ENTERTAINMENT
BRIEFS
I
Tone Loc
I c in
Bi W Y
After the popul rity of
"Funlcy cold Medina" and
"Wild Thang", mo t fol
thought Tone-Loc h d
dropped off the planet. But
now with a new lbum, nd
I three acting projects, fans
will get to ee alot more of
Tone Loc.
In one of hi most recent
ventures, Ton Loc i trying
hi hand at voice-overs, lend-
· ing hi gritty baritone to th
laid-back iguana in 20th Cen­
tury Fox' anim ted feature,
· "FernGully: The Last Rain
Forest."
Tone's other acting gigs
· include his recurring role on
· th Fox-TV sitcom, "Roc",
which he recently igned on
for 10 new episodes this fall,
as well as a part in John
· Singleton' "Poetic Justice".
Even though his acting
slate is piling up, he's not
· planning to dump his rap
career.
· Quincy Jones
Turn Up The
· Volum
Quincy Jones and Def
Jam' Rus ell Simmons have
teamed up for a new project.
The two media giants will
publish a hip hop magazine
called "Volume".
Volume will focus on
music, film, fashion, and
visual arts. A test issue of the
magazine will hit newsstands
in September for $2.50. The
magazine is aimed at readers,
aged 18-24.
Doing The.
Right Thing
One actor (Gregory Allen
Williams) came to the aid of
a Korean who had been
pulled from his car at an inter-
section, and is credited with
saving the man's life.
- Edward Jame Olmos
("American Me") played a
lead role in clean-up efforts
throughout the riot- avaged
city.
- Sinbad volunteered for
the same while also offering
his services in getting food to
people who were left without.
(Most stores in the com­
munity were burned down.
Buses aren't running, and
many have no way to get
food).
- Hammer called for an
end to the violence while at­
tending a relief concert in
• . Kentucky.
....:.... Other celebrities in­
cluding Anjelica Huston,
Sean Penn, Debbie Allen and
husband Norm Nixon, Matty
Rich, and Bill Duke gathered
on a Burbank oundstage to
do and say what they could.
_:_ Former LA Law star
Jimmy Smits taped an appeal
in spanish to Latino youths.
- "We need more intel­
lects," director-choreog­
rapher Debbie Allen said,
committing $10,000 "to
reconstructing the library that
was burned down."
- Complied by K Barks
- Special contributors:
LI a Colilne (Behlnd- The­
Soenee) & RadloScope .. The
Colum
cro your co ciousn
The characters he create may
remind you of people you know or
incident you've een becau e
they're born of actual experience.
Stoneface i a OJ who e musical
style complemen the f ctual recol­
lectio , selecting his plice from
the soundtrack of life.
Their Wild Pitch Records debut
album i called School 0/ Hard
Knocks. Within many of his rhym
Hardbead uses metaphors. This title
i no exception. "Did you ever hear
of 'jac of all trades and master of
none'7" questions Hardhe d.
"YOU DON'T GRADUATE
from the chool of hard knocks until
you m ter life. That means you
never graduate. It' all about learn­
ing."
One of the standouts on the
album, "ADirtyCopName{1Harry,"
Is based on a true tory that New
Yorkers will recognize immediately.
, dru cops and corruption
a� t factors everywhere. "I apply
that song to society itself," insl ts
Hardhead. "It could happen in any
neighborhood, ln any ghetto, in any
suburb, In any rural area. There are
cops that do wicked shit anywhere
you go .. Coincidentally, Harry was
one of the local cop from our neigh­
borbood."
The 'hood Hardhead refers to is
the Bronx where he grew up. Al­
though he was in a group called Uni­
que Force in 1980, it wasn't until he
moved to Atlanta in 1985 that the
muslc thing got really serious. He
hooked up with producers James,
"Jay One" Miller and Thomas "Zulu"
Simmons at a place called Five
Points in downtown Atlanta. "We
used to stand around downtown and
kick verses and lyrics," he recalls.
"Zulu was a music freak. He used to
say 'Man you're good. Why don't
you come over to my house and kick
some lyrics? I got every beat you
can lmagine.' He's one of the former
members of the Zulu Nation. He
grew up in Bronx River."
STONEFACE WAS born in
London, England, where he lived
until he was seven. His family
moved to New York but his mother
decided the environment w too
tile and relocated to Allan in
1984. "Around my bloc I w the
one ith 11 the tape ," ay
Stonef ceo Hi influence come
from the old chool: Kool Moe Dee,
The Tre cherou Three,
Grandm ter Fl h, Doug E. Fre h,
Grandwizard OJ Theodore, Cash
Money.
