Chupacabra (album)

This article is about the Imani Coppola album. For the Phideaux Xavier album, see Chupacabras (album). For the Soil EP, see El Chupacabra (EP).

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

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. 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."

Among the album's tracks, the song "Legend of a Cowgirl" became a hit on MTV. According to Coppola, the rap song, which includes a sample of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman", started as an idea she had for a movie about women who "love 'em and leave 'em and ride off into the sunset." Part of Coppola's marketing included a music video for “Legend of a Cowgirl” that received heavy rotation on MTV. The video showed Coppola in dream sequences as a biker chick, a catsuit-wearing alien-type and a diva in heels and a huge afro. In one scene Coppola dismounts her bike, marches up to a hitchhiking cowboy and kisses him. In another scene Coppola, clad in a skintight, shiny black catsuit, is surrounded by nearly-naked dancing men in silver bodypaint and Speedos. "It was very uncomfortable 'cause we had no room and their penises and their bums are just flopping around," says Coppola. "It was like, 'Whoops, sorry. Didn't mean to touch you!' But they were all gay, so it didn't really matter. They were cute though. It was a shame." 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 you see 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 it's 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 (bckgr)
• Imani Coppola – Guitar (Acoustic), Fiddle, Guitar, Strings, Arranger, Keyboards, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), 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 (bckgr), Producer, Mixing
• Nastee – DJ
• Carl Rushing – Programming, Vocals
• Matthew Scannell – Guitar
• Nina Schultz – Photography