Nina Sky
Photo: Universal

NEW YORK — The girls of Nina Sky already know what most people think they are: a one-hit wonder. A reggaetón act. Hook chicks.

Twins Nicole and Natalie Albino have heard it all, and they're starting to grow leery of all the labels. That's why they've decided to take matters into their own hands on their sophomore album, The Musical, tentatively due at the end of the year on Next Plateau/ Universal Records. They figured if they want people to really know who Nina Sky are, they might as well start by introducing themselves musically.

"A musical is a very big production — you need all the right actors, the right score, the right concepts, the right ideas, the right story lines, everything has to be in place," Nicole explained recently before the duo performed at a Samsung party. "So that's how we felt about this album, it was a really big production [for us]. And our first album was kind of like the draft."

"And I don't think people gave our first album much of a chance," Natalie added. "Because they wanted to corner us as reggaetón artists because [the genre] took off so big. But it's all good. We hope people embrace everything about us this time."

To help audiences get a good sense of all they have to offer, Nina Sky have enlisted the talents of Cool & Dre (Fat Joe, The Game), Salaam Remi (Nas, Beenie Man) and Ryan Leslie (Danity Kane, Cassie) for production. The girls are also taking a larger role in composing each song. Whether collaborating with Rick Ross or Trey Songz, Nicole and Natalie said they wanted their own interests to rise to the surface.

"It's a big deal to us to write all of the lyrics," Nicole said. "It just shows that our music is really reflective of who we are. A lot of people just sing songs and then they say, 'This song means so much to me, because it represents [me] ...' "

"And they didn't write it," finished Natalie. "How can that represent who you are?"

In addition to lead single "Sugar Daddy," The Musical will feature a mix of traditional R&B ("No More"), reggae flavor ("Trippin' "), and hip-hop ("Flippin' That" featuring Rick Ross). And the sneaker-friendly girls are particularly proud of "Fresh Kicks," their ode to rocking rubber soles.

"We were with Salaam Remi and we started talking about [sneakers]," Natalie said of the track's origin. "Just about how we have the fly kicks on in the club. We try to write about whatever we do."

"Hopefully this time around the music will just speak for itself," Nicole added.

• Nina Sky

<i>White Chicks Like Mixtapes Too</i>
Photo: Clinton Sparks

Artist: Clinton Sparks

Mixtape: White Chicks Like Mixtapes Too

Representing: Beantown

The 411: "Spider-Man 2" and "Shrek 2" may be the summer's biggest blockbusters, but the "White Chicks" are killing them in the category of street cred. Marlon and Shawn Wayans are the hosts, and if you thought they were raunchy hosting the VMAs a few years back, listen up here.

Joints To Check For:

• "Take a Good Look" by Lloyd Banks. Somebody ask 50 Cent and Sha Money XL how in the world this record didn't make The Hunger for More. Banks is in his "Stunt 101" mode, bragging about the baguettes dripping off his body parts, going through "more trees than Tarzan" and wearing a throwback that's "light blue, came out about the same time my grandmother graduated from high school."

• "Rollers" by the Clipse. The Clipse are back in the kitchen, and by "the kitchen," we don't mean the studio. The Virginia brothers have once again taken their content to the place where food is cooked, with raps about the days when they sold drugs for a living. "I'm not Richard Pryor, but prior to rap I was cooking crack over an open fire," says Malice. Don't sleep on the Indian flute on the beat — it's crazy.

• Various Wayans brothers skits. Marlon says its best: "Laugh till you fart." Damon's younger brothers are like bulls in a china shop on this mixtape. The two throw a bit of extra bass in their voices and fling a few extra four-letter words, broaching subjects from not having enough money to girls who tease them so much it hurts.

