JANUARY 15th
KING DAY - The f utty, aft &
stud nts 01 Marygrove Coli cor­
dially Invite t 0 troit metro com­
munity to tt d Dr. M In Lut r
KJng Jr., Birthday Cel br Ion 12
noon In the S cred He Chapel of
th Uberal Arts bldg on campu
loc ad at 8425 W McNichols Rd t
Wyoming. FREE
KING WEEK - A freedom march
led by ate Sen. Jackie Vaughn III
01 Detroit will kick off Martin Luth r
KJng Jr. Week Jan. 15-21 at CMU.
The march, In honor of the
American civil right , der who
w slain In 1968 will begin noon
the w t end of Foust Hall on the
eMU campu & proc doth
Warriner Mall. A ree ptlon will fol­
low In the Bovee Unlv. Cntr
ballrooms, where Vaughn will
deliver a commemorative speech.
CERAMIC VESSEL I
The recurring theme or Eugen
Marve' work i visu I
Interpretation of her phllsophy of
unlversalonene . Translated into
dynamic ceramics nd works on
paper, thi piritual life force
electrifie her rt. A Gr nd
Rapids artl t, M . Marve's work
re in many .publi and private
collection. V' ion: A 1971-1991
Retrospective of Works in Clay &
on Paper by Eugenia Mane will
be on display Jan. 12 thru Feb. 23,
1992 at Mu kegon Museum of Art,
296 W. Webster Ave., Mu kegon.
ven CI rk,
GROncSCO SHORTS - Play.
The tre Grottesco p rforms an
evening of outrageous, larger than
Itfe theatre, featuring live cartoons,
performance poetry, dance &
mime. Origin lone-act play
packed with Imagination! Jan 16-
18 at 8pm. Magic Bag Th atr
Cafe, 22918 Woodward Ave (nor1h of
8 MI F hlon f rod ) (charge 547-
SAMS or box office 544-3030)
JANUARY 17th
BAKER'S KEYBOARD - Orange
L k Drlv (f turing Ch rle
Gr n on p no) J . 17-18, 24-25.
20510 Llv rnol t 8 MI (864-
1200/1201)
WSU MLK LUNCHEON - Leron
Benn tt Jr., xec editor of Eboily
magazine, will be the guest
peaker WSU's annual Martin
Luther King Jr., luncheon program
from noon to 2 p.m. In the Com­
munity Arts Gallery. The program
costs $15 and open to the public.
(5n-22461
LOOK/LISTEN/LEARN
MUSEUMS
-AFRICAN AMERICAN HIS­
TORY, 301 Frederick Douglas,
Detroit. (833-9800).
--GRAYSTONE JAZZ., 3000 E.
Grand Blvd. (871-0234).
OTOWN, 2648 W. Grand
Blvd I Detroit. (867-0091).
-YOUTH HERITAGE HOUSE,
110 E. Ferry, Detroit. (871-1667).
Send Announcements to: Michigan
Citizen, P.O. Box 03560, Highland
Park, MI 48203.
Affairs' of the Heart
continued from 8-1
It's very important lO record songs that'
are not only great for today, but down
t� line will transcend whatever the fad
will be. What it's about is having a long
career. I'm certainly not going to have
a 'here today, gone tomonow' sort of
career."
. SHE'S ALREADY PROVEN
that. Watley began her career in 1974
when. at 15, he became a featured
dancer on "Soul Train." For three years
the attractive teenager danced to t�
latest R&B hits, boping one day to per­
form them berseu,
She got her chance as a senior in high
school when she was asked to join the
group Shalamar, based on the
popularity she achieved as a dancer on
the show,
It was a dream come tru -for Watley,
who had always wanted to be an enter­
tainer. Her mother sang and played the
piano, while her father was a radio disc
jockey who programmed gospel music.
He was also a minister, and he kept his
family on the move by trekking from
town to town. staging evangelical
revivals in makeshift tents. .-
Her' parents became friendly with
many popular singers, including Jackie
Wilson, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin
and Johnny Taylor. Watching these
talented performers and eeing her
. father preach to congregauons in hi
flamboyant robes made4 a trememous
impact on the impressionable
yo�ter. .
9By the time he moved to California,
her family had hit hard time.
WA1LEY'S FA TIlER, unable to
ftnd work on the airwaves, couldn't find
a ponsor for his ministry. Previously,
the family was always invited to stay
withcommwtity leaders in their homes.
Now they were forced to find lodgi�
in seeond-ra Idt�nettc mo Is.
When the situation failed to im­
prove, the family moved back to
Chicago, where Wately's mother and
father soon broke up. She' and her
mother returned to Los Angeles, wbere
Jody attended Dorsey High. The
events, while traumatic, helped toughen
the youth for the long road that lay
ahead.
"Los Angeles is a tough place," Wat­
ley says. "A lot of times when I see
people who have just lost it, there's a
part of me that can see how if you're
weak and you come to Los Angeles and
you're in pursuit of fame BOO Iortune, or
whatever it is that people are drawn to
California for, it's a tough place.
