ENTERTAINMENT
IN BRIEF
gae/hi p hop inspired cover of the
Edwin Hawkins hit. Also fea­
tured on the album' the uplifting
"Through These Eyes" co-written
by Jay King nd his 7 year old IOn
(Jay Anthony King IV) nd
"Walk With Me." Valerie talks
about "Walk Wi Me", "I �d not
like the son n 1 first heard it,
... a I sang it, it j t started to feel
good. Now it's my favorite song,
onth." ,
company to head Mota n
Records, The Boy fol­
lowed. Today, at 13, 15, 17,
and 18 years of age, the guys
have little time for fund and
games. Especially Hakeem.
Hailed by Motown as one of
the youngest producers of a
platinum music group, he
takes producing very
seriously-and believes one
day, the industry will too:
From bubble gum, kiddie
tunes to hard-core R&B,
The Boys have. pulled out
music and lyrics that reflect
their new grown-up attitude.
Shanice joins the Boys for
the three of the tunes. The
group met Shanice on "Star
Search. " Now that they're
on the .same label, it seemed
natural their popularity
helped spark a new era for
. other child groups like
Another Bad Creation and
, Kriss Kross.
"I think we inspired them
a lot and a lot of young
people as far as New Edition
and the Jacksons inspired
us," Khiry says. There's no
word yet when Tajh and
Bilal's solo projects will be
released or what producing
projects Khalil and Hakeem
have up their sleeves.
On the
. hom front
Prompted by complaints.
from disgruntled 'neighbors
of loud music, Ice- T has sold
his Hollywood Hills home
for $659,000 and purchased
a new one overlooking th
LA's· famed Sunset Strip
area for $1.2 million. •
Aside from
soundproofed rooms, the
32-year old rapper's new
4,500-square foot, tri-level
home feature four
bedroom and 1 -degree
views· from the ocean to
downtown LA.
- compiled by K. Barks
- pecial contributor:
RadioScope & . Collins
A New Beginning, the new
Ibum from Club Nouveau on
JVK/Qu lity Records, i more
than the title of a r cord, it " ... rep­
n a new beginning musical­
ly.prof ionallyandcreatively,"
y J Y King.
Club Nouveau i Jay King,
Valerie Watson, Kevin Irving and
Rocque LaCrosby. Original
members Jay, Valerie and Kevin
h ve been together for over five
year, adding Rocque to the
group later. The group has per­
fected their original sound and
mastered the technique of "hip".
After leaving Warner Bros.,
Cub Nouveau felt it wa time to
take control and do things inde­
penden y. They formed JVK
Records and began working on
the new album. Jay relates, "I felt
it was time to go back to doing
things the way they had been
done before. The time has passed
for artists to just be arti they
must get more involv d in the
business end of things. We can
experiment, produce other artists,
do solo projects and make crea­
tive decisions (through our own
label)."
Club Nouveau was formed by
Sacramento and Los Angeles­
based producer, songwriter, and
entrepreneur Jay King. He 'was
the mastermind behind the mil­
lion-selling smash hit "Rumors"
CLUB NOUVEAU - (I-r) Valeri Wat on, Rocque LaCro by, Kevin Irving and Jay King. '.
by the Timex Social Club. Jay
produced, pressed, marketed and
promoted the hit. After the
break-up of Timex, King went on
to pull together a collection of
talented local musicians to form
his own band, Club Nouveau.
top ten charts in ten short weeks,
and "Why You Treat Me So Bad, "
which went #2 R&B. This album
also contained such chart toppers
as "Situation #9", and of course
the classic "nouveau" version of
the Bill Withers hit "Lean On
Me". Club Nouveau soon found
THEIR DEBUT album, Life, them elves �he hottest
Love & Pain (Warner Records) . p<>plR&B/dance crossover group
garnered phenomenal success 10 recent memory .
and produced the hit singles After its rapid rise to the top of
"Jealousy", which climbed the the charts "Lean On Me" held the
#1 spot for five weeks and won a
Grammy for "Song of The Year"
(1987). The group was also
nominated for "Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group",
landed a pair of American Music
Award nominations and two
NARM nominations for the mil­
lion-sellingLife, Love & Pain Ip.
