-
Day In The Life of aJCD" and "Tell
Ya 'Bout A Bitch," the straight-up
raw tales like "Bon Appetit" and
"Kibbles & Bits," and the serious
sagas of "Personal Loser" and
"Cold Kaos. I'
The mix of styles and topical
matter refleet JCD's childhood in­
fluences which range from
Parliament's freakliness to )L\l
Green's soul to the ISley Brothers'
,political jams.
It was Marvin Gaye, though,
who had the bi est impact on him.
"Marvin's the one who made me
really put my feelin into the
music. He gave his music some­
thing today's R&B singers don't.
Today only rappers really gave
their music that kind of emotion. .
All the R&B singers just try to
With
ing both co , St. Loui ' JCD nd
Th Dawg lb. (p onounced D w­
wwg pound) . th bea of th
Bast with th bump of th West.
Th ult i ound that defies
ca gorization."I'm trying to com
out with a lot of different styles"
JCD (re I n me Joseph "Jody"
Sherrell) says. "A D yIn Th Life
h music to clown to and music to
think to. I can't go around mad
everyday. You go ve some­
tim to also kick i .
Born and raised' the rough
Southside projects of St. Louis, _---------_
nineteen-year-old JCD (standing
for Jody Clowns Daily and Jody
Clocks Dollars) claims no al­
legiance in the ongoing bi-coastal
hip hop battles. "I can't say I'm
Bastor West," h says. "That s--­
just doesn't play with me. I'm in
the middle, just like St. Louis. And
what hits on both coasts hits here
- in St. Louis we get the' best of
each. I've made a record that will
make all the people - from the
Bast to the West and in between­
dance and think."
A Day In The Life, the group's
, debut full-length, is more than just
the end result of JeD'. wor
during th last ew y . li e
many kids from the projec
music serve as more than just a side
hobby or interest. It's n escape
. that gives meaning to lives with
few options. "My neighborhood's
a dead end," he bluntly states.
This {music/rapping] is one of the ...._ _
only ways out for a lot of brothers.
The schools ain't S---. The govern­
ment has cut out the youth
programs. There are no jobs. The
economy is f----- up. And for. a kid
like me from the projects it's some­
thing positive to do. At least if I die
tomorrow, I know I've left some­
thing: I 've made my mark."
Ithough his neighborhood
g ve him so littl , JCD till wan
to give besom thing. "Record­
ing th' (bum Vi real important
to me. ot much happens in the
Southsid of St. Louis, so I really
want to bring home a gold or
platinum record to the neighbor­
hood. That'd mean a lot to m ."
got any upport from m family,"
he remembers bitterly. "I never
had a father to help me - never
h d any positive male role models.
Whatever help I got was from my
homies on the street.
"When I was around 10 I'd s e
all these kids battling in school
yards. I wasn't really into rap, but
when I sawall the attention they
got I thought I'd give it a shot.' The
problem ... was rhat even after prov­
ing myself, I was put down and told
that no one from St. Louis would
ever make it rapping. •
"A, few years later; I got dis-
couraged and turned to hus ling
with my homies m all these aban­
doned lots and 'buildings in the
neighborhood. It was those guys
that finally encouraged me to rap.
One guy named Pretty Tony J. had
so much faith in me that he pushed
me to display my talents. That's
wen, I started to get a rap in the
Idcal underground scene and
started sending tapes around. "
After hooking up with
childhood friend and alter­
ego/sidekick THo and dj and
musician Hype Dawg, the group
came together. JeD reflects, "We
. just hit it f re I good. I didn't
.. know gro P ould ppen.
We just tor h to ether and
ended up forming the lb." A short
time later they met Courtney
Branch and Tracey Kendrick of
Total Trak Productions, the same
team responsible for discovering
DJ Quik and AMG. They were
impressed and helped the group
land a deal with Profile.
the group.
There are the carefree party
jams like "Get Naked" and "They
Like It Like We Do," the slow,
hard-grooved street stories like 'jt!
By LISA COLLINS
It's official. After months-of
speculation and growing tension,
Keenen Ivory Wayans. has
decided to sever his relations with
Fo -TV and "InLivin.gCoto�tr,the
show he created and developed,
and the one that made him a
household name.
