There is more to India's pop music than sitars

Looking for bar mitzvah entertainment that doesn't involve a loungey loser playing "Hava Nagilah" to a samba beat on a Casio? Just slip in "M.O.T. 19.99." Ice Berg and Dr. Dreidle's disc of clever, pun-filled novelty noshes, which mimic gangsta rap, hip-hop, Elvis and more, is what fellow rapping Semites the Beastie Boys may have sounded like in a former life. These righteous Hebros will take your party to a higher source. There's something for every guest. The kids will go meshugge over the straight-up kosher beats of the hard-core "Psychosemitic" and the Snoop Dogg-esque "Oh God, Get a Job." Parents will schvitz over such retro lyrics as "I sold my Chevy to the Levys, but the Levys don't drive." Some references may make the grandparents a little verklempt, but chances are, they probably won't understand the words anyway. Rap, Hebrew, what's the difference? ***

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Tamara Ikenberg

Chaka Khan

Come 2 My House (NPG 982)

So what happens when Chaka Khan, one of music's more seductive divas, is teamed with The Artist (formerly known as Prince), a performer never known for his coyness in the area of sex? Well, nothing quite as explosive as the imagination might conjure. The fact is, "Come 2 My House," Khan's first full studio album in six years, is fairly tame, though her pledge in the opening line of "I'll Never B Another Fool" will perk a few ears, even if it does not get quoted in a family newspaper. Ultimately, Khan's promise is a lot more fascinating than the album's result. **1/2

Milton Kent

Pub Date: 12/10/98