Sir Mix-A-Lot Gets The Rap Going On A New Label

Sir Mix-a-Lot, the former Nastymix Records star, finally releases his debut album Tuesday on his new label, Rhyme Cartel, distributed by Def American. "Mack Daddy" was recorded at his digital 24-track home studio here, and it's a potent collection of rap songs Seattleites will closely identify with. Local references are all over the disc, including the Central District, Seward Park, Sea-Tac Mall, Garfield, High Point and Bellevue. One song, "Seattle Ain't B.S.," celebrates the local rap scene, listing many of the local groups, but you'll never hear it on the radio because it's so full of swear words. Expensive cars, Mix's favorite subject, are a theme throughout, and so are guns. The first single, "One Times Got No Case," is about "the man you love to hate" - i.e. cops, with the Washington State Patrol and King County Police singled out in a tale of harassment that ends with Mix vindicated in court. The single (and a video) has been out three weeks, but hasn't yet set the rap world on fire, stalling at the bottom of Billboard's rap chart.

-- Did Nirvana help or hurt itself with its uneven, boisterous performance on "Saturday Night Live"? It didn't seem like a triumph - "Territorial Pissings" was a mess and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was not as good as the recording - but the bottom line is that it did translate into sales, with the album "Nevermind" again hitting the No. 1 spot in Billboard this week. "Teen Spirit" is the best-selling single in the country, but it's not No. 1 on the singles chart because of limited radio airplay. (The album chart is based on sales alone, while the singles chart includes sales and airplay.) Many rock stations play the song only at night, feeling it's too harsh for daytime listeners, who tend to be older. Meanwhile, stations have received the second single, "Come as You Are," and the video should show up soon on MTV. The single, in CD and cassette formats, will be released Feb. 18, with some live bonus tracks. And have you noticed the new Teen Spirit ads on TV? The adolescent deodorant (which actually did inspire the single) is now using the line "Smells like Teen Spirit" in its spots. Adweek reports that Mennen, which markets Teen Spirit, had to hustle to book an ad on "SNL" when Nirvana appeared; the magazine called it a smart buy that boosted the product to its biggest sales ever.

-- Pearl Jam is honored as one of the "Faces to Watch" in the current Entertainment Weekly "Stars of Tomorrow" issue. Writer Dave DiMartino calls the band "a powerful, eclectic quartet" that "combines the brute aggression of modern heavy metal with a surprising post-punk intelligence." He notes that the band is featured in Cameron Crowe's upcoming film about Seattle rock, "Singles," set to open in April. More good news for the band: Its album, "Ten," made a big leap on the Billboard chart this week, climbing from No. 105 to 58. MTV's heavy airplay of the "Alive" video is probably what did it.

-- Soundgarden is also enjoying chart success with "Badmotorfinger," which is doing just fine (No. 60 and rising) after a slow start (again, MTV is a factor, with the "Outshined" clip one of the station's most popular). When the band finishes its current tour with Guns N' Roses, it will come home to play its first gig here of 1992, in the first week of March. The show, with a $12.50 ticket, will be held at either the Arena or the Paramount. Watch for an announcement of ticket sales next week.

-- Saulius Pempe, the colorful, energetic, perpetually youthful scene-maker who has been photographing rock bands here since the 1960s, suffered a stroke Dec. 20 and is recovering at Virginia Mason Hospital. Some of the bands Pempe has worked with in recent years are throwing a benefit for him Wednesday at RKCNDY. The lineup includes Metal Church, My Sisters Machine, Bitter End, Sadhappy, Nightshade, Dr. Unknown, Peace and Silence, Billy Black's Outcast Theatre, the Pleasure Elite and Ezrapound. Proceeds will go towards paying the rent on Pempe's University District studio, so he will be able to work there when he starts rehabilitation. Given Pempe's longstanding status in the music community, the benefit should pack the place.

-- This year it's not going to be just another Lame Fest but an Ultra Lame Fest! The annual Sub Pop showcase, set for 7:30 p.m. April 4 at the Paramount, will feature "at least five" of Sub Pop's recording artists, including the band most likely to next make it big out of Seattle, Mudhoney, and the smartest Sub Pop signing in years: the band called Earth. Tickets are $12.50 and are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets.