- M rio V n Pee ble ,
pictured with "Gabriel' Fire" t r Jame arl Jones, recently
directed n upcomin epi ode of the critically acclaimed serte ,
which be an iring on it new day and time Wed,ne day, April 17
(10:00-11:00 PM, PT) on B . Van Peeble directed nd tar
in the coutrover i I current feature film release " ew Jack
City," od st rred in the title role of the recently aired
de-for-telev! ion mo ie "Tr lumph of the He rt: The Ricky
Bell ory."
Get'that
IIpackagell ready
, "Send me a package," is what
most entertainment business
people will say if they are inter­
ested in an 'arti t. It never
ceases to amaze me when I at­
rend an af air and these very
talented performers don't have
any kind of literature,
biographies, photo' , or even a
business card representing who
tUey are. they practice and
r hearse long hard hour and
t ey sacrifice their free time,
tHey even buy the e wonderfu
glittered, and tar studded
wardrobes to wear on stage.
They spend countle s dollars
on expensive equipment, and put
on a dynamic performance, only
to mis opportunity because they
didn't have any thmg to give to
an interested entertainment rep­
resentative!
WelJ, if you want omeone to
take an interest in what you do,
(or what you're doing ... ) then it's
very important to include in your'
budget and plans. package that
you can pa s out to "important"
connection when you perform
at an affair. ...
The correct term i : "Arti t
Biography", or the term that I
like to use i : "Arti t Demonstra­
tion Package. In this package
you'll want to include as much
Talented
songwriter looks
toward success
NNPA Feature Column
Imaginary Records and Dis­
tribution Corporation recently
began promoting Ymistye
(Misty) White of Tuskegee,
Alabama nationally targeting
the ad ult contemporary
audience.
White began writing music
and lyric at age 15. That same
year, she attended Hull House
A ociation Music and Art
. Camp, East Troy, Wi con in.
There, she wa inspired to
develop a total in ight for
songwri ling.
White. a music major at
Florida A & M Univer ity, wa a
member of'the woodwind en-
emb le , symphonic band, and
compo ed music for several
group on and around campus.
Entangled between fini hing col­
lege and making a living on her
own in the music industry, White
decided to venture to Hol­
lywood, Cali omia, to pursu a
career in ongwri ting.
Ymi tye White
During h r tay in Hol-
lywood, White completed many
poeu ' ng ,took le on from a
vocal oach, and returned to Tu -
kegee, learning more about the
music bu ine s. A few year
later, she igned with Broadca t
Mu ic, Inc., (BMI) a a
writer/publi her affiliate.
Her la tes t endeavor, the cas-
ette ingle, ttl Lo ked at
Heaven," earned her Golden
Poet Aw rd in 1988 befor it w
written as a ong.
t
v
Behind - The - Scenes
New Jack publicist
slam' ive Heartbeats
By Usa Collin
Some member of the Black
press as well as the New York­
b ed Black Filmmaker's Foun­
dation are enraged over an item
in the New York Post citing that
publicist for New Jack City
blasted the Black Filmmaker
Foundation's campaign to get
people to support Robert
Townsend's "The Five
Heartbeats" at the box office.
The memo further went on to
mention the citing of a publicist
for "Five Heartbeats" handing
out keychains and T- hirts at the
Apollo Theater as an indication
of how bad thi ngs had gotten. It
is not clear whether or not the
publicist is speaking for New
Jack producers Doug McHenry
and George Jackson, but those
within the indu try are still
shaking their head in di gust
that uch a memo could have
ever been released.
What's more, the Black
Filmmakers Foundation is one
of numerous groups supporting
"The Five Heartbeats", fight
along wi th .,this col urnnis 1, and
while the film has not performed
to the expectations of 20th Cen­
tury Fox, we are not ready to
give Alp on it yet (Folks, let's go
out and see thi one. That is,
. unless you're ready to accept a
steady diet of "New Jack City").
New Jack City star Wesley
Snipe can now peak first-hand
on the subject of police
brutality, as he recently accused
the LAPD with abuse at a press
conference attended by several
Black actor, including Blair
Underwood and "Five
Heartbeats" co-star, Tico 'Well .
tions.
Wife Altovise, was on hand
to accept the coveted award.
James Earl Jones received the
Paul Robe on, designed to
recognize individuals who
served as pioneer in the motion
picture and television industry.
Other honorees included Bill
Duke, while Danny Glover,
Lynn Whitfield, and Madge
Sinclair were among the
presenters,
Former Mayor Marion Barry
Bares It All: Former DC mayor
Marion Barry offers a thought­
provoking view of both his ad­
dictions and his recove'rr in the
latest edition of "Suter 2
Sister".
In his open letter, Barry
write "when I was in power,
people around me would say,
"Mr. Mayor, you're ucce stul,
you've done so much", and I
began to betieve it. Meetings '
started when I wanted them to,
and phone conversations ended
when I was fini hed talking. I
began to feel seven feet tall. I
didn't know I was
miserable .... When you're in a
power po ition, whether you are
a minister, entertainer,
politician or athlete, there will
be women who like to be close
to you becau e of it. But the ego
made me think they liked me for
me. With many of the women I
went to bed with-l really
thought I was the omy one. The
ego is a bitch!' The male ego is
worse." For a copy of the letter,
dial 1-800-942-1500.
