Che Fu: Navigator

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * )

One minute he was the kid with the grown-up voice in Supergroove, next he was the hip-hop soul guy joining the dots between rap, reggae, and the Pasifikan life in the world's biggest Polynesian city. And now Che-Fu returns on his second solo album as family man and veteran of a local scene not noted for the career longevity of its occasional hip-hop stars.

This has, of course, got its own hard act to follow in its predecessor 2b S.pacific, which, despite the reservations of many, including its maker, about how it sounds, is a certified Kiwi classic. Quite aside from what it represented, its melodic strengths made it exceptional.

Given Navigator's preceding hit single, the gently rocking Stevie Wonder-ish reggae-soul of Fade Away, it might seem that this one is destined for a similar path. Except that as a solo album this one sounds, well, more singular, more personal. With its increased weighting towards hip-hop, it's also more assertive - a case of taking the rough with the smooth tunes of which there are a hearty contingent. That's whether it's Fade Away, which is left curiously late in the track listing; opener Misty Frequencies, which also echoes Wonder in its summery soulpop; the fluid flamenco-spiced funk and pointed lyric of Random; the reggae-soul of Top Floor; the sung-in-Maori He Kotahi; or the acoustic guitar-powered slow-shuffle ballad of Hold Tight.

Interspersed are the album's frequent gear shifts into the strident hip-hop likes of The Abyss, Share The Info, Roots Man and The Mish 2 (a funny, paranoid number with a chorus that should become the chant at the next NORML protest). These set Che-Fu's rapping voice - which isn't quite as commanding as his singing one - among a small supporting cast of microphone guests.

But it can get a little too communal in there sometimes. When that singular voice becomes part of a plural, there is a slight loss of focus and natural flow.

Still, if Navigator isn't using the same map as its predecessor, it's still engrossing. And it shows that Che-Fu continues to boldly go where no local soulman has gone before.

Label: Sony