Supa Sista

Rucker, who has built up a loyal following based on her collaborations with U.K. cult darlings 4 Hero -- who produced some of the tracks on her album -- and hip-hop legends-in-the-making the Roots, fleshes out the disc with songs like “7,” “1 Million Ways To Burn” and “Spring,” which dissect the thornier sides of romance. But, she says, “They‘re not really about love lost, they’re about love getting misplaced and confused, and then you have to do what you need to do in order to figure it out.”

The closing track, “Song for Billy,” is disturbing in its own right, but becomes absolutely harrowing with the knowledge that it‘s based on a true story. A photojournalist friend of Rucker’s who did an expose on children whose parents are drug addicts inspired “Song.” It tells the story of a baby, not yet a toddler, who is pimped out to pay for her mother‘s drug habit: “So these menthese monsterstook their turns at fuckingand rippingand tearinginto their fleshy paymentuntil they had all been paid . . .until they had all busted a nutand Mommy’s in the corner getting drugged upand now Baby is all fucked upand Mommy will never need moneyas long as she got Baby.”

When asked about the emotional toll it must take on her to perform the song in concert, Rucker pauses for a moment before answering. “I actually don‘t have a problem doing it live,” she says, “because I feel it so deeply. See, it’s all about change for me. I used to feel like, ‘What’s the use? Can I even make a change?‘ And I’ve learned that I can. And everyone else can. That‘s what I’m committed to. Every building block you contribute is worth something. If it just changes one person‘s life, it’s been worth it. It‘s important, and I don’t want people to give up on that. I still have hope. I can‘t just live my life, be in my box, do what I do daily in my ritual, without caring about anything else. I may not literally go out and carry a picket sign, but my work is my little way of once in a while holding up my picket sign.”

Ursula Rucker performs at the Knitting Factory on Saturday, September 8.