12 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, March 2 Socially-conscious Paris doesn't compromise By Eugene Bowen Daily Arts Writer Paris' life has been one which easily tends to strike a chord of envy. His middle-class childhood, which included a stable, two-parent house- hold, was nothing more than a child- hood fantasy for many of us. At only 27 years of age, Paris already has a University of California at Davis degree in economics, three fairly-successful rap music releases under his belt, as well as his own label - Scarface Records - and a host of new artists he's producing. Almost all of Paris' musical fol- lowing has been generated by the very powerful, political philosophies touted in his threereleases, "The Devil Made Me Do It," "Sleeping with the Enemy," and his most recent "Guer- rilla Funk." Because of his music, Paris is perceived by his audience to be similar in nature to, say, Ice Cube or Ice-T (when he had an audience). Many see him as being highly politi- cal and driven by an uncanny calling to lead his people to "freedom" from the oppression experienced daily in the country. But, Paris admits that "I'm really not political. I'm more socially con- scious. People perceive me as being political because of the issues I speak about, but I really don't give a fuck about politics. That basically sums that up." It's the idea of social conscious- ness that drives Paris' work, and even that viewpoint can pass through the realm of political thought, even if only briefly. "The power I have is nothing com- pared to the power they (white politi- cians) have, but I'm still saying what I know needs to be said," Paris said. "I try to talk about what I know when I get the opportunity to." However, Paris isn't God, and he's more than ready to admit this fact. "I can't save the world, and Idon't know it all" he said. "I can't be your parents, and I can't make up for the shortcomings of your parents. I'm not equipped to step into those shoes, and I don't want to step into them. I'm not ready for that type of responsibility." But, this way of thinking obvi- ously hasn't stopped Paris from be- coming a large part in the life of the preschool-aged child of his signifi- cant other of three years, a child which isn't his biologically. Paris may not consider himself political, but much of his "socially conscious" observations are no less powerful or important as his per- ceived political prowess. Not astick- ler for word choices with more eti- quette, Paris is not afraid to speak his heartfelt feelings using heartfelt words. "A lot of people commend me for what I'm doing," Paris said, "but there are some people who wanna talk shit becuase they wanna know why I'm not doing more. Alright motherfucker, why don't you do more, and who are you to question me?" "Motherfuckers better start doing for themselves. It gets tiring trying to lead people in the right direction when they just want to dance, smoke weed and drink and shit all day. Well, fuck it then; leave 'em alone. I'm gonna be alright; ain't too much I can do for you." And Paris does have his political predictions and opinions. "Affirmative action will be shut down (by the Republican-controlled 104th Congress) 'cause niggas don't vote. Vote. Don't sit idly by and let someone else dictate your destiny." He is disheartened by those "brothas and sistas in college who don't give a fuck where they're from," and he considers "everyone Six new films By Joshua Rich Daily Arts Writer Following closely in the footsteps of the ever-popular Ann Arbor Film Festival comes the Second Latin Ameri- can Film Festival of Ann Arbor which starts Sunday at the Michigan Theater, The presentation lasts until Sunday, RwNI 1 The Second Latin American Film Festival of Ann Arbor Various Directors At the Michigan Theater, March 26 through April 2 April 2 and it showcases a variety of films by six contemporary Latino di- rectors, three of whom will be present at the screenings of their movies. Shown over two weekends, this event provides Ann Arbor residents with a unique opportunity to witness the exclusive premieres of six new foreign films. The presented motion equally important." Even discussing his musical tastes and opinions of rap music can turn into one of the deepest conver- sations one could imagine. "I don't listen to country, rock or classical music, but just about ev- erything else is fair game," he said. "I'm not into old-school rap, either. I think once this rap comes, it has its day and then it's cut out of here. Ain't nothing nostalgic about old rap for me." "Fuck old school," he said, snick- ering. "Ya know?" There's an old saying that goes "sometimes the little things are hard- est to take; it's a lot easier to sit on a mountain than it is to sit on a tack." Paris' pet peeves brings out the truth of this saying shows with full force. Oddly, when viewed through the light of his highly opin- ionated LP's which speak against almost every conceivable injustice, Paris' pet peeves could seem a little, er ... trivial. "I hate wearing suits, and I hate people who smoke," he said. "I can deal with just about anything else." Paris clarifies his antismoking stance saying, "I really hate smoking. It might seem like something little, 01 a Paris won't back down. but I can't stand that shit. It's incon- siderate, and it's a disgusting habit." Paris sees his purpose in life in a very straightforward manner. "My hope is to instill self-respect and self confidence in us (Blacks)." 