Don't Sleep: Other Notable Selections This Week

• Nina Sky and DJ Cipha Sounds' The Nina Sky Mixtape
• Lights Out Productions' Welcome to the Aftermath
• The Honorable King Smij's Sshhhh ... Volume 13 R&B, Usher's 90 Minute Freak-Off and Official Down Soufh 2

• Goon Squad's Welcome to Grimmyville Part 2
• DJ Clue's The Mixtape After Tomorrow
• DJ Lt. Dan's The Chef vs. the Butcher
• DJ Kurupt's Hostile Takeover

'Hood's Heavy Rotation: Bubbling Below The Radar

• Alchemist featuring Prodigy, Nina Sky and Illa Ghee - "Hold Me Down"
• Mobb Deep - "Throw Your Hands"
• Kurupt featuring M.O.P. and Roscoe - "Jealousy"
• Jay-Z - "The Game Is Mine"
• Roots featuring Big Daddy Kane and Kool G Rap - "Duck Down"
• Lloyd featuring Ashanti and Scarface - "Southside" remix

Celebrity Favs

Reggae wild man Elephant Man, who just completed a new track with Will Smith and is gearing up to shoot a video for an "All Night" remix with Janet Jackson, says he loves to be loved. "My favorite mixtape DJ is Mister Cee because he plays a lot of Elephant Man, he keeps it down to earth. He doesn't forget where it's coming from and he's hardcore. Mister Cee, keep on doing what you're doing. Keep it jiggy, good to go!"

The Streets Is Talking: News & Notes From The Underground

Akon is no dummy. As a singer, touching the streets isn't always the easiest thing to do, especially if nobody has heard of you, so Akon called one of the most street-credible MCs for a little help: Styles P.

"My secret weapon," Akon said of the guest star on the remix of his 'hood favorite, "Locked Up." "I already knew if I could get Styles P. on this record, being that he just got locked up the same way I did, it'll be a wrap. ... He'd heard the record and he already loved the record, so it was just a matter of finding each other. He was looking for me and I was looking for him, so it was meant to happen."

Although Styles shared Akon's vision, the singer's own record label, SRC, wasn't necessarily the cut's loudest cheerleader initially. "Man, we been telling them [about 'Locked Up'] forever," Akon said. "They just didn't want to listen, so we went to the streets to do it ourselves. I said, 'Let's contact every mixtape dude in the city, every mixtape dude in every city surrounding [New York].' We just kept doing that until we went to Florida. Then we took a flight to L.A. and did the same thing there. Once the street buzz came, DJs just started playing it in the club. After that, the radio picked it up, then the label got behind it and it was a wrap."

Akon also pushed his song with an unconventional tour. "We did a penitentiary tour because I was trying to get the bottom of the streets," he explained. "I've been there, I know how these cats think in there, because these are the cats that's really living it."

Living that life cost Akon a couple of years of his life and more than $500,000 in legal fees, but he did have one thing going for him when he got out of jail: his bloodline. Akon happens to be a cousin of choreographer Divine Stevens (Usher, P. Diddy). Seeing that Akon wasn't pursing his singing career with enough drive, Stevens broke into Akon's studio, stole some of his records and began shopping Akon's demo. He eventually caught the ear of SRC CEO Steve Rifkind.

"He flew down to Atlanta to the crib," Akon recalled. " I didn't even know who Steve Rifkind was. So I'm looking out my window like, 'Yo, who's at my door?' We're right in the middle of the 'hood and all I saw was two white guys in black suits and another guy in plain clothes. So I'm thinking the feds are coming to question me about something that they might have overlooked."

Akon's Trouble was released June 29.

For other artists featured in Mixtape Mondays, check out Mixtape Mondays Headlines.

For more on the role of mixtapes in the music industry, check out the feature "Mixtapes: The Other Music Industry."

• Usher
• Lloyd Banks
• Clipse
• Nina Sky
• DJ Clue

Puerto Rican Day Parade 06.11.2006

• Fat Joe
• Nina Sky
• Beenie Man
• Angie Martinez
• Don Omar

Spankin' New Music Week: Nina Sky Photos 11.08.2004

• Nina Sky