Insiders say that Wayans was
reportedly paid a hefty chunk of
money (anywhere from $2 to 5
million) to walk away from the
show and Fox. The split was said
to be broughton by disagreements
over the show's' direction and
Wayans bold brand of comedy ....
NBC's "I'll Fly Away" got a
reprieve after jumping 20 points
in the ratings due to the networ 's
much-publicized campaign to get
viewers to watch. As a result three
11 new, episodes will air in
January with a two-hour special
January 'f9.
Wedding B ls: No more
mo e and "mirrors. The
much-anticipat d wedding of
Eddie Murphy to Nicole Mitchell
will indeed ta e place on March
18. ew York ill be the site of
the nuptials for Murphy and
I .
"
CO I UING WITH the
same thought, he adds, "The music
will also give me a few extra years
on my life span. I've got some­
thing to do that's not gonna get me
CD and the
Dawglb.
represents
ome ofthe
most creative
hip hop tale
out of the- '
Midwest-an
•
n umorea
by the entire,
rap industry.
killed. Now-a-days too many
brot ers have lost their will to live,
an don't want that to happen to
me. I don't want tha to h�pen to
a lot of peopie. "
With no emotional or financial
helpat school or home; JCD turned
to music at an early age. "I never
IRECORDED IN Los Angeles
d!ring the spring riots, the result is
14 songs detailing A Day In The
Life of JCD And The Dawg lb.
JCD says the collection of songs on
the album r fleets a typical day for
EDDIE MURPHY
WHOOPI GOLDBERG
Mitchell, who have been together well-wishers witnessed the
five years. A lavish and nuptials and were treated to a
star-studded reception with a sit-down dinner. Following th
sit-down dinner for around 2 is ceremony, the bride and groom
being planned for ew York's departed for a honeymoon in the
Plaza Hotel. Some of therecord Virgin Islands. .
ind us try's to p artis ts will' .
reportedly b tapped to perform On the home front: Singer
Aretha Franklin s might be the
queen of ul without a ihron if
her ta problem witliIhe IRS
aren t r olved. A 225, tax
lien ha been placed 0.0 h r
property in th posh D trou
ubur of Bloomfield Hill . Thi
stemmmg from a di pute in her
... 0 groom could have 100 ed
more out of place than' O'Shea
Jackson ("Ice Cube") who donned
a blac tux for his lavish, garden
wedding to longtime steady,
Kimberly Cristina Sims at LA's
Marina Hotel. 800 guests and
"
personal taxes for 199i.
By the way: Word is Whoopi
Goldberg will receive 6.5
million to do the "Si ter Act':.
sequel, which takes the choir into
the inner ci ty
... Larry Fishbprne wa cast as
Ike Turner in "What' Love Got
To Do With It r. Tina Turners life
story, which is currently in
production 'a t Touchstone.
Pictures. Fishburne will star
opposite Angela Bassett (who
won the coveted role of Tina).
Lover's Lane: Believe it or
not. Ted Danson and Whoopi
Goldbergaredating. If you're like
me, you thought all those tabloid
stories were untrue particularly
since hat' prin ted in the
tabloi . is so often unreliable
nformauon.
But n w reports of the two
gether are appearing in
Holly -oods respected trade
maga ines, I gu it just another
one f those unli el y
romances? ... Spotted together at
th L Ang les premi r f
"Toys" was rapper/actor LL. Cool
J with Kidada Jones (Quincy's
daughter). .. .
sound like Guy. And Guy' j t
trying to sound like the Gap Band.
Not many people do original things
now-a-days. "
ORTU ATELY, JCD And
The Dawg lb. don't fit in the latter
category. They represent some of
the most creative lVp hop talent
coming out of the Mid-west - n
area that, for the most part, has
been ignored virtually by the entire
rap industry ..
With JCD And The Dawg lb.,
though, e region _ and especial­
ly St.!..o ' outhside'- may
inally begin to get the lcindofposi­
tive attention and respect they
deserve.
THIS WEEK IN REVIEW
..