By JANICE MALONE
Th Scoop
If you're a fan of Tevin's mu­
sic, take a r d and find out
what the young uperstar is like
as he discu intimate details
about his life and career as fol­
lows:
QUESTION: Now that
you're 18 I guess you're feeling.
and acting all grown up these
days. are you going to. any clubs
yet? .
TEVIN: (laughs) Yeah, I
guess you could say that. But I
was already going to certain
clubs for people my age anyway.
QUESTION: Where did you
go .on your very first date?
TEVIN: We went to see "Boyz
In The Hood" when it first came
out. I know that's not exactly a
romantic movie but that's what
we saw.
QUESTION: What was your
curfew time? .
TEVIN: Anytime before 2:00
a. m. on weekends and anytime
b fo 12 midni nt on chool
. t t my eu
to be but that' no 10 r in
place because I'm now 18 re­
member? The only thing now is
that as long as I call back on
weekend to let people know
that I'm okay, then it's cool. But
if I step into the house at 3:00,
3:30 or 4:00 in the morning, my
mother will go ballistics on me
no matter what age I am - no
way.
then I went home and he went
home and that was it. The next
day we both went to church -
and no, we didn't hold hands or
anything at church.
QUESTION: What was your
life like at home before you be­
came famous?
TEVI : It was normal. I was
just an average kid going to
school and doing my homework.
My mother worked at the post
office. I also have an older sister
and 8 younger brother. My sister
doesn't want me to reveal her
age but she's over 21 and my
brother is 15.
QUESTION: Were you a mis­
chievous child?
TEVIN: My mother says
when I was about three, I would
walk around the house and pick
up beer and start drinking it if
there was any in the can. (he
laughs) That's why they used to
call me nicknames like 'Kojak'
and 'Mr. Bud,' But I never really
got into any serious trouble or
anything.
QUE TION: Ever get any
YiN: Not really. I mean
maybe when I was about seven
or eight. But who hasn't gotten
a light spanking when they were
a kid?
QUESTION: Did you ever
pull any pranks on your brother
and sister when you guys were
kids?
TEVIN: No, I didn't but they
QUESTION: L€t's go back to always did things to me. They
the first date again. did you kiss were always making up stuff to
her goodnight? .tell my morn and pretend that I
TEVIN: After the date was did it. and then they'd laugh
over I took her home, kissed her . about �t later. And then I would
goodnight and that was it. It sometime get them back. We
wasn't a major kiss though, just had lots of fun then.
a little friendly smack .: After all, QUESTION: The song on
I was only 12 at the time. And your album "Shhh" is a very sexy
and sensuous song for teenager.
We� you ever he itant about r. -
corning this type of ong?
TEVI : You're right, it is a
provocative ong. Prince wrote
it. A lot of people were quite
shocked at me doing this type of
song. It was controversial be­
cause some people felt that I was
too young to sing this kind of
song, which I feel is total 'b.s.' I
feel that age is not indicative of
experience. You can't really say,
well just because he's this age he
shouldn't know about this or
that he should only experience
that.
I know I have respect for that.
But then there are some who
say, 'oh he's promoting sex.' But
I'm not. I don't think kids my age
listen to th ong and then say
okay it's cool and run out and do
it because I know that I don't.
There seems to be � stereo­
type on kids which says that we
don't think at all. I mean that's
one of the reasons that I did the
song. I wanted to show that it's
only a song. I mean I'm not actu­
ally performing the act on video
or anything.
QUESTION: But the song
does have a lot of sexy oohs and
.. aahs and sexy sounds in it. Was
it embarrassing for you to record
it?
TEVIN: I've always liked the
song but I did feel uncomfortable
doing the song in the studio. It
was kinda embarrassing. I mean
all of the moaning and groaning
and stuff. (he laughs) So what I
did was had all the lights turned
offin the studio while Iwas sing­
ing so nobody could see me. It's
not that I was doing anything
wrong. But when people are
watching you singing like that it
makes me feel uneasy. I did all
the moaning and groaning in
one take and the actual song was
done in two takes.
Tevi
. - Drums In The Global Village -
Why.w
media
t afford
mu
el
By TODD BURROUGHS
Sometimes, the struggle for self-deter­
minationjust seems hopeless. Not because
of whites, but because of ourselves.
White folks (and bourgeois black folks)
wortderrWhat makes people like Nation of
Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and rappers
Sister Souljah and Ice Cube so angry? Why
is there so much Black hostility in general
against white America in 1994?
The answers are complex but an exam­
ple - one brief "because" - will be pre­
sented here through the prism of American
mass media. This week's target; Popular
culture magazines.