On a tragic note: Acto r
Kevin Peter Hall, co-star of
"Harry & the Hendersons" and
the alien predator in both
"Predator" and "Predator 2"
died uddenly in LA earlier this
month. Hall i ju t as likely to be
remembered for hi. work on
"227" 8S the love interest of co-
tar Alaina Reed Hall. The two
were wed hoth o n'scre e n and
ub eqently on scree n in a show
generated big ratings. Hall was
just 5.
By The Way: Carl Weathers i
set to star in Stephen Cannell's
new syndicated actio n hour,
"Street Justice". Weathers plays
the role of a Vietnam vet who
has become a cop in hi post-w r
days.
,J
FOR THI , and work th t
P n half century, Catlett wa
recently honored in WaShington,
her hometown, with a city
proclamation that extolled her
creativity nd, with the Lifetime
Achievement Award of the Na­
tional Conference .of Arti t
(NCA) that recognized her "ar­
tistic geni u " and commitment
to the Black arti t.
In accepting these award,
Catlett told the NCA audience at
Howard University that they
must make every attempt to get
their art into the museums and
gallerie in their communi tie ,
"My aim is- to bring art to our
people," he aid. "And that
should be your goal to d ay.
There are uch wonders in art,
and when I see my people
deprived of it, it hurts.
Catle tt observed that Blacks
did not visit museums frequent­
ly, and that when they did go, it
By
WIlliam
L •
information that you can about
yourself or your group. Make
copies of all awards-certificates.
diplomas, news clips, any highly
recognized appearances, and
other items that you think may be
pertinent to selling yourself.
TAKE SOME professional
photos of yourself, first Black
and white, and secondly in color.
Now one of the most important
things that you may want to con­
sider i making an audio trnd/or
visual artist demon tration tape.
Don't try to do a makeshift job
on this part of your package ... be­
cause remember, thi tape can
make or break you. But you
know what? 1 've got some great
news for you, I discovered a
place that can assist you in put­
ting a quality package together
for a very small fee. So . mall
that you probably COUldn't
believe it!!
The place is called Sing-A­
Long Music World. this mall
organization is ran by a' ve ry
warm and friendly young lady
named Emily and she has i n­
strumental background tape to
hundreds of songs, in all
categories of music. She ,has
professional equipment to record
your performance, and there's
even a very special section in the
building equipped with video
cameras, to record a live perfor­
mance.
Sing-AvLong is located at:
2033 Fifteen Mile Road, Sterling
Heights, Michigan 48310, or for
further i nforma tion you may
contact the tore by phone at:
(313) 939-1660.
O.K., now that I've put it in
the universe it' up to you to
ta e advantage of this insight
and information. So keep mil­
ing and remember to hoi the'
vi ion and ome day it will come
true. See you nex ee k in
"MUSIC MATIERS".
(
It seems Snipes, was stopped,
while driving a rental car that
wa incorrectly listed as stolen.
(Hmm ... l think we've heard that
one before). However, Snipe
say he wa pulled over for no
re on and forced to the ground
with a gun m hi' head. He was
relea ed an hour later.
James Earl Jones Sammy
Davls Honored:The Black
American Cinema Society in
Lo Angele �ecently extended
top' honors to James Earl Jone
and Sammy Davis at their Ninth
Annual Filmmaker Award.
Davi was post-humou ly
a arded the group highe t
honor for his longtime contrtbu-
to turn from p intin to ulp-
. ture. he mbr c d the ide of
c rvin in wood nd tone, nd
develop d and endurin love for
both.
innin
Vi Coli in T . in
nd ending th t creer in
1976 ith h r r tir ment from
the po to Director 0 Sculptur
at the tion I Un ive r ity of
exico ' S ho 1 f Fin rt in
xico City.
Ca tie u, who i marri d to
Fr nci co Mora, di tingui hed
Mexic n painter, nd liv in
Cuernavaca, h been the
recipient of num rou award,
prize nd commi ion.
But mo t of thi re ogni tion
h come from out ide the
Unit d State'. It wa ju t la t
year that the Smi th onian ' N -
tion 1 Mu eum of Am rican Art
finally purchased nd placed on
exhibit a C tlett sculpture. The
mu eum continued it progre s
with its first acqui ilion of a
painting by Loi Mailou Jone .
Among Catlett's major com­
mission are a life- ize bronze
bust of the poet, Phyllis Wheat­
ley, for Jackson State Univer­
sity; a ten-foot bronze of Louis
Armstrong for the city of New
Orlean , and a 24- foot bronze
relief for the Chemical and En­
gineering Building a t Howard
Univer ity.
.;
IN ART article on
Catlett' work, David Driskell,
the painter and art hi torian,ob-
erved that "her art comments
upon the human condition in
both positive and negative ways
and, at times, informs us on mat­
ters of race and social con­
sciou ness.
But the far-reaching message
of her work remains one of love,
a theme that is universal and
timele s."
'_;'
Acts of housing
discrimination are not
this obvious. Instead,
you might hear lines
like these:
"We just rented it."
"The owner decided
not to sell the house."
When you suspect housing
discrimination, call toll free:
1-800-669-9777,
TOO: 1-800-927-9275
EOUALHOU
OI'f'ORTUNtTY
Fair Housing'
Open Doors
u.s. Department of Housing
and Urban Development