"
ENTERTAINMENT
IN BRIEF
Betw en 1974 and 1979,
the company' ued 9 of th
planned 20 di . But in
1979 the record industry I
went into a tailspin, and CBS
entered a period of turmoil
during which many Master
works projects were can
celed.
The Black Composers
Series was among them, as
were several of the label's
composer-supervised con
temporary-music projects.
The series was left un
finished, and CBS - which
is now Sony Qassical-did
not regard the recordings as
a priority for compact-disk
reissue.
THE RECORDINGS
are still not available on CD,
but the nine completed
volumes have just been reis
sued as a boxed LP set b the
College Music Society, a na
tional organization of about
4,000 teachers, composers,
musicologists and per
formers. The SOCiety'S busi
ness is exploring
educational philosophies,
whi�h it does by holdin
monographs, bibl 0 -
raphies, a newsletter and a
scholarly journal, the Col
lege �USiC Symposium.
The society also has
several committees devoted
to special interests within
music education, and one of
them, the Committee on the
Status of Minorities, ar
ranged for the reissue of the
CBS set, formally called
"The CBS Records Black
Composers Series," with a
grant from the Ford Founda
tion.
The collection includes a
set of 'works by Joseph
Boulogne, a West Indian
composer, violinist and
French army officer who
was born in 1739 and lived
most of his life in Paris.
There is also a 19th-cen
tury Violin Concerto by Jose
White; William OrantStill's
"Afro-American Sym
phony" and his ballet
"Sahdji"; George Walker's
Piano Concerto, Trombone
Concerto and "Lyric" for
strings; � Requiem by Jose
Mauricia Nuneex-Garcia, a
Brazilian composer; David
Baker's Cello Sonata, and
Ulysses S. Kay's "Mark
ings." ,
The orchestral works are
conducted by Paul Freeman,
and the soloists include the
violinists Sanford Allen,
Aaron Rosand and Miriam
Fried, the pianists Natalie
Hinderas and Richard
Bunger, the soprano Faye
Robinson and the mezzo
soprano Betty Allen.
The collection is avail
able for $40 from the Col
lege Music Society, 202
West Spruce Street, Mis
soula, Mont. 59802, or by
telephone: (406) 721-%16.
- compiled by K Barks
arrived nd i
taking music listeners on a shocking
journey through today's under
world, using a unique combination
'of eerie sound effects and twisted
rhymes.
The 20-year-old rap artist, Brad
Jordan, is known by fans and th
in the music industry as "Scarface"
of The Geto Boys. But the talented
Houston native is making a sta -
ment of his own on his first solo
album, "Mr. Scarface is BocJc. "
"My album is a boo of current
even . An educational tool," he
said.
Songs on the newly released
album include everything from tales
of seduction and psychotic be ..
havior, to drugs and violence on the
streets.
He describes his shockingly uni
que sound as, "Real music that
covers all sides of the tracks. "
evitabl .
"I w born m ically inclined, "
he id"I can pi y gui r, pi no,
and drums. Actually, I w nted be
in a rock n' roll b nd. Can you
believe that?"
Jordan's talent mUSICIan is
coupled with a gifted bility to wri .
"Believe it or not, I used to wri
poetry," he shyly dmitted, laugh
ing. "I started when I was in about
the ixth grade. "
Jordan's lyrical writing tyl .
heavily influenced by Jimmy
Hendrix and Robert Plant
"IT PA Y TO expose yourself
to all different kinds of music," he
said. "Some of my favorite music
right now' classical and jazz. "
Jordan eagerly urg everyon to
give his album a try but offers one
bit of advice:
"When you listen to the album it
makes you ask yourself, 'What's
lifc really all about?" Jordan said.
Transforming his street name to
his stage name, Scarface joined The
Geto Boys, a popular yet controver
s� undci ground rap group, in 1988
and bcca me known for always
wearing a black gangster hat and
carrying a cane.
"Just because I talk about some
wild stuff in my albums doesn't
mean you should do it," he said
"Really. There's only one Mr. Scar
face."