"Back then I looked up to the
am people Stoney just mentioned,"
agrees Hardhe d. "But you gotta roll
wi th the punch . Thi is' 92. I like
people who got omething to ay,
like Ice Cube, R kim and Cypre
Hill."
Let's take the tune "Nigga For
Hire," one of the strongest state­
ments on the lbum, It may offend
some people, butsometimes the truth
hurts, Remember, it's the result of
personal experience.
"We have a Black race that needs
therapyl'Couse the workplace now
is a modern day slavery.
Trying to gain brownie points and
respect! Frontin I, when the .
govemmem's also signing your
check."
"THE STATEMENT 1 was
making is self-explanatory" insist
Harhead. "1 don't like Uncle Toms.
The majority· of these songs were.
written in the South, about lyne
nd the guys In the white hoods,
about the young Black Idd who gets
caught in a white neighborhood
when the sun goes down and h to
run through the woods with white
boy chasing him. I've had my own
color go tell the white man that I'm
sixty seconds late off my break and
they fire me. I've had people mess
me up on the job just so they could
get a 50-cent raise. Now that doesn't
apply to everybody. But one man
can't come up with the solution for
the sickness of a billion people. It
would take a much higher power.
"I don't think what I'm speaking
in my songs is profanity," he con­
tinues. "These are just songs of hos­
tility. Instead of going out and
grabbing Bush and beating him
down, (because) I can't do that, the
only way I know to get my rocks off
is on vinyl. If did it any other way,
. it's gonna put me in that cage."
ANOTHER PENETRATING
tune from the album is "Thoughts of
Negro," which puts old stereotypes
in their place and verbalizes the un­
spoken thought so many young
Black males. "I go in Woolworth's
in New York," Hardhead reminisces,
"and the guard will follow me around
HARD KNOCKS - '(I-r): Hardhead and Stoneface.
if I'm carrying a backpack. These
are issues we all go through if we
look suspicious. If you go to higher­
class department stores in the wrong
neighborhood and your shade of
color is darker than the owners of the
store, then you're a prime suspect.
One night I was crossing 72nd
Street at 3 a.m. I'm the only Black
man around and a van pulls up and
they lock their doors. For what? I'm
not thinking about them. I want to
get to the other side of the curb.
Those things bother me. I write
about a lot of stuff that irritates me.
I'm a frustrated guy. I get tired of
talking about these issues to people.
It doesn't matter to them. All they
ay is 'Aw, the world is fucked up.
Deal with it.' I found a better means
of complaining - put .it on wax."
you came from, and I respect that.
Hardhead's mom has a large tri­
fluence on his life and hi songs.
Take for example the ong "Young
Black Male." "Certain decisions I
had to make were influenced by my
mom." admits Hardhead. "BUller
King is a job, an hones paycheck.
Rather than going out acrificing
your life for a bag of dope to sell to
the next brother, why not get a job?
Why do you have to stand out? Why
do you have to be on the corner
standing rather than coming home
. Album Reviews
ON THE OTHER hand, "Gbetu»
Love" is the story of a bonding be­
tween brothers, driven by a need to
survive and to find compassion in It
harsh environment. "There' that
line about Bezo, II' relates Hard head ,
"who e house I could go to at any
time of night and he would welcome
me with open arms. That is a friend.
These people understand what I'm
into now. They don't pressure me.
All they ask is don't forget where
See KNOCKS, 82
- -- �
Single Review
Name: Pete Rock & CL Smooth
Single: "They Reminisce Over You" ..... Elektra
Comm nt{a): One of the most grooviest rhythms of '92. The Iy�ics
explain growing up w'ith an alcoholic father and t e death of Pete'
closestfriend,·Heavy D's dancer Trouble T-Roy.
Grad : (A+ Outstanding) .
Name: Pooh-Man
Album: "Funky As I Wanna Be" ........ Jive/RCA
Comment( ): The name of the album should be as wack as I wanna
be. Average West coast beats & rhyme
Grade: (F- Failing)
Name: Das EFX
Album: NDead Serious" ...... Atco/East West
Comment{ ): The rap style is magnificent. The beats are hittin'. This
ones for the Jeep .
Grad.: (A� au tanding)
Name: Positive K
Single: "Night Shift" ..... 4th Broadway/Island
. Comm nt{ ): It has a groovy guitar rhythm but I had problems with the
way he pimp women at night.
Orade: (B- Good)
Name: A-Team
Album: ·Hero Ain' Nothing But A Sandwich· ... Select
Comment( ): A' hard-fresh song at the beginning seems to fizzles out
at the end.
Or de: (C+ Average)
Name: TLC
Single: "Friends" ..... Laface/Arlsta
Comm nt{ ): It has a nice R&B beat and it talks about the problems
between friends.
Gr d : (8+ Good)