Entertainment
In Brief
Prince
N w J ck City
A Sma h
Despite all the controversy
urrounding "New Jack City",
it was thi pring' hotte t
surpri e hit, gro ing over $41
million. Director Mario Van
Peebles ys "New Jack" h
opened door, but all the
tudios want him to make are
films about "five guys
, moking crack" or a "New
Jack", Partll. Instead he's got
a studio intere ted in his next
film, "Obsession", an erotic
thriller he'll direct and co-star
,. in with Robin Givens.
Kane Bare All
Big Daddy K
bow
. concerts, stripped do to hi
." • G-string at a local radio station
.. : party, and there's the June
• Playgirl spread. Does he have
... a thing for being buck naked in
public. "Normal sex gets
boring", ays Kane. "So you
• just think something real
dumb to do and you say I want
... to do this. I don't know maybe
• the next time I do Arsenio
Hall, I'lljustdrop everything."
Have your VCR's ready.
III Shouldn't
Have Done·ltll
The title of the new s�ngle
from Slick Rick's upcoming
album, probably serves to
reflect his sentiments as well.
The New York-based rapper
checked in at the Ne York
state prison system to begin .
serving a three-and-a-half
year sentence for attempted
murder earlier last month. In
the meantlrne, his record
company will release two
albums worth of material,
recorded while he was out on
bail, awaiting the verdict His
advice to youngsters',
"Sometimes it's best to
wallow your pride and think
before you dosomethlng, and
stay on the right side of the
law."
Rappers Pull Gun .
on Record Exec
chry ali act Gang Starr
has been dropped from the
record label after it was
reported that they locked a key
Black executive in a room and
pulled a firearm, threatening
that he'd better promote them. '
The police were called and
group members were arrested.
Lover' Lane
It looks like wedding bells
for Peabo Bryson and Juanita
Leon rd (former wife of
boxing champ Sugar Ray).
Peabo y they met about 11
years ago when be w till
married to Leonard, and
according to him it was
Juani ta who popped the
, que tion ... Lionel Richie has
been seen wHh the lady with .
whom wife Brenda bad tbe
1988 showdown.
- Complied by
K .. cene Bark. -
8ehind- Th -SC nes
Easy-E
was
quoted
as saying
"The
b tch
deserved
·t "
I •
Radioscope ... The Column
Uti
kin on
b
From Baiky Broodcasting
Services Yia Se"G Syndkation
It w mooth sailing for AI B. ure after the release
of "In Effect Mo�". The double platinum album
produced five hit Ingles and turned AI into R&B's
new t ex symbol.
Thi time around AI' "Private Times and the
Whole 9" album, i a heartreat away from reaching the
platinum mark. Al's next single "Had Enu/?" might
just put him over the top.
Al's duet with Diana Ross, "No Matter What You
Do" turned out to be a good idea for both of them.
Diana could use a hit record. Their duet climbed into
the R&B top 15 and just might have enough momen­
tum to make it to number one. But Diana's not the
only on getting something out of the deal. AI w nted
a more mature ound and Diana turned out to be the
ideal match to help him carry off "No Matter What
You Do's" very adult theme.
AL'S TRANSITION TO a more mature ound
n't 10 t him the gaggle of teenage girls that jumped
. comer the first time . They're still diggin'
tdS.lftl�eUtfi whOle 1 r audience .
VESTA and SPECIAL
It doesn't take but a few minutes
to recognize that Vesta is an artist of
unique and seemingly limitless
talent. The way her voice slides easi­
ly from flat-out uptempo material to
soothing love ballads di plays her
versatility.' The way she expertly
balances a variety of emotions on her
newest A&M album Special shows
her to be a performer .in confident
control of her music. '
Countless pop or R&B singers
today appear impressive on the sur­
face. They can act.i.but when it
comes to standing there and actually
Singing the song, they aren't fooling
anybody. "I call that more model
than vocal," Vesta volunteers, agree­
ing that more and more people are
demanding the talents of real si.ngers.
"Without a doubt, I think that trend
is al� motion - with the likes
of ��,��ker, Freddy Jackson and
Luther Vandross," she says. "As
long as those people are always
gonna want to go and see someone
really deliver."
And delivering is what Vesta Wil­
liams is known for - whether on her
two previous albums, Vesta and
Vesta 4 U (which boasted the #1
R&B smashes "Sweet Sweet Love"
and "Congratulations") or on her
. grueling chedule of outside com­
mitments. These range from ession
inging behind such artists as Sting,
Anita Baker and Stephanie Mills to
TV and radio commercials for Diet
Coke, Nike-Air Jordan, Budweiser
and Revlon.
Vesta is quite pleased with how
Special turned out-and can't dis­
guise her pride in not only co­
producing nearly every track of the
album, but in co-writing all of the
songs. (She's also just co-written the
song "I'LL Go Crazy" with Gerald
Alston for hi . latest album.) As ex­
pected, she has "special" feelings for
certain tracks on Special. The ex­
tremely oulful "Cant Get Enough
01 Your Love" may contain her best
singing of the album. "That may be
my favorite lyrically-it's almo t
like a conversation between two
people. And it say exactly what one
would ay in the situation."
"WHERE DOES THE WVE
GO?" is the big ball d, and Vesta
explains how it ended up on the
album. "That. was actually a ong I
op
AI' ever-
widening circle of
fans has got to be
a comfort - be­
cau e bef.ore
"Private Time"
was relea ed he
worried about not
having an
audience at all.
