Chupacabra (album)

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)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

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.^[2] 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."^[3]

Among the album's tracks, the song "Legend Of A Cowgirl" became a hit on MTV.^[4] According to Coppola, the rap song, which includes a sample of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman",^[5] started as an idea she had for a movie about women who "love 'em and leave 'em and ride off into the sunset."^[2] Part of Coppola's marketing included a music video for “Legend of a Cowgirl” that received heavy rotation on MTV.^[6] 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.

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 ["My Day" (Hidden Track)]

Singles

• "Legend Of A Cowgirl"
• "I'm A Tree"
• "It's All About Me, Me, Me"

Personnel

• Amanda Busto – Vocals (background)
• Imani Coppola – Guitar (Acoustic), Fiddle, Guitar, Strings, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (background), Choir, Chorus, Fender Rhodes, Illustrations
• Jeff Coppola – Vocals
• Tom Coyne – Mastering
• Dave Crafa – Guitar
• DJ Nastee – DJ
• David Drafa – Guitar
• Skoti Alain Elliott – Bass, Engineer, Mixing
• Sharon Kearney – Guitar, Mixing Assistant, Assistant
• Kiku – Art Direction, Design
• Mike Mangini – Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar, Percussion, Strings, Arranger, Guitar (Electric), Keyboards, Vocals (background), Producer, Mixing
• Nastee – DJ
• Carl Rushing – Programming, Vocals
• Matthew Scannell – Guitar
• Nina Schultz – Photography

References

1. Allmusic review
2. Lilith Fair. "Imani Coppola" 1998.
3. New York Times. "Pop CD's; Take a Little Sass, Add Sunshine" by Ann Powers. November 4, 1997.
4. "All Music Guide to Hip-Hop: The Definitive Guide to Rap and Hip-Hop" By Vladimir Bogdanov. Published 2003 by Backbeat Books
5. Time Out. "Loose canon" by Steve Smith. November 8, 2007.
6. Toronto Sun. "Singer/violinist Imani strikes gold without even trying" by Jane Stevenson. December 11, 1997.