III!/! Cltlan
Vesta firetcameon the R&B
scene six years ago with the
commotion-causing single
"Congratulation.", an unfold­
ingstory of a woman oblivious,
until the last minute, of her
-lover' eclding.
Vesta deemed to be an R&B
inger with a �le of her own.
Her voice could carry long full
notes with a slice of sass and
charm reminiscent of Gladys·
Knight and Aretha Franklin.
Thea! who watched her in­
terviews giggled at her sense
of enormous sense of humor,
usually publicly uncharacter­
istic of femme fatale singers.
ird album, "Special".
The title track did reach the
top 10 on Billboard's Hot R&B
Singles chart but it never
seemed to reach the point
where it caused a big wave
among R&B fans.
Vesta says with her new re­
lease, "Everything-N-More"
she wanted to deliver some­
thing more than she gave in
her past successes. Appar­
ently wanting to escape the
slow-ballad slump she found
herself in, Vesta collaborated
with Chuckii Booker, Micheal
Powell, Brian McKnight and
Daddy-O on "Everything-N:
More".
Producer Brian McKnight
Ve ta looked like she feli
exy that w' all she
, needed to earn the respect
of female fans.
high and extended notes.
Vesta's remake of "Out-
tanding" is quite funky de­
spite the ugly intro of "Vesta,
let's do this, baby, '93 style,
owww". Musical wonder
Chuckii Booker hands Vesta
the freedom to do her own kind
of rendition of The Gap Band
cl ic. Though, nothing com­
paree to the original, you
know?
One surprise is "Tell Me", a
ballad that successfully deters
from Vesta's usual method of
going about a slow jam. "Tell
Me" is very mellow and Vesta
takes her time on this one, fo­
cusing on the quality of her
notes instead of quantity.
STPP FRO TIN'" IS a
sore thumb on "Everything-N­
More". Remember how you felt
when your parents tried to
talk slang in front of your
friends? en V ill m
, youremem
With lyrics like "atop &on­
tin' on me, we both know what
time it is", it is clear Vesta
went too far searching for dif­
ference and fell over the edge.
And the last jewel of "Every­
thing-N-More" is "In Your
Mind", produced by Michael
Powell and recorded in Oak
Park, right here in Michigan.
"In Your Mind" gallantly
shows off Vesta's jazz influ­
ence which is usually buried
underneath her R&B aura.
I'd like to say it was Michi­
gan that added its magic touch
to this beautifully jazzy song,
maybe it was. But "In Your
Mind" shows Vesta ather best.
Unfortunately, Vesta didn't
achieve the variety she says
she set out to do on "Every­
thing-N-More".
But she did gain 'new twists
on the sound that catapulted
her to fame six years ago.
Thanks to McKnight, Powell,
. and Booker, Vesta has shown
a new range for her own style.
Thea! who watched her vid- spins magic with "Over &
eoamarveled at howahe made Over" and "Can't Let Go",
"voluptuous sexy. which isn't surprising since
Vesta, apparently, wasn't everything McKnight touches
starving herself for anybody these days turns to musical
and seemed very comfortable gold.
with her look (on the pages of .
her new ed, she's very comfort- VESTA AND McKnight
able with her mild Elvira look, work well together because
cleavage and all). McKnight gives Vesta a new
twist to her style. Young
McKnight knocks down
Vesta's habit of over-extend­
ing a note and helps her to
focus more on harmony, with
a nice mellow end result.
"Now That. I Have You",
which hasthesmellofa ond
release, is a typical Vesta up­
tempo song, complete with
funk interludes and Vesta
HE LOOKED LIKE she
felt sexy and that was all she
needed to earn the respect of
female fans in the country.
Another aspect of Vesta's
videos was that she always
has a male counterpart, usu­
ally very attractive, to satisfy
her vam py image. The ever-so­
consistent, Vesta released her
be slept on. Pete Nice gives no surrenders to
the bastards, bobos and snitches.