There doe n't
seem to be the
kind of frenzied
hype surrounding
"Private Times
and the Whole 9"
that swirled AI B. Sure
around "In Effect Mo�". It' probably because AI
discovered the first time around that veing turned into
a instant celebrity is not all it's cracked up to be.
You've got to give AI B. Sure credit. He' taken a
career that could have been j t another quic pin
around the block the latest singi bunk and
tumilll in into a 10 1 tift eareet.
.:
Caribbean comes to
Toronto eve�y summer
had written maybe sevenor eight
years ago, I have this old raggedy
tape bag that I carry around, and one
night I pulled it out and played it for
some friends. They loved the stuff
outta that bag! That was also th eonly
totally live track-live drums, live
keyboards, live bass-We just cut it
like the big girls do!"
Not to be mi ed is the track "Rib
Joint, " populated by characters like
Jimmy "Nigh t Train" Ripple. "That
was a lot of fun," Vesta recalls.'
"We've always done little kits on
each album, and we decided to take
it to the max this time. I wrote the
lyrics to '/ Don't Want No Woman
That Look Like No Bone!' The video
is going to be hilarious. tI
Vesta w born in the small town
of Ch hocton, Ohio, but moved to
California at age seven when her di c
jockey father took a job in Lo An­
geles. At 14, she returned to Ohio,
where she nurtured her talent for
inging, comedy nd musical imper-
nations. '
Although her early as ociation
with Chaka Khan invariably prompts
Vesta
comparison, .vesta's singing b
been influenced by a number. of ar­
tists. "I've always been highly in­
n uenced by male vocalists," he
reveals.' "Marvin Gay, Billy Pau!...1
loved the O'Jays. As fare as female
singers, I'd have to say Aretha, Sarah
Vaugh Jon! Mitchell, lots of Phoebe
Snow and Gladys Knight."
Vi ta has truly arrived with Spe­
cial-and has no plans to low down.
"I'm really happy with thi album. I
co-wrote all of the ongs on the
record. I think it hows a more
ophisticated, more mature vocal ap­
proach--a lot 0 the songs on the
record. I think it shows a more
ophisticated, more mature vocal ap­
proacb-a lot of emotion, a lot of
control. And I feel the strong support
of the record company on this one."
"I really feel I'm movin' in the
right direction. I don't dwell too
much on what I've done ... 1 dwell
more on that I'd like to do. But I'm
very pleased 0 far. I feel very
blessed."
Canada' Centennial celebrations.
Since then, the festival bas grown
to include other countries tbat
celebrate masquerading festivities
(such as Latin Ameriql and Africa),
making it the mo t culturally diverse
of world festivals. Caribana is a :
result of the combination of two"
regional masquerade traditions,
Mardi Gras and Junkanoo. Mardi
Gras is celebrated just before Lent in
the Ea tern Caribbean, while
Junkanoo is a fe tival celebrated in
Jamaica and Bahamas.
By VIRGINIA ALLIBON
Imagine experiencing the sights;
ounds, and feeling of home 2800
km away from the We • Indies -this
is what Torontonians and thousands
of other visitors to Toronto ex
perience every summer during
Caribana, a truly international fes­
tival which celebrates the freedom of
the Caribbean people. With atten­
dance over 1.5 million last year, the
Fe tival i Canada's econd-largest
annual event and one of the biggest
celebrations in North America.
From July 22 to August 5,
Toronto's treets will be filled with
the sound of steelband, calypso, soca
and reggae as dancers and spectators
alike s�ay to
the music of
the Carib­
bean. The
city will be­
come cap­
tivated once
again in the
ongs of
freedom and
joy a all
people,
regardl of
race or
colour,
c e l e bra t e
theirdifferen-
CARIBANA CELEBRATES
its Z4th anniversary on July 22 when
the Festival is officially launched at
Toronto City .
Hall's Nathan
Phillips
Square. A'
pectacular :
program or :
dance, moon­
light cruises.
plcnlc , cos­
tume com­
petitions,
music fes-"
tival, a
ma querade
ball, and of
course, the •
rade, will �
follow the'
ces,
According grand open-' .
to Elai ne ing celebre- :
Ziemba, Min- tions. •
i ter of Citizenship for the province The highlight of Cariban I :
of Ontario: "What began as a um- agruably the parade which ligh up_.
mer version of Carnival has become the streets of Toronto with colour on
a wonderful example of how a mul- August 3. The masquerade groups
ticultural community can work or "mas camps", pend nearly the
together. No longer i this festival entire year creating beautiful COI-
j t for Caribbean people , but one tum and tloa .to showcase their
I d k creativity to the eager crowds who
that appea s to, an aurae s, fill the downtown treetsandExhibi.
Canadians of all multicultural and
multi-racial backgrounds. This, in tion Stadium. Each m querade
the end,' what we are working fO,r band (there are 40 in total co Isdn
in Ontario." of ;00 masqueraders) depicts a .
The Carlbana festival derives i theme ranging from historical:
cultural heritage from the events, political commentary, en- '
m querading traditions of the 'WI t vironrnental tatemen to comedy, ·
Indi n immigrants that ettled in tire and fantasy.
large numbers In Canada during the The Metropolitan Thronto CoD-
mid 1960&. 'The first Caribana fes- ' venlion" , ito AIaodadon toU· •
tival w I unched in 1967 the free from the Continental USA and .
Cari bbean' contribution to Canada: 1-800-363-1990.