By TUREKA TURK
When his raspy voice hit t�
cene in 1987, R&B groupies
starved for a change embraced .
skinny man with should r- ngth
dreadlocks and apparent I-wanna­
look-li -Prince-in-Jamiaca look
about him.
His single "I/You Let Me Stay"
was groovy in a sense that, after all
the talk of the royal badness that
James Brown possessed, here was
somebody who could show you
exactly wh t it was in 1987. Here
was Terence Trent O'Arby.
"Stay" was followed by other
groovematic hits like "Wishing
Well", "Sign Your Name" and
"Dance Little Sister" from his de­
but "Introducing The HardlineAc­
cording to Terence Trent D'Arby".
Mind you not all of the young
prenatal deviant generation wel­
comed this unusual sound. Young
hip-hopsters, especially male,
turned their noses up at the raspy
0' Arby, who revitalized the
moves of Jackie Wilson and James
Brown. They would have prefered
lO�boom�i' ��B'
cape 1. QC
. d Rakim's "/)on't Any
Further" basslined "Paid In Full".
And who' could forget tracksuit­
clad L.L. Cool J., With the same
amount of arrogance as 0' Arby
himself, with "I'm Bad"? No,
those hipsters were on a different
level than the R&B deviants.
D'ARBY WOULD MOST
likely go back to back with Sade,
in those days, each of whom's
voice was out of the ordinary and
reeked of a real hard edge. Sade
was no more Patti LaBelle than
0' Arby was Luther Vandross. Yet
raspy-voiced youngsters found
their nitch in the R&B industry.
But then 0' Arby committed a sui­
cidal act in the public eye.
0' Arby became a self-pro-
. during an in rview
first debut, If-pro-
ni w w bout
r devia d" m h" .
D' Arby' xt re , "Neither
Fish Nor Flesh: A Soundtrack 0/
Love, Faith, Hope&: Destruction"
mashed traigh to ground.
Tb two rei .. 'This SUie of
Love" nd "To Know Someone
Deeply" flopped on tbe R&B
cha and the c er charts,
usually willingly to accep ny­
thing that is the norm and t de­
viates from the norm. "Neither
Fish Nor Flesh" sold m re than 1.5
million copies worldwide. It
painted a bleak picture for the self­
proclaimed genius.
"All I was doing," he says now,
"was gaining much attention as
I could for my babies, my songs. "
o er to do ti ng for t
film "Frankie and Johnny", tar­
ring AJ Pacino nd Michelle Pfief-
er. Th g "T.lT.S."/"F&J", .
featured on "Symphony or Damn"
I'd may be i t pill to w 1-
low.
Th songrernin uso the wild,
dread-flying, py voiced inger
who ap red more than six years
ago, n rgetic pi ntly arro-
gant deviant.
"Symphony Or Damn", i If
sounds like a mad rush to prove
0' Arby's talent It has a few bright
tars that could have made it a
smash "return". But, unfortu­
nately, they aren't strong enough to
carry the affects of 0' Arby's mad
rush.
There are two tracks "Do You
LoveMeLike You Say ?"and "Baby
D 'Arby will have. a
long hard road to travel
before ei b
t ose wh loved i ossy,
cocky energy before.
After more than two years of
"Neither Fish Nor Flesh", 0' Arby
has returned to the music scene
with "Symphony Or Damn (Ex­
ploring The Tension Inside The
Sweetness)". During the two
years, Terence spent six months
overseeing the building of his own
studio, the Hummingbird Monos­
teryo. He wrote, after the studio
was complete, a total of 50 songs
between the summers of 1991 and
1992. The only interruption was
Let Me Share My Love" that shows
0' Arby' admiration of James
Brown, the admiration which was
to his benefit in 1987 but is now is
to his disadvantage in 1993.
"Do You Love Me Like You
Say?" and "Baby Let Me Share My
Love" only reach the level of an old
magician doing the rabbit trick for
last 60 years of his Iife as his fea ture
trick. .
There are also sore thumbs on
THE DOWN LOW By TABAlliACRAVTON
who is anyone in Black fashion donated clothes to
be modeled by celeb models like Me'lisa Morgan
and Clarice Taylor. .
Dazzey Dub, those hottie shorts that the broth­
ers love and, of course, the inspiration for the song
of the same title by Duice, have forced actress.
Cathe rine Bach, creator of the "Dukes 0/ Hazzard"
character, "Daisey Duk" into the spotlight. She's
already done a cameo in the music video "Dazzey
Duks." Next up is an interview with Miami based
group Duice. In addition, the y will be appearing on
"Good Morning America" and "Inside Edition" as
well.
RHI Entertainment has acquired the rights to
.Magic Johnson's recent Rand m House autobiog­
raphy, My Ufe: The Magic Johnson Story. The,
'project slated to be a four hour mini series will be
executive produced by Magic along with RHl En­
tertainment chairman Robert Halmi Sr.
