ENTERTAINMENT
BRIEFS
"lUV' out �re am in a big
y. It n't disaiminatc."
Tho e are Magic Johnson'
o am the theme behind the
conference called by Ar-
nio aOO . Jo n to
announce that they're hosting
"Playing It Safe: The Truth
About HIV, AIDS, and You".
Aimed teducating ��
yowtg adul about AIDS, it will
be produced by Paramount for
borne vi tte (expected to
be bout 15 million), will be
donated to Magic Johnson'
Foundation nd other groups
keying in on research, education
and care forpeop infected with .
arv.
"Playing It Safe" i being
�uled for a summer release.
Arsenio Hall will IVC as execu­
tive .producer. Malcolm Jamal
W�r will direct.
in the meantime, ¥agic'
boo onHIV and AIDS is due for
reI soon. When asked his
thoughts abut Arthur Ashe,
Magic responded, "It was a
hame that he was forced into
revealing he has my. He's en
titled to his privacy just like each
and every one of you."
To Hell
and Back
"I've been to Hell and back in
a limousine," is how Chaka
. Khan's paraphrases her absence
from the frontline of today's
record �ne.· But, she's back,
with an albwn some are calling
her best since her days with
"Rufus" (if some of you remem­
ber back that far).
At any rate, Warner B�.
execs believe so much in the new
project, entitled � Woman I
Am, " that they threw her a grand
old dinner party at the exclusive
St James aub in lA Olaka,
woo's dropped a lot of weight, is
beginning to look like her old self
again.
On the
home front
Thete have been better times
for Natalie Cole and husband
Andre F"ISCher, who announced
an "amicable" triaJ separa­
tion. ... By the Way: Acclaimed
director Mario Van Peebles �
directed the pilot for ABC's up­
coming "Missing Persons"
series, detailing the casework of
the Missing Persons Squad of the
New York PD. The show
recently wrapped production in
LA
Jada Pinkett
. denie rumor
of catfight
There have been rumors
. going roWld that Jada Pinkett'
giving Jesmire Guy a nul for ber
money on "A Different World."
Some tabloids reported that Jada
and Jasmine had a catfight on the
set But Jada says, "I don't know
where that story came from.
J mire would be last person
I would think. S� was so belp­
ful to " and so open to me, aIXl
WMj t1ookingoutformew�n
I got on the show. She's been
one of the nicest people to me on
the set 'That's what pissed me
off about it, because she' so
goOd tome."
_ oompl1ed by K. Berka
- Usa Collins (Behlnd-the­
Seen a) & RadloSeope ... The
Cdumn
Soldie of 0 nee, get re dy, th
Colon lib c nd commanding
your ttention. After ven-year
hiat , the King of house m ic
returns with his econd full-length
album of his career, About Romance.
For tb of you who ren't up on
your 00 m ic, Colonel Abrams
(y , that is hi real name) w the
inger of "MUsic Is The Answer,"
"Trapped," "Speculation" and "I'm
Not Gonna Let." He w the first
male vocali t to torm the cene after
Grace Jone and New York'
Pa dise Garage opened the doo
for music that keep dancers up all
night long. Colonel Abrams, who
et the house music tandard, be­
came known for his triking ap­
pearance and deep, sexy voice and
had butts shaking well into the morn­
ing light.
For tho e of you who are already
down with the Colonel, get up, be­
cause he's ready to move again. His
second album, "About Romance"
boasts burning hot dance tracks and
. oothing ballads for those pecial
moments.
Of the house music phenomenon
which started to kick in the early
1980's, the Colonel �ys proudly, "I
. was one of the originals. I started it,
I should say. It was myself, Timmy
Regisford (famed OJ and owner of
New York' "Shelter" .club),
Marston. Freeman and Boyd Jarvis.
AU we had was a bass drum machine
and my voice."
