y
By JEFF DONN
A •• ocl.tN Press Writer
AMHERST, • (AP) - Entertainer Bill
Cosby returned to his alma mater not to
reminisce but to plead with faculty and stu­
dents at the University of Massachusetts to
confront th bigotry tearing at their campus.
Cosby, who holds a doctorate from the
university, urged his audience to be more
tolerant of oth r races but I tolerant of
bigots.
"You just can't deal with these folks any
more who want to spout and spew; Cosby
said. "This is not accepted." .
'Cosby, 56, delivered th eynote address
to about 6 500 listeners on the first of two
days of a fi�-campus conference on "Strate­
gi for Combating Racism. "
"THE SILENT HATRED that we all
carry needs to be stripped. You need to grow
up," said C by, in a plaid work
shirt. "I'm not asking you to come a the
street and . me, I'm asking you to leave
me alone." .
Before Cosby took the stage, th� audi��
watched a video he produced, titled BIll
Cosby on P dud ice. " The half-hour ��uc­
tion is about a fictional talk show that invites
an ordinary man offtbe treet to appear and
peak his mind.
The man, played by C?Sby, promptlr
launches into a diatribe agar 8Veey POSSI-
ble race, gender and age group.
"We need to get rid of all of them., clean
uris country up," th character conelu .
BILL COSBY
-have done a lot to I peop kno about
Black society ¢ ha voided the stereo-
typical 1'01 -
Cosby has been at the hub of debates
about racism since h bro television's.color
barrier SO ago by co-starring with a
hite acto in"1 Spy. "
His hugely ful 'TM Cosby Show"
later d . from admire ho . d it
provided outstanding television rol mode
by showing chievem nt-and r-ori-
ented B in a loving family. The �
criti contend· t it really hite-
bed or igDored racism in tbia oountey.
Jersey ghetto, from hich they
hail, to get bac to the b ics d
hip-hop.
"This is a hip-hop album
pure and simple," ys WISe ..
"Brothe keep talking bout
real hip-hop. Well this is it.
This' the real hit. We tal
about what's real. We can't tal
about prairies and rolling
streams 'cause there are no
prairies and streams in the
ghetto."
Remember when rap used
to be all about content and
style? Just when it was be­
lieved to be a time of long, long
ago, PRT com out with lyrics
like:
"Supercalifragilistic
Ask me I'm the dopiest"
h·
And don't write oft' "Get Off
The Crack" as another anti­
drugmeesage, not another one.
While anti-drug m ages are
lmpo tnt, PRT rapping
about ucke who haven't
chilled with t ir d and
given them their props.
"BLAC. BUSINE " is,
however, almost exclusively
dedicated to burying the repu­
tation PRT got after "Pure Pov­
erty", piling on boast after
boast. But then, that's what
rap is aU about, right?
Exceptions include "144](,',
a track about the 144,000 cho­
sen people, the loot children,
whom will be saved from de­
struction and "Ghetto We
Love", a trip down the neighbor­
hood of Black people through the
rough and rugged eyes of
young Black men. PRT does
their part to do a reality check
as well as memorialize the
dead ancestors of Black people,
"Ghetto We Love" is the real
shit on ''Black Business".
Poor Righteous Teachers
have managed to teach a les­
son to other rappers, coming
. back straight and hard' with
content and style. "Black Busi-
ness" is a 1 n well-learned.
Cosby also appealed for an end to date
rape before inviting historian Herbert Ap­
theker to speak. Aptheker reminded audi­
ence of the role white people have played in
fighting racism throughout the history of the
United States.
UNIVERSITY officials are striving to
write a new page in racial relations at the
five .eampuses, where tensions have some­
times given 'rise to assault, prolonged pro-
t, and even rioting.
When th New York Mets beat the Boston
Red Sox in a World Series game in October
1986, mostly white Boston fans scuffled with
mostly Black Mets fans on campus. More
than a dozen students were iqjured.
In 1992, Black protesters rampaged
through a dormitory, leaving anti- bite
slurs and terrorizing idents.
Both whites and Blacks have been victims
of occasional racist assaults over the years.
Two white students, junior Bill Pease and
sophomore Michael Fallon, both aid
Cosbt appearance could help promote ra-.
cia} harmony on the Amherst campus.
The way he'll do it is with a more laid
back kind of thing, rather than this and this
and this," Pease said, pounding his fist three
tim foremp .
-Which is hat a lot of radical groups do
on camp " chimed in Fallon.
WILLIAM WRIGHT, a spo
the university p
as invited beca
Don't fret. Poor Righteous
Teachers were really the group
that came out with the super
funky "Rock Dis Funky Joint"
bac in 1990. Bringing the
of the raga-muffin style
hile it w just a baby to the
industry, PRTw in the house
when fol were going, ''088
who?". And now, after an
anonymous sophomore album
has come and gone, PRT is
back with a heavy stance.
"BlackBU8i.nus" d a
big . gh of relief from thea! of
us wondering what is really
going on with most c:L the East
Co rappers. Unmistakably
juicy, each trac is balanced
with ragamuffin lyrics from
WISe Intelligent and Culture
Freedom and swaying hip-hop
beats.
PRT is surprisingly hype
and Ii on "Po Rill Shit", kic -
i �.
bacom
"God don't like U8ly
And he ain't fond of that cute
shit
Ya doi118 either"
"Da Rill Shit" features
Power Israel, Black Prince,
and Omar Suypercat.
The first single ''Nobody
Move" is evidence that PRT is
focusing more so on the duality
of their sound, a marriage of
hard beats and music.
AND IF YOU can't see
yourself doing some mad steps
at a dark party with a strobe
light capturing your every
move on "Mi Fresh", then you
must be a vegetable. ''Mi
Fresh" has a thumping bass
line and the smooth flowing
lyrics of Freedom and Wise.
"Black Business" is the di­
ploma of the self-professed
graduates of SWU (Side Walk
University). PRT uses their
studies of the Trenton, New