You've got to be strong to survive.'
Watley was more than strong
enough to establish her vocal identity in
Shalamar for seven years. While she
gained the ceq uisi te experience as a per­
former, she felt stifled creatively.
"Tbere was just 00 room to grow," she
relates, the lack of opportunity prompt­
ing her to make a radical change.
Motivated by a serse of adventure,
Watley quit the group and moved to
England.
WHAT WAS INITIALLY ex­
pected to be a six-month change of
scenery soon became two-and-a-half
years abroad. However, by tbe end of
that period, Watley' father had died,
and she was getting homesick. She met
an American manger while in England
and began writing songs with some of
her adopted countrymen. A demo was
recorded and shopped around, aed Wat­
ley ultimately signed with MeA.
The resulting albwn, Jady Watley,
sold more than a million copies and
featured three To Ten hit singles on '
Billboard's pop charts; "Looking For A
NewLove"(#f1.), "Don't You. WantMe"
(116) BOO "Saine Kind of Lover" (#10).
It also earned her a y Award for
Best New Artist. Talk about a debut
album.
Her follow-up album, Larger Than
Life, also went platinum BOO spawned
three more Top Ten pop hit singles,
including "Real Love" (#2), "Friends"
(#9) and "Everything" (#4). By now,
the singer's serse of style - on album
covers, videos and concert tOUtS - was
instantly copied. A natural in front of
cameras, Watley says motion pictures
are definitely a part of her future. even
if she has to write them herself.
And why shouldn't she? An ac­
complished singer and songwriter,
record producer, fashion provocateur
and trend-seuer ("Her knack for rein­
vention has always complemented her
music," wrote Vanity Fair in a 1991
article titled "Soul Survivor'�, Watley
has succeeded at every creative en­
deavor she's attempted to tackle.
In September, 1990, Jody was
honored with the "sbowstopper Award"
by New York Woman magazine. This
honor, alsO given that year io Barbara
Walters and Joan Rivers, is bestowed
upon women who have greatly in­
fluenced New York City's ever chang­
ing culture.
TIlOSE WHO TIlINK of Jody
Watley as merely a dance diva are simp­
ly dead wrong. Just ask her.
"What is a dance diva?" Watley
responds, the phrase hitting a nerve. "I .
don't consider myself a dance diva be­
cause I'm a vocalist. I'm a songwriter.
I'm an ntertainer and I grew up in­
spired by real entertainers and real ar­
ti ts. A dance diva is something that
isn't real, it's made up. It's technology
and. it's rot from the heart. What I do is
from the heart.
v.
1, 1 91, t 12:05
a.m., T tal Tra Productio called
Syl Smoov on th phon nd of-
red him de 1. (Tot 1 Tr k
Productions i behind th commer­
illy ucce ful c by DJ Qui
ndAMG.)
According to Courtn y, "Sylk'
music i mellow an'd h a trong
radio ppeal. But don't be fooled
beca he gets hardcore th
re t of them wh n it' time to tand
on his own!"
Upon igning with Total Trak,
Sylk needed a DJ to complete the
package. He teamed up with Cool
Odi -the mo t popular DJ in St.
Loui ,who at the time was pinning
records for Magic 108. "Odie used
to DJ at a locaJ club, When I left the
group I was rapping with, we
ho ked up."
Sylk Smoov ha a distinctive·
voice that melts in your ear on
the equally hypnotic "What DaJ SyJk
Like" and "Drama." True hip-hop
kill are displayed on "Keepin' It
Dope. " Sylk relax for a minute when
he admits he doesn't want hi heart
broken in "Luv Letter." The album
offers the chance to get up and party
on his tasty remake of George
Clinton's "One Nation Under A
Groove."
Sylk Smoov's album, simply
titled Sylk Srnoov, is filled with style
and 1 yrical elegance. His blend of
rhythm and rhyme will take you to
new levels of musical pleasure.
Sylk moov
Nineteen years old, an interna­
tional player and one of the be t rap­
pers in St. Louis, Sylk Smoov has
arrived with hi debut single "Klien­
tele" on PWL America Records. His
voice glide over the laid back track
as he unleashe the ecrets of his
mellow manner. "I wrote 'Klientele'
because a lot of people were gettin'
props for ellin' drugs. I wanted to
talk about gettin' props with the
ladies."
Sylk Smoov has been rapping
since he wa even years old! "I
officially became 'Slyk' in the fourth
grade." Sylk worked all day and
rapped all night and made a con-
cious effort to tay away from gang
violence. He truggled through
various odd job in order to ave
enough to record a demo tape.
He spent hi time ending out
eighty tape to record companies
acros the country. Slyk's tape sat
on the desk of Courtney Branch and
Tracy Kendrick of Total Trak
Productions for ix months! They
finally played the tape on New Years
, .