The second Ip release, Listen
to the Message, revealed a whole
new side to this group's multi­
faceted talents, With more of
aocial-pclitical theme to this
record Cub Nouveau fans were
in for a surprise. The album, fol­
lowed by a worldwide tour, kept
the group busy for some time.
The group returned from tour­
ing and immediately began work­
ing on their third album. The
final release on Warner Records,
Under A Nouveau Groove, was
characterized by Jay as, "The
most progressive we've ever
done ... ", this album went on to do
well on both the R&B and the pop
charts, with such cuts as "No
Friend of Mine" (#12 R&B) and
"I'm Sorry".
A New Beginning is the
"nouveau blend" at its best. The
first single - released in March
- "Ob Happy Day" is a reg-
TO- SAY THA Club
Nouveau is back is to imply that
they left. The multi-talented
group has set unprecedented
ndards d now in the 90' ,
. they reintroduce the sound that Is
unique to them. Roc (Rocque La­
Crosby, the newest member)
rela ys, "I think fans will be
refreshed and relieved to know
that the groove - new jack wing
- era has finally made room for
'real' songs and timel musical
arrangements. "
A Ne Beginning prom' not
to disappoint the more th n 3 mil­
lion Club Nouveau fans, and is
guaranteed to c pture new
audiences worldwide. Kevin
sums it up this way, " .. .i the best
Club Nouveau album to date!" •
ur e a
Working, to stop the spread of AIDS is a new
. organization, Athletes For Abstinence. Headed up LA .
Laker A.C. Green, the group Is encouraging kid to
abstain from sex. They ay the only afe sex is
abstinence, especially since condoms fall t lea t 15% of
the time.
To pr dthe abstinence message Green along with
Redskin Defensive Back Darryl Green, S n Antlonlo
Spurs 0 d Robinson, and the Detroit Uon ' Barry
Sanders have recorded a rap Ingle called -It Ain't WOI1h
I� --
#
"
1991 was the year that introduced M.C. Breed as
the new poet of rap. This talented new artist burst
on the rap scene with his debut album MC. Breed &
D.F.e. It 'was this album tha] spawned the gold hit
single "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'" and paved
the way for his second hit "Just Kickin' It." A year
after his debut, M.e. Breed release the much an­
ticipated second album, 20 Below.
M.�. Breed began hi rappin' and recording
career in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. There
he experienced much of what he now writes about,
growing up on the streets, dropping out of high
school, and finally returning for his OED. Breed
comments, "I had to do that just to tflfy myself."
Hi musical career got on track when he recorded
his first album with Bernard Terry of Ready for the
World fame at the Silver Sun recording tudio.
Publications such as The Urban Network, The
Gavin Report, T� Source, and Black RJUlJo Ex­
clusive have included M.C. Breed's first album
oneofl99l' albums of the year. The ucceuofthis
album has led to numerous 1V nd live�,
and praise from Breed' mo totable contem­
poraries, like Chuck D. of Public E my, and Tone
Loc.
'1992 looks to be even more cxcitingforBreod with
the release of hi new alb The fi t it "Ain't
To Be F---ed With" and again, be drop I new
version of his treetwi • me ge-oriented rhymes
over the funkiest of beats. Working once again with
Bernard Terry and his DJ/Producer Flash Technol­
ogy, 20 Below is a new development, a wiser poet on
the microphone and no compromise whatsoever. A
glance at the album' song ti tIes show wile t!\iS artist
is coming from. There's still "No Frontln' Allowed,'
and Breed continues to project a positive image for
his young fans and insists that he "Be Himself."