I'm presently reading "The Best of Roll­
ing Stone 25 Years of Journalism on the
Edge" (New York; DoubI ay, 1993, $15,
soft cover). It displays abridged versions of
articles from the rock-and-roll magazine
that began as a San Francisco countercul­
ture tabloid newspaper in 1967. It contains
the brilliant writing that has made Rolling
Stone, a white-owned white-edited publi­
cation, earn its way into the Americanjour­
nalism prestige club.
BUT AS I keep reading this fine book, I
keep growing more and more angry. Why
don't African Americans have national
publications such as Rolling Stone, where
etermi
irreverent articles on our musicians ctors
and entertainers can mix with serious in­
vestigative journalism on national and in-:
ternational affairs from a Black
perspecti ve?
Where is the strong voice for our "twen­
tysomething" generation to writ for and to
read? Where is its ongoing statement about
American society? Almost nonexistent -
like all 'Black non-acto , athl tes and en­
tertainers to white media. .
Even the "alternatives" to th "alterna­
tive" media - magazines like Th Source
and Vibe the hip-hop generation's equiva­
lents to Rolling Stone and its chief rival,
Spin magazine - are owned, operat and
(primarily) edited by whi
To sum it up whi control virtually all
Am rican mainstr am mas m dia -
newspapers, magazin books, etc. "Alter­
native" media - about rock-and-roII' and .
youth culture - is I 0 controlled by
whites. THEIR alternative hip hop-culture
magazin s - are also white-controll
,E WARD R , a
strong Black man who owns and publi h
The Colle Entertainment Revu - an
Afrocentrichip-hoppopularcultur inEast
Orange, .J. - has had to fight for his
three-y ar-old publication's survival. (Re­
cently, Riley scored a Black journalistic
coup by publishing on -on-on intervi
wi tho both Farr k.h n nd NAACP E
tive Director Benjamin F. Chavis Jr.
When we want d to gain to will
�ain.str am m . n rly 30 y IS ago, w
picketed, m rched and riot d in th
st ets. When w ar angry with th ir por­
trayal of'Bl ck op1, w m arrass th m
nd th ir ad rti rs.
But we leav pI lik Ril y out in th .
cold. The sam ffo us to get Bla ks
into the whit m ia hould bud to
pressur comp ni 0 dv rtis in Black
newspapers nd pu lications like The Col­
I ge Ente inment R vu I hay n
reviewing an nthology of our own m ga­
zine writers- workin in our own n tional
popular cul r m gazin aJongwith th
Bing ton book.
But such book, of this writing, is
non xistent. owe r rest ured tha
The Source and Vibe will pro ably put out
books as th y grow older, nd they will
featu grea Black write - brilliant
chronicl IS of lack cul ur lik K vin
Pow 11 and Jon Morgan who unfortu-
na ly, have no" 1 tiv ."
Is anyon I'
Todd Burr ug currently LS tTl the Journals m
ral pr TUm. of the Uni tty of Maryland at
olle Par".
guest appearances but that'
about it. But movies are a possi­
bility. I've been offered some'
movies which may happen in
year or two ... 1 don't know x­
actly what kind of movie rol I
want, just as long as I'm n t
playing a ''Boyz In The Hood"
type role. I liked the movie a 1 t
but those kind of films have n
done enough.
QUESTION: You're a teen
superstar now. do you worry
about your career when you're 11
longer a teenager? .
TEVIN: Not really. Ijust like
my life from day to day. What-
ver's meant to happen will hap­
p n. You can't really ch ng �
f teo I know God will take car
of me no matter what so I'll b
okay. If I should uddenly t
'taken out' or omet hi ng, it
means that it just wasn't m ant
to happen anymore. But 0 far
it's been really cool. I kno� that
I'v been very ble ed and I
hank God for his bl in.
daily.
Campbell
QUE TION: Do you ever feel
that you missed out on your teen­
age activities?
TEVIN: I don't feel-that I re­
ally missed that much. When I
w 16 or 17 it was kind of hard
accepting the fact that I couldn't
go out as much on weekends. I
would have to attend dinners or
banquets and other special func­
tions' instead of hanging out
with my friends. As for going to
th prom, it wasn't all that im­
portant like it was when you
guys were in school.
After I turned 17 I stopped
hinking about the prom so
much. And then when I got 18 I
stopped thinking about it to­
t By. I mean y , I did miss the
prom in a way but I just try not
o dwell on it.
QUE TION: Benny Medina,
LS one of the executive producers
on your album. He's also one of
th creators of the "Fresh Prince
of Bel-Air" tv erie . Any tv show
plans for you?
T VI : Oh no. Naw, I'm a
inger. I'm no actor - at 1 t
not yet. I plan on doing some TV
[ Go -dy
.ov r
- pan red by The Natumal AUi.
an ce of Po tal and Federal Employ
n
ly