticism."[8] In contrast, Bradley Torreano's review for AllMusic was highly positive, stating that "The frantic rhythms mesh nicely with her rich voice on tracks like 'I'm a Tree' and 'Soon (I Like It)' while her personality shines through on the pleasantly egotistical 'It's All About Me, Me, and Me' and on the Donovan-sampled 'Legend of a Cowgirl.'" The New York Times' Ann Powers was similarly impressed by the album, stating that Coppola "establishes her identity as a modern-day flower child with common sense."[9]

Track listing

All tracks by Imani Coppola, Mike Mangini except where noted

  1. "I'm a Tree" – 3:33
  2. "Legend of a Cowgirl" (Imani Coppola, Donovan Leitch, Mangini) – 3:47
  3. "Naked City (Love to See U Shine)" – 4:26
  4. "It's All About Me, Me, and Me" – 4:12
  5. "Piece" – 3:48
  6. "Karma and the Blizzard" – 4:37
  7. "One of These Days" – 3:20
  8. "Pigeon Penelope" – 3:19
  9. "Soon (I Like It)" – 4:10
  10. "Forget Myself" – 3:49
  11. "La Da Da" – 20:47 (contains the hidden track "My Day")

Singles

Personnel

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart[10] 128

References

  1. 1 2 Lilith Fair. "Imani Coppola" 1998.
  2. ↑ New York Times. "Pop CD's; Take a Little Sass, Add Sunshine" by Ann Powers. November 4, 1997.
  3. ↑ "All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop" By Vladimir Bogdanov. Published 2003 by Backbeat Books
  4. ↑ "Loose canon" by Steve Smith. Time Out. November 8, 2007.]
  5. ↑ Toronto Sun. "Singer/violinist Imani strikes gold without even trying" by Jane Stevenson. December 11, 1997.
  6. ↑ "Imani Coppola – 5 Song Sampler". Discogs. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  7. ↑ Allmusic review
  8. 1 2 Diehl, Matt. "Chupacabra Lead Performer: Imani Coppola". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  9. 1 2 Powers, Ann. "CRITIC'S CHOICE/Pop CD's; Take a Little Sass, Add Sunshine". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Chart Log UK 1994–2010 > Chris C. – CZR". zobbel.de. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
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