Strong Island hipsters De La Soul came back to
one of their 'hoods favorite hangout joints, Adv n­
turers Inn, an amuserrent park, to give a party. The
party which was attended by members of A Tribe
Called Quest, Black Sheep and other of the former
Native Sons Posse was one of Long Island' phat­
test and had members of De La Soul r king the
mike and riding the rides with fans.
, Lots of folks are concerned about the Bessie
- . . .,
Smith flick in d velopment because, you see, It s
from the people who gave us the retro-regressive
sentimental slop "Driving Miss Daisy" and the
legendary "Qu n of the Blues" wasn't nobody's
shrinking violet. further "say what" is that one
of the top contenders for the role is rapper/actress
Queen Latifah.
Wan ya Morris, a member of the now living large
supergroup Boyz To Men, was acquitted of charg
that he assaulted a former longtime friend who is
writing a book about him.
DI OITS: Orand Hank and the Punk Funk Na­
tiOJ\, "TIle Education of a Nation" (Orand Hank
Records). Grand Hank, a ch mist by trade who
bill his live performance as "The Educational Rap
. Lecutre" has been touring East Coast schools,
James Brown wowed the crowd at the infamous churches, and community events spreading posi-
, Cotton Qub in New York City with all f his old tiv. m�ges about !h� im�rtance of edu�ti?n
but still all-dat hits when he cl d the how fol- using rap. Because thiS 1S an independently distrib-
lowing Kathy Sharpton' debut at the club. Sharp- uted venture, it may be hard to. fi nd near you. PI
ton wife of activist AI Sharpton aug straight to contact: Grand Hank Producrions Inc., 1821 uth
her'husband"while h rresrnerized th� crowd with 5 th St., Philadelph�a, PA 19143, phone (2.15) 7�4-
such tracks a "If I Could", "Midnight Train to 5260. Gona a quesnon, comment, news clip or Just
Georgia" and "Wind Beneath A!y Wing�. "Sh also want to say "W��t's up"? Write her: Tabatha L.
ha been busy with th Celebrity Fashion Show, a Grayton, �19 Viking Way #8-6, Brockport, New
benefit to rai money for the Save the Children Ycrk 14420. Let s hear from you soon. May U
fund' f the ational Action Network. Anybodv live 2 C the dawn. TLC.
TERENCE TRENT O'ARBV
"Symphony Or Damn". "Penelope
PLease" sounds like an acid trip
through childhood. The track itself
isn't even worth D'Arby's reputa­
tion.
'j4re You Happy" has a very
good bass guitar line and is the type­
of track that scores on your own
assy, cocky energy before. His
"genius" claim has left a tall order
which he has not been able to fill,
yet, in two albums. In the question
of symphony, a brilliant color
cherne of musical sture, or
damn, I pick damn, as in 'Damn!
0' Arby you could've had it all "
personal chart.
"Let Her Down Easy" is al 0 a
personal chart topper. Very mel­
low and sad, it tells the story of a
littl girl let down by love.
D'Arby will have a 1 ng hard
road to travel before being ac­
cepted by those who loved his
SINGLES REPORT
ALBUM REPORT
ARTIST: Rodney O. & Joe Cooley
SINGLE: "F--- Nsw York
............ : (Psychotic)
COMMENT(S): West Coast artist
with a Paliament accent. This cut
has heavy bass for the jeeps to
hum p to. The rhym es are definitely
from Cali.
GRADE:C'
. ARTIST: RUN DMC
SINGLE: "Doh Watcha Gonna Do"
. (Profile)
COMMENT(S): Hip hop's phoenix
com es back with a sizzling trake
made possible by The Bomb
Squad. Another hit for the 'Kings'.
GRADE: A+
ARTIST: MOTION MAN
SINGLE: "Mo Like Flows On"
................... : � , (SteJ:rSun)
CO MENT(S): Check this awk­
ward style out. Motion m an steps
in with a brand n9'N kind of rhyme.
Check this one out.
GRADE: B+
ARTIST: SMOOTH
SINGLE: "You ve Been Played"
., (Jive/RCA)
COMMENT(S): A smooth Sister ar­
rives on the set with a strong laid
back track. Sm ooth is sm oath.
GRADE: B
ARTIST: Too Much Trouble
SINGLE: "Players Choice"
.................................. (Rap-A- Lot)
· COMMENT(S): If you're into pimps
and explcit sex this aJbum has it all.
Next time fellas hold the pirnpin',
we don't need it.
GRADE: C+
ARTIST: Prim us
SINGLE: "Pork Soda'"
.......................... , (I nterscope)
CO ENT(S): If you're into Alter- .
native Rock - A must get!
GRADE: A-
- complied by Shock Rock
- complied by Shock Rock