Grade: B-
Artist: Ice Cube
Single: ·Check Yo Self" (Priority)
Comment : A rendrtion of the old school
flavor using Melle Mel's .. The Message If as the
rhythm. Pay close attention to the lyrics, they
could school ya. Check out the previously
unreleased 'B-side "24 with AL If song makes
this maxi-cassette single jump.
Grade: A+
Artist: Oa King & I
Album: "Contemporary Jeep Music"
(Rowdy)
Commen1s: The album title kind of mls­
I eads you because it won't make your car
shake, rattle & roll but it's in there. The beats
are smoothed out but the lyrics aren't up to
par.
Grade: B-
Artist: Mista Grimm
Single: "Indo Smoke" (New OeaVEpic)
Comments: This song reminds you qf the
way hip-hop used to be, Exciting! Mista
Grimm gives a musicaJ flow to his most cher-
ished possession, the 'Chronic'. '
Arti : NYC Badmen
Album: -NYC Beamon" (Step-Sun)
Comments: If your into reggae this is a
Artist: Prim e inister Pete Nice & must. Super Cat, Buju Banton and Nardo
Daddy Rich Ranks add flavor to this Caribbean stew. Hip-
Album: -Dust to Dust" (Def Jam/RAL) . hop and reggae does make a loyely couple.
Comments: A dope album that shouldn't Grade: A
VE TA
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y Janice Malone
I. "Roc's" Marriage teDdy?: An attrac-
tive, aspiring young dancer, alleges tha
"Roc" (Charles Dutton), reportedly made a pass at
her recently. The young lady is on of veral who
often work as a stand-in for Janet Jackson during
her video shoo . The flattered tarlet claims that
she refused Roc's offer beeau sh is very much in
love with her longtime boyfriend
The act further all' that Roc very politely
informed her that h may contact. her again at an­
other time, and maybe by then, she won't still be in
love.
Now, all of th allegations are rather brow
raising because the are rumors that Mr. Dutton
and his act wife Debi Morgan are upposedly
having marital problems gain. They reportedly
parated. bi has resumed h r p opera acting'
career agam 10 ew York and Dutton is, of course,
in Los Angel . So "The Scoop" ks: I their mar-.
Mage actually on the "r 'r
, Salle Does It Her Way: Sade was in con rt
in Dallas recently as he tou th U.S. While visit­
ing "Big D," one of th ho 1 workers wh re S d
. tays reports that 0 of her istan had th ho I
maids strip the bed completely of i h ts and th n
repla t m with mo h
This was to insu ,wi hout a shadow of a doub ,
that the h VI< re indeed clean for ad I p
on th m! By th way, this hotel' a ry, IY ritzy
place, t kind that you'd on "Lsfestyle ofthe Ricli
& Famous."
Fre h Face On Fre h Prince: Actr
Daphne Maxw n Reid is sup y joining th cast
of "Fresh Pnnce of Bel-Air". D phne is the wife of
actorlproducer Tim Reid. So d that m n that
Janet Hu rt-Whitten d finitely, on and for all
will not urning to th h ?
To further speak of Fresh Prince, Warner Broth­
e records top e tive Benny Medina, who's also
on of'the creatorsofth NBChit ri , has an uncle
who teaches art supennodel Christy Brinkley and
her daughter. The eld r Mr. Medina . . d to be an
outstanding artist.
•
Cutty Cut Deal: Internationally ac-
claim . Da�ce ;Hall DJ Cutty Ranks igned a
d I WIth Pnonty Records. Cutty, along with Ninja
Man and Supercat, popularized the hardcore dance
hall �le famo for its reality lyri and rio
-Jamaican gh to topics.
Cutty' current ingi ,"LLmb by Limb" climbing
th charts in Jamaica, London and ew Yor His
fi t lbum for Priori y is t for reI during the
fi t quarter of 19 4
Magic In The Movie?: Fonner LA Lak­
�rs su �tar Magic Johnson is reportedly purehas­
inga multi- nmovi th treintheB ldwin Hills
ion of Los An I .
. Janie Malone is a veteran entertainment write,
from Dallas, Texas, who has irueruieued numerous
famous Afncan Americans. In addition; to bei1t8 a
pr:ofe zonal umter, M is also a. radio talk- how
p rsonality.