- oomplled by K. e.tca
- pecMI oontrtbukn: U
Collin. (BW'Ilnd· The-8oen.) &
oSoope ••• The Column
ByTh W Y
Natalie Cole's handsome
32-year old brother, Kelly
Cole, has been tapped to co
star in an upcoming Warner'
film, "The IMocents" with
Anthony Hopldns ... Salt N'
Pepa are slated to make ir
ft
spoof s� Jolm RI t
and Pam Dawbef.
Motown Lend
'It Support to
Minority Bank
Motown played host to
some LA minority-owned
banks and businesses during
a press conference announc
ing that $37 million from the
U.S. Government's Minority
Outreach program will be
deposited into California
banks. $22 million to be tar
geted for reinvestment in riot
tom areas of LA.
Before the unrest, the U.S.
Department of Energy
developed the Outreach bank
whichdeposited $20 million
nationally to minority-owned
banks supporting businesses
in urban communities.
Now, the amount they can
invest nationally has been
upped to $250 million.
Wondering where Motown
fits in? Well what' being
. done is largely attributed to
Paris Eley, Senior VP ofR&.B
Promotion, and his involve
ment in the Minority Out
reach bank. Eley has also
been very involved Wi� the
current truce of LA ganga.
N�w�
Uptowm
Entertainm nt
MCA/Universal has
, pacted with Uptown Records
chief Andre Harrell to fund
his multifaceted Uptown
Entertainment. Harrell
produced and co-wrote
"Stricly Business", and bas a
'stable of musical clienll that
includedOdeci and Heavy D.
'The new seven year deal
builds on MCA Records lx
year relationship with Har
rell. MCA is, reportodly
pledging $50 million in
development, funda . and
operating expense in the
hopes that Harrell will strike
the arne ucce ful chords in
the fUm and TV as he baa in
the music busines .
-
,
{
The writer/producer who calla
himself Speech bellevea t human
spiritual development proceedI from
the beudy to the lie. RollocdDa
on. the lpedmcDi of humanity cur
rently occupyin Planet Barth,
Speecb oblerYel dlat -too lDIDy of
us, and certainly 100 many of our
�Ieclleldell, seem to be strua- •
iIID1 al0Dlat the level of weatela or
00=)'1. I tab it to be a lve,
worldwide cue of arreated develop
monL"
,
With regard to the Blae com
munity -Speech's daen parilh
In particular, the yoq cultura1ac
tlvlst baa written: "Too many Black
have taken on a deatruc1lve
-WI
have plaaued �he 20t century
AfrIcan in hfIIber c:ommuaUy. - Un-
, lurprfllDaly, tbeo. ",,_ Y.".., JIM
MOId.r IIIIIl 7Wo Day6 III lite LIfe
0/. .. , Arrested Developmen�'1 deb
album on Chrysalil Recorda, Is
devoted to nudglnafolb in the direc
tion of freedom aDd spiritual evolu
tion. Speech tbinb of A.D. 'I wort
u -cultural-lOuthem-hlpbop-folt
etbnic-tunk, " aka "life music. - A.D.
rapec1l women, aDd promoa fami
ly values aDd -male teIpODIibillty.
They are pro-country life aDd pro
African elf-determlnation. They
are opposed to the "pimp/bO" ap
proach to male/female relationl.
They define thelDlCivOi II "2O-ceD
tury Africans." They yearn for
revolution. . .altbouab, _ lboy DOte
on "MQIItIJ', Alway8 0-." -
"Can't be a revolution without
women/Can't be a revolution
without children."
REFRESHINGLY enough,
Arrested Development actually
walk.!t like they talk it. The group
is based in the countryside outside
of Atlanta and, unlike virtually
any other group in the history of
rap since the Funky Four P�us. One,
tbey are comprised of both men
and women.
In addition to Speech, Arrested
Development is; Headliner (born
Tim Barnwell and raised in Savan
nah, GA.), A.D/s oldest member
at 24 and the crew's deejay; Aerie
Taree ("Early Ta-Ree"), Speech's
cousin, who also raps, sings back
ground vocals, and designs A.D.'s
clothing; Montsho Eshe ("Be-She")
who, u A.D.'s choreographer,
boasts a background in traditional
African dance; Rasa Don, the
family's �west member, who dan
ces, slnga and plays perc ion; and
Baba Oje ("OJ."), A.D.'I Ipiritual
adviser and group elder.
Speech was born Todd Thomas
23 years ago in Milwaukee, but
pent his lummOIl in Ripley, Ten-
, • He started in hlphop u •
1-3-year-Old deejay called Peach,
on account of hil peachy, Ught
� Idnncd complexion. .-u soon u he
bepn rapping. bowewr, be "just
put an • I' to it and it became
: Speech."
Tbc title of A.D.'I debut album
refers to the amount of time tbit
p between the formadon of the
group and the sianina of their tec:onl
ina agreement with Quyaalil. A
IODI time for anyooe'l come to be
UDder p ure, 3 Years ••• II burltlDa
, - .
AARE TED,B2
Community Journal, a popular and
well-respected community
De paper owned by Speech'.
parenti.
CDIIIU'y A�QII" - "Too many
Black youth have taken on a
destructive mentality. Sheer
materiaUsm, low self-esteem,
Individtdlm, a lack of reaped for
elden and Ufe in geDeral, have
piqued the 20th century African in
hiI/her community."
or 10 mile J01Ir chlld. The cInJR:.h
mUit 40 more than ptay. The
church needs to become more
active in the problema of our
society. J a utloauy.
He an orpDIztz for action, DOt
Just taUt. [We call] on the BlICk
churdl aDd P to ODCO
be the s tron, pillar of
AfrlCID-AmcJican teality. Wo
the church or JDOIqUO to our
hard-eamcd IDODeJ 10 bolp us to
. orpnizc a people.-
For the put year and a balf
Speech and an old coll. pal ofbia
named Hoover have been
co-autboriDaa column called "20th
Century Atdcau, - aNa "the Black
by Black nmdown 10 you don't get
ammecl down. - The column w
liDIled out for pralle by writer
Roded Shlefrer in the following
faabion in the May 1991' ue of
DIe Source: "[It at ] brothers
ancS llaten lomething 10 look
forward to, alkl the strong
queItioDa mel mUa one think. "
-20th Century African" is
publilhed by the Milwaukee
We Iuwe e%Cerptu II haIuIful 01
selectioll Iro". -20th Celltury
AfrkQII- a.t II way of sMddlng more
light 011 1M social COlICe11U 01
Spe«Jt. the cIaJef SOIIgwrlter IIIIIl
rapper 01 A"utedDevelopme1fL
...
"
April 17, 1"1 - "Y0Ulh aNl
1M Blid ClulTch" - "Your boy
Just got abot dead for hia coat, your
later is on cocaiDc, you d to quit
�I to help support your family
Octob r 1111 - CeJaratbag
1M $taI't olthe ecoNl yet1T of "lOth
'.