LovingAin 't Easy
to do all my life, and to do it all
under these circumstances makes
it all even more special."
said it was "too competitve" -but
that didn't stop David from seek
ing an audience with "PleaSt!
Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em Tour"
stop in Alabama in 1990. "I had
met Steve Russell of Troop when
I opened for the group locally
back in '88, and Troop was with
the P .H.D. Tour this time around,
so I had sort of an inside connec
tion," says David. .
After hours of hanging out at
the hotel where the entouage
from the tour wa camped, Black
, got to see Bust It Records Presi
dent, Louis K. Burrell. There
were a lot of people hanging
around with demo tapes and
There are singers, and there are
singers. David Black stands
proudly in the latter category,
The young, hot new discovery
and premiere solo male vocalist
on the Bust It lapel holds aU the
promise of popular R&B's next
Big Thing - and he's got the
talent to back it up.
Black's debut album, "Loving
Ain't Easy", including the first
single, "Nobody But You", fea
tures tracks produced by Troop's
Steven Russell and Bust It
producers Felton C. Pilate III.
Songs like the romantic ballads,
"It's My Nature," "Nobody But
You," the sultry "Lover" and the
dramatic "Wait A Minute" (co
written by Black with Steven
Russell) all recall the days of
solid-state rhythm and blues,
while the beaautifully melodic
"Lost In Your Love" and the
swaying, feel-good anthem "Spe
cial"bpth have POP hit written all
over them. As if this isn't
enough, two hits made R&B clas
sics by the 70's soul band New
Birth-"Wildflower" and "Been
Such a Long Time"-have been
cleverly combined here to create
one soulful expression of love.
At the center of it all is David
Black, a young, outstanding
vocalist whose talent harks back
to the days when a singer stepped
behind the microphone and made
you feel it. Black goes from a
sexy gruff to a soul-stirring fal
setto with remarkable control and
ease. He doesn't simply sing a
Iyric-he car es it.
"It's all like a dream come
true," says soft-spoken, humble
Black. "To actually record an
album is something I've wanted
INDEED, the story of David
Black's discovery sounds like a
saga right off the pages of a fan
magazine. A native of Bessemer,
Alabama, David was the only
singer in the family that was
generally sports-oriented. Typi
cally, he sang in the church and
school choirs, around the house,
at the dinner table (to the dis
pleasure of his parents) and
around town in a variety of New
Bdnton=-Insptred singing
groups.
Black goes from a sexy gruff.
to' a soul-stirring falsetto
with remarkable control and
ease. He doesn't simply sing
a lyric � he caresses it.
"I did 'talent shows all though
high school and we performed a
lot in the city." Black remembers.
He also recalls being the only one
in any of the groups really driven
towards a professional career in
music. Hence, after high school,
inspired by the likes of Lu ther
Vandross and Johnny Gill ("Their
kind of singing inspired me to a
new level "), David went solo.
In high school, a well-meaning'
teacher told him he wouldn't
make it in show business-She
stuff," says David. "I didn't have
any of that, but Louis finally
asked me to sing and right there
on the spot I did ongs by David
Peaston, Luther Vandross and
James Ingram."
Later, Felton Pilate, listened,
and then the big man himself
reviewed hi spontaneous talent.
David ngJohnnyOill's "MyMy
My" for Hammer; suitably im
pre ed he offered David the op-
BLACK,B2
With her quick laughter,
bright-eyed friendline s nd
embracing spirit, Miki Howard
may not at first seem like the
prototypical Femme Fatale. But
her extraordinary b uty, fierce
determination and, above all, her
boundless musical talent make
her a major threat to steal hearts
everywhere. Her Giant Records
debut, Femme Fatale, will see to
it.
Produced by David Foster,
N ettlesby & Coffey, Rhett
Lawrence, the legendary Kenny
Gamble & Leon Huff, and Miki's
long-time collaborator Lemel
Humes, Femme Fatale is a tri
umph for Miki in many ways. Not
only does it mark significant
musical growth, but, as she says,
"This album reflects where I've
been in my life lately. It was a
deep year and the album has
moods and subject matter that
reflect it. "
Singing better than ever, Miki
indeed covers a great deal of
musical and emotional ground on
Femme Fatale. Songs like "I
Hope Thpt We Can Be Together
oon, H "Oood orning He t
�lte" and "But I Love You" trace
the pain and redemption of love,
while funky upbeat tracks like
"Ain't Nobody" and "Release
Me" give Miki a chance to stomp
and shout. Miki herself co-wrote
three songs, the moving "I've
Been 'Through It," the atmos
pheric "Cigarette Ashes" and the
gospel-flavored "But ,I Love
You. "
Other songs include an ex
quisite version of the classic
Dinah Washington ballad, "This
Bitter Earth, " performed by Miki
along with the Buffalo Philhar
monic strings, and a sensational
rendition of Sly Stone's "Thank
You For Talking To Me Africa, "
a variation of the hit "Thank You
For Leting Me Be Myself." As is
clear from the very first me sure
of Femme Fatale Miki Howard
i ing r' singer, a daring artist
who insists on making ch ong
distinctly diff rent. "I'm on of
those people," h ob rves,
"who doesn't want to do om
thing if she can't be the b t at it."
THE AME mbition fueled
her dreams as girl growing up in
Chic go. She came not only from
a musical family, but musical
'community. Her parents, f mily
and friends all sang in the local
church choir and, members of
the Gospel Caravan nd the
Pilgrim Jubilees, her parents
worked with such towering
Howard's
extraordinary
beauty, fierce
determination and,
above all, her
boundless musical
talent make a
major threat to steal
hearts everywhere:
figures as Rev. James Cleveland.
Miki could sing too, magnificent
fy, but she often felt over
shadowed by so many other
talented individuals around her.
After moving to lx>s Angeles as a
young teen, Miki set her sights on
a professional singing career in
secular music.
It didn't take long for lighting
to strike. At age 15, she was dis
covered at a local talent show by
members of the group Side Ef ..
feet, which had enjoyed an R&B
hit with '�/way There." Miki
w made member of a young
of-hoot b nd, th Boppers, nd
later joined Side Ef ect s lead
inger. Whil her peers worried
about boyfriends and homework,
Mild toured the country and made
records. Altogether, she cut three
albums with Side Effect.
Miki b came n in-demand
jazz ion inger, working with
uch stars as Grover Wa hington,
Stanley Turrentine, Roy Ayers,
Philip Bailey, Ronnie Laws and
Billy Cobham. Her d ire for a
010 car r dominated her goal
and, without the aid of a manager,
she took it upon herself to land a
solo label deal...and she did.
Miki recorded three albums,
Come Share My Love (1986),
Love Confessions (1987) and
Miki Howard (1989), nd en
joyed the Top 5 R&B hits "Come
Share My Love," "Baby Be
Mine, " "That's What Love Is"
and "Until You Come Back To
Me." Miki's first Billboard
magazine #1 record came
through the hit ong, "Love
Under New Management" in
1 . Bven with her previo
cce , Miki believed she could
sing better. "I used have all this
voice and didn't know what to do
with it. With this album, I finally
knew-exactly what to do with it,
and did it!" .
That's not all. Mild has em
barked on a well-balanced enter
tainment career and this fall she
will make her silver screen debut
in Spike Lee's upcoming epic
Malcolm X in which she portrays
the legendary Billie Holliday. "I
have always been inspired by
singers like Billie, Lena Home,
Judy Garland. I think I have a lot
of Billie's spirit." Miki will also
co-star in John Singleton's next
See HOWARD, 82
I' •