Antoinette — Who's the Boss?

Antoinette Patterson was born and raised in the Bronx and at the age of 18 she was the protagonist of the single "I Got an Attitude", released in 1987 and produced by Hurby's Machine aka Hurby Luv Bug, who had already launched Salt-n-Pepa and Kid n Play. Released by Luv Bug's label Sound Check Records, the song was successful and years later was included in the list of the fifty best rap tracks made by women drawn up by Complex magazine.

Antoinette signed with Next Plateau and released "Unfnished Business" / "Hit 'Em with This", both songs produced by Luv Bug, the first is a response to MC Lyte, followed by "Baby Make It Boom" and for the European market "Hit 'Em with This" was included in a maxi-single by label mates Salt-n-Pepa together with the remix of their hit "Push It". In 1989, the New York rapper released a full LP. Production is mainly entrusted to I.G. Off and Jay Ellis, as well as Ced Gee, The 45 King and Pandemonium.

Antoinette's debut diving into the East Coast swimming pool, 1989. The simple and minimal funky rhythms chosen in production, rounded with acceptable samples (JBs, James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, Maceo & the Macks), seem to help her, but the rapper provides a slow and decent flow, always trying an invariably syncopated delivery that clashes sharply with the music, creating tracks that sound really bad. Beyond the lyrics, where you stay on the generic braggadocio with some arrow to MC Lyte, the girl seriously engages and makes some hardcore effort, also trying to speed up the delivery, without success. When behind the keyboards, they put a sample too tight or a too hard and pure rhythm, the songs inevitably drop in quality, with the peak of the inevitable ballad ("I'm Crying"), with pseudo-soul hook and pseudo-sensual delivery, ridiculous track.

The album produced four singles ("Baby Make It Boom", "Who's the Boss?", "Shake, Rattle & Roll", "I'm Crying"), the title track was particularly successful among fans and the album entered the rnb chart, gaining approval from colleagues, less from critics, who tended to ignore it. The following year, Antoinette put a new LP on the shelves, whose response from industry insiders convinced her to abandon the recording career.