Brad Jordan's music offers a
shockingly honest dose of the
frustration, fear and anger that exists
within the minds of those struggling
to survive on the streets. Often
described as a poet since childhood,
all of the songs on Jordan's fU'St solo
album, "Mr. Scarface is Back,"
were written by the musician him
self.
MR. SCAR'FACE
"I GOT 1lIE name Scarface
because of the different power
moves I made to get on top and stay
on top," he said, referring to his
youth in South Village Park - a
rough Houston neighborhood. "I Mr. Scareface - In a teasingly,
would have done anything to get eerie nursery rhyme sound, Scar
mine no matter what it would take. " face explains how a drug dealer is
Jordan's career in music is in-. forced to use his_ own methods of
"payback" after being ripped-offby
users. The impact of bullets ripping
in the background is effectively
used as the one-on-one battle esca
lates into a gang fight. With his
livelihood as part of the under
ground, he can't tum to law enfor
cement Things are handled in a
different way for payback on the
streets!
him forever poverty, homelessness,
crime.
"I'm doing bad so I'm going
bad." •
Born Killer - The inner strug
gles of a man who is labeled by
society and a victim of the system.
"My momma did her part; but it
ain't her fault I was born without a
heart In other words, I'm heartless I
duke, I don't love me, how .. .am I'
gonno love you. "
Society has labeled the man as a
"manic depressive." And ironical
ly, society has brought about the
condition.
Dairy �a Madman - Having
no one who acknowledges him, this
man turns to his diary.
"I'm confused and I don't know
whatto do.Fmhopingyoucanhelp
me 'cuz there's no one else to taJJc
to.
" ... 1 try to talk to my dad but my
old man ignore's me. ,"
He thought things would get
easier as he got older but now he hu
more questions than ever, I ina
sight of who he is. ,
hind
Blodget - popped up at the car lot asking about the
boys, saying he had heard about them.
"I let the guys perform for Cliff and he was really
impressed because we had everything - it just
wasn't on wax because we didn't have the money."
Both driven by a "Can Do" spirit, the two men
decided that as a team, they could hel p the talented
group gain the recognition and exposure it deserved.
So together, in 1986, Smith and Blodget formed
Rap-A-Lot Records, Inc.
"My brother's name was 'Sir, Ra�A-Lot,' so the
company's actually named after my brother," Smith
said
What began as an incentive to keep a group of
Fifth Ward ghetto boys in school has grown into a
successful independent record label now consider d
a serious competitor in the'music industry. ,
"It tarted when I worked at a bank," recalled
James Smith, founder of Rap-A-Lot Records. "I
would come home from work at lunch and these two
boys would always be playing hookie and they were
always rapping. " ,
Raised in the ghettos himself, Smith realized the
importance of getting an education, so he thought of
a way to keep the boys in school.
"I told them if they went to school I would help
them get taTted in music, " he said, shaking his head.
"I was just trying to get them to go to school! But
as time went on I found myself getting more in
volved."
"The longer I'm alone is worse.
I'm having thoughts of killing me
but I'm killing you first. My
psychiatrist talks but I don't listen,
I'm a victim of society ... "
He mentions experiencing things
during his lifetime that will live with
" .. Now I'm living in my dimy. "
Much of his music, like that of
The Geto Boys, centers on sex,
violence and survival on the stree1I.
He describes his work as offering a
harsh, yet realistic, glimpse of life
that many refuse to acknowledge.
'nIE TALENTED young men from Houston's
Fifth Ward that inspired Smith and Blodget to form
their own record label are now known nation wide
as The Geto Boys.
Popular yet controversial, The Geto Boys have
just ,reached their second gold album with, ·'We
Can't Be Stopped," af � fighting their own battles
in the music industry.
"You can start from nothing and become ome
body if you strive and fight hard enough," Smith
said, sending a message to those who want to ttcr
their liv . "We can't be topped! That's definitely
our attitude at Rap-A-Lot."
IN 1986 Smith bought a small, "raggedy" car lot
that included a two-story building with rooms on the
1Optloor.
"I made them move in with me," he said, wanting
to keep a close eye on the boys who were supposed
to tay in school.
"WhiJe I was at the bottom IIing �lI'S, they
would be practicing upstairs," Smith said, pointing
upwards. "Then ore day this �hi guy - ailT
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