yTUREKA TUR
Ru n DMC. the mo t re­
pected group of p (
ackn of th t I ),
"Old School' not a time.
Old School . type of rhyme
that' true. There re new rap­
pe who w nt to be Old School,
but they can't get it."
For a little while th ,th
rap ind try med to be full of
MC trying to be Old School but
nding up lacking flavor and ex­
traordinary ability to 'p nt
themsel through rhyme. No
longer was the rap industry
looking towards the East C
for inspiration because W t
Coast· "hardcore" took over.
Somehow, we went from Eric B.
and Rakim's "Paid In FuU":
So maybe I'll just search for
a9to5
If 1 strive then maybe I'll
stay alive
So I walk up the street
whistling this
Hands in my pocket
Cause man do 1 miss
A stereo or tape of me
andEricB
and a nice big plate of (ish
which is my favorite dish
But without my money
it's still a wish
... To NWA and Eazy E:
GirL' 0 az:il Why you wear
your pants li1ee that,
Eazy: Eazy acce88, baby!
There was a lyrical war be­
tween West Coast rappers (all
can be seen in the rap video
"We're All In The Saine Gang"
designed to stop violence) and
E t Coast rappers (almost all
can be seen in the video "Self
Destruction", also designed to
stop violence). Hardcore " gang­
sta" rap against the East Coest
rappers who concentrated more
on lyrics. Those were the facts a
couple of years ago. Then a new
generation of rappers come up
from the streets.
WEST COAST RAPPERS
can no longer be identified by
their gas station attendant uni-
nd Jheri-Cur . They
n't j pim rolling around
in ·64' " (you kno , th Star-
ky Hutch mobil ). Th re .
b ofW t Coast pper
that . n, in th public eye,
with th cousin of Ice Cube, Del
Tha Funky Hom pien.
Del' funky tyle, most exem­
plifiedon . debut ingl "Mi­
tadabaJi,na" and "Dr. Bombay",
unli nything from the
W tCoas yet.
Del didn't rap about the police
nd his "hoes and bit---". He
rep enting, taking Old
School to another level with
baa that didn't originate from
George Clinton or any othe�
1970 funkster. Hell, Del even
made having a little chorus
dope.
Going back to his hood after
showing the world his skills, Del
brought out the Hieroglyphics
crew, consisting of himself (also
one other solo artists and one
other group), Souls Of Mischief,
and the 17-year-old wonder,
Casual. Each member has a fla·
vor that is characteristic of their
crew, but their individuality is
key in their talent.
Let's take Casual, for exam­
ple.
Casual, hailing from Oak­
land, California, was lost for a
while in the West Coast. He was
among the few young rappers
concentrating on rhyme and
freestyle in a part of the country
h th moat im-
portant thmg. Del not come
b c ana g v Calual th
chance to do what he does best,
no telling what ould happen.
At 17, Casual's talent is al­
most unbelievable on his new
release "Fear Itself'. The years
of freestyling is about as appar­
ent as his six-foot-three inch
height, you can't miss it.
THE FIRST SINGLE, "1
Didn't Mean To", a track offer­
ing apologies for getting caught
with his boy's pushy girlfriend,
has even East Coast listeners
wondering where this wonder
came from. In fact, the entire
Hieroglyphics crew gets props ,
from all over the country be­
cause they concentrate on lyrics
and what rap used to be.
"I think MCting should be a
asual ays. "Battling is what
folks u eel 0 rap for back in the
d y. Th t' what got a party go­
ing. If you take that element out
of hip-hop, th whole meaningof
the music i gone,"
Who was it that aid the child
shall lead them? Although Cas-
ual is by far a "child", he is a
youngster in the rap industry.
And to have the attitude of stay­
ing true to the art form sets him
above those who have been try­
ing to figure out why they ren'
hitting. It's all simple.
Casual's style, which has
n described as "verbal gym­
nastics", is displayed well on on
tr ck on "Fear Itself' called "M -
O-Mi-O", a "braggococios" tuno
The track is a confident pi 0
vidence as to why Casual ha:
long ca r ah d of him.
Renown Playwright Dorothy
Robinson of the Dorothy Robin­
son Playhouse fame, will once
again present her revered Black
, History play, To Black With
Love, 'back' by popular demand.
She'll be directing the play on
Feb. 25 and 26, at Highland
Park Community College Audi­
torium, Glendale at Second Ave­
nue.
. Ms. Robinson, a multi-tal­
ented lady, is a writer, producer,
director and sociologist. She is
also president and artistic direc­
tor for Creative Exp , Inc., a
professional theatre company
he founded in 1975.
She studied two years at
Highland Park Community Col­
lege, tandemly transferring to
Wayne State University where
she commendably earned a duo
Bachelor of Arts Degree major­
ing in Sociology and Speech and
Theatre, simultaneously.
She continued higher educa-
tion enrolling in to-year
graduate program at W.S.U.,
majoring in Mass Communica­
tions while specializing in televi­
sion directing and producing.
She also received extensive the­
atrical training under the tute­
lage of Earl D. A. Smith, fonner
Director of Blac Theatre at
W.S.U.
MS. ROBI SO HA
penned several plays produced
by the Hillberry Theatre (WSU)
and Dillard University, New Or­
leans. Some of her most notable
works include: Stagolee, Why
Old Men Sit On Park Benches,
Captain And The Shouigirl,
Bone Of My Bones, Wanted:
Yeung Black Couple, and Queen
EltMr and Sampson. .
To Black With Love has been
presented to m ny civic and
church organizations, a number
of Detroit Public Schools, and
several out-of-state colleges dur­
ing the past year. It i a
panarama of the lif and tim
of, Blac that spans across
thirty-five-hundred years of his­
tory, depicting Black antiquity
of great African ings and
qu ns, lavery in eriea, and
t long hard ruggle for free­
dom. Audiences journey with
ber characters from 1500 B.C.
through 1990 A.D., with music,
drama, and danoe.
Actors in this years p nta-
ND LET' NOT assum
that all Casual's concentration
on his lyrics has lead him to for­
'get his beats. That ain't the . .
Casual's beats, while deterrin
from the u ual parliam n
sound, are classic and original.
He. has, somehow (and along
with producers Domino;' f How
Hieroglyphic crew members Pep
Love of Souls and Del), mana
to find a happy medium between
the ultimate jazzy sound of Pe
Rock and the funkn of his
home town Oakland.
And it works. Casual p f rs
to dive into the era for a . s
like McCoy Tyner and Freddi
Hubbard, an influence h go
from his jazz-loving father ck
in the day ..
I'm trying to avoid th c1ich
. of not taking Casu I casu By
(th I id it), but thi . a
young brother 'with the pirit of
r pin his mind and h rt a
qu li y almost thought to
long gone. Me oh my, wh
li tIe evolution can do.
Left to Right: Front Row-Seated: Micha I Colem n, Lawrence Thoma , and onrico Ward.
2nd Row-Seated: Sandra Keith and Rene Buright. Back Row-Standing: Herm n cC in,
Roxanne Gordy, Douglas Shackleford, nd Christine J ck on. Not hown: Bruce Simpson.
tion a : Ren Burigh, S' ndr
Keith, Christin J c on, Mi­
ch I Col m n, Herm n Mc
Cain, Douglas Shack lford
Monriro Ward, with Lawrence
Thomas Narrator.
or more information call
Dora hy Robinson at 491-0002.
may be purcha d at Vaughn IS
Bookstore, 16525 Li m01S or
Globe Bible Bookstore, 2990 E.
Jefferson:
Ticket ar $15. Students and
Seniors Citizens I $7.50. Group
rates are also available. Tiokets
I