Wicked Wisdom - Wicked Wisdom (CD)

All Music Guide

The entertainment world has had its share of actors who sang on the side (Cybill Shepherd) and singers who acted on the side (Frank Sinatra), and there is nothing wrong with moonlighting in another area of entertainment as long as the person is actually good at it. Shepherd is a decent (although not breathtaking) jazz/traditional pop singer, and Sinatra's riveting portrayal of a heroinaddicted musician in 1955's filmnoir classic The Man With the Golden Arm made it clear that even though singing was his primary focus, he also had serious acting ability. On the other hand, some excellent actors proved to be weak, flat, unimpressive singers (Eddie Murphy, for example), but if Wicked Wisdom's selftitled debut album is any indication, singing is definitely something that Jada Pinkett Smith, a.k.a. Jada Koren, should continue to do. Although Smith (Wicked Wisdom's founder/lead vocalist) is best known for her acting, she shows herself to be an expressive, commanding singer. Some folks might e...xpect a woman who married Will Smith, a.k.a. the Fresh Prince, to focus on RB or hiphop, but in fact, the material on this 33minute CD is forceful alternative metal with a funk/soul edge. Smith favors an RBinfluenced vocal style, which sounds perfectly natural alongside her band's jagged, heavy, chugging guitar riffs; intense yet melodic tracks such as "Cruel Intentions," "Forgiven," "Don't Hate Me" and "You Can't Handle" give us some idea what Sevendust (another RBinfluenced altmetal band) might sound like with a female lead vocalist. Sevendust is a major influence on this 2006 release, as are bands ranging from Slipknot to Living Colour, 247 Spyz and Fishbone (whose Phillip "Fish" Fisher is the album's drummer). But Wicked Wisdom have an attractive personality of their own, and the band shows considerable promise on this memorable, if brief, debut. - Alex Henderson, All Music Guide Read more Less