AFTER CONQUERING the
scene the Colonel was ort of Miss­
ing In �ction fer a while. Well, like
any good �lonel would, Abrams
stood back for a while and watched
the scene, 0 that his next move
would be the right move. That next
move being his single, "You Don't
Know," a collaborative effort with
the new funk heroes, the Bran New
Heavies. It i the collaboration, that
shows the Colonel is coming new
and coming strong. He says of the
subtle dance track, "It's a song about
what's happening socially in the
world today. The Homeless
people ... and how a lot of people are
ignoring them. How has it come to
this? Somebody 11 me thi ?"
Upon fir t Ii ten to About
Romance you 11 find the Co onel
ms to have gotten calmer, 1
frenetic than the hype d y of
"Trapped." If you have never heard
him before, you will be immedi ly
imp ed with his comfortable ing­
ing tyle and distinctive styling. The
reason for his new calm is that h left
the hustle d b tie of New Yor
City and moved to Califomi . "For
anyone who' trying to create, you
need that pe ce of mind. If you don't
have that, you can't create on a lon­
gevity b is. I found that out here, I
can till keep my energy." Although
he has found peace in California he
hasn't forgotten his roo . "New
Yor has made me who I am, 0 I
can't forget it," he boas .
Colonel Abrams looks forward to
gaining new audience and satisfy­
ing hi loyal fans. The vibrant
ophistication of About Romance
can only trengthen hi lready
grand appeal. "I could have done
some raw house," he explains, "but it
would have been the same old thing.
I would have been OK in the clubs,
but that' it I am more than that.
Muchmore."
And he Is. The love ballad,
"When So�body Loves Somebody"
is a perfect example. The Colonel's
strong voice take you through this
irresistible love song caressing every
note and flaunting hi full range. His
'music writing and vocal arranging
kill let thi oothing ballad flow
over you like a w terfaU. "I enjoy
doing ballads better than uptempos,
because ballads are really from the
heart." .
BUT COLONEL ABRAMS has
not forgotten where he comes from.
Dance track "Straight Up" is a raw
house-based dance single that roars
with energy while the soothing sexy
background vocal of Ro e Stone
(sister of Sly) makes the track a
potential hit.
The true musical chameleon in
Colonel Abrams shines through on
See ABRAMS, B2
· Colonel Abrams
By SH�CK ROCK'
Where di the funk of the
funkadelics go? Nowhere! It's
simply just got transformed into the
90' s hip-hop gr up Digital
Underground. They combine hard,
smooth, R&B, rock & 6O-70's funk
into modem day hip-hop.
The organiz tion contains 18
rapper , seven singers, eight
musicians and a crazy road
manager. The group started when
foun�g members Shock G and
Chopmaster J started the proces of
the group. "You will always ee
new and different faces in Digital
Underground. We want to see new'
faces on each album."
,
The Ptist: The first record for
Digi tal Underground was a
slammin' 12-inch "Your Life'S a
Cartoon/Underwater Rimes."
They landed a deal with Tommy
Boy Records. There first album
"Sex Packets" old over a million
copie .. To top that, the group
dropped an LP for the movie
"Nothing But Trouble" that went
gold in three weeks. Not to
mention the group invented the
Humpty Dance.
Hardship truck the Digital
Underground camp when Shock
G's home was burnt to a crisp,
losing mo t of Digi tal
Underground's equipment,
clothing and irreplaceable old
records. "I feel like hip-hop's first
homeless cese" Shock G. laments.
. The Present: There current
album "Sons of the P" is selling off
the racks. The hit ingle "Kiss You
Back" just went gold (sold 500,000
copies or more). They've started a
trike against pl tic surgery with
the slammin'· ba s
Humpty-flavorec1 song "No Nose
Job."
The Future: "We just
finished the album after 'Sons o/IM
P, , it is the best album ever to be
rete ed in history" explains Shock
G. Raw Fusion, Roni &! the
Macoroni's,2P c aDd Gold Money
are artista that are part of the Dig! tal
Underground fl
"Also e're tbcSOIU of 1M PI"
Digital Underground yells.
Digital Underground pictured Mar Czar of A.U.T.H.O.
.T.Y.
.'