0 premiere at Latin American film festival pictures represent six different North Lourdes Portillo's "documystery" Kon Tempo" (Venezeula) is the story and South American nations and cover entitled "The Devil Never Sleeps" of an artist's struggle in the city that is an assortment of cinematic classifica- (USA/Mexico). Lourdes, a popular both the subject of his work and the tions from epic and drama to comedy Chicanadocumentary filmmaker, will place where his art is exhibited. And and surrealism. present this, her first feature film, in "All the Way" (Mexico) marks the di- The festival begins Sunday with which she stars as a woman who re- rectorial debut of Fernando Sarinana director Humberto Solas' "The Cen- turns to her native Mexico to investi- who will present his film about street tury of Enlightenment" (Cuba), an gate the mysterious murder of her boys in Tijuana, Mexico City and Los epic adaptation of Alejandro uncle. Angeles. Carpentier's novel that documents the Continuing next weekend, the fes- The Latin American Film Festival tumultuous history of the Caribbean tival will include Friday's presenta- will serve to treat its audiences to both in the late 18th century. The second tion of "Amnesia" (Chile), a suspense the talented creations and the com- film of the evening is "The Strategy movie about war and revenge. Direc- mentary of an assortment of popular of the Snail" (Colombia), directed by torGonzaloJustiniano will be present Latin American film makers. It is Sergio Cabrera. This off-beat com- at the screening of his film which has presented in coordination with the edy tells the story of a determined deep political implications. Chicago Latino Cinema Festival and group of tenants who fight to save Sunday, April 2 will see the conclu- the Program of Film and Video Stud- their run-down boarding house in his- sionof the week-long presentation with ies. Attendees may purchase single toric downtown Bogota. showings of two films depicting very tickets for $5 each or a series ticket at The weekend closes with different parts of Latin American urban a reduced price at the Michigan The- Monday's showing of director life. Director DiegoRisquez's "Karibe ater box office. r 's k C f 1 r L Oscar-winning songs make a This past Friday night at the Power Center, saxophonist Maceo Parker played with his band, Roots Revisited. By Tom Erlewine Daily Arts Editor With the Oscars days away, the release of Rhino Records' five-disc box set, "The Envelope Please ... Academy Award Winning Songs (1934-1993)" couldn't be more per- fectly timed. Gathering all of the Best Song winners since 1934, "The Enve- lope Please" is a fascinating, enter- taining journey through 20th century American culture; many of these songs - "White Christmas," "Over the Rainbow," "When You Wish Upon A Star," "Moon River" - have become standards, indelibly stamped on the collective conscious of the country. In fact, the Academy Award-win- ning Best Songs are an accurate gauge of the tastes and styles of mainstream America. Traditional pop dominates throughout the entire box. Occasion- ally, a bit of jazz or rock is incorporated into the traditional, verse-chorus-verse, Tin Pan Alley-style songwriting, yet it is the extremely rare occasion that a true rock, jazz or soul song slips through (Isaac Hayes' "Theme From Shaft" won The Envelope } Please... Academy Award Winning Songs (1934-1993) Rhino Records in 1971, yet the Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" wasn'teven nominated in 1964). Even Stevie Wonder's "I Just Called to Say I Love You" and Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" follow traditional top formats, not those rock and soul. wing box are presented in their original, award winning versions ("Fame," "Flashdance" and "Streets of Philadel- phia" are all remakes). The liner notes are beyond extensive, describing each year's Oscar race and listing all of the nominees of aparticular year; the read- ing itself is as fascinating as the music. With all this music and detailed liner notes, it's not surprising that the list price is over $60. However, when the collected running-time of the set is around three and a half hours, it appears that Rhino has padded the set to justify such an expensive retail price. Surpris-" ingly, the short running-time doesn't" hurtthe set. By breaking the setinto five discs containing 12 songs each, "Enve- lope" is actually more listenable than it would seem initially; it's more enjoy- able to sit through 12 songs than 20. The sequencing also breaks the set up into a' logical order, encapsulating nearly a- decade of music into one disc. Set quenced this way, it's easier to hear the pop music's gradual evolution through-, out the latter half of this century. Besides, it makes the set more fun. It's just thing to tide you over until the Oscars actually arrive. However, that adherence to tradi- tional pop is what makes "The Enve- lope Please" so much fun - you can follow trends in music by what is added to thatrigid style, like how "Flashdance" are moderate concessions to disco. More importantly, there is many of great songs here and almost all of them 9 CANDYMAN Continued from page 11 try to escape by running into the aban' doned house in the middle of nowhere. At the same time Annie's life is being ripped apart (ha ha), one of her students begins to create elaborate. drawings of the Candyman. Is there a;: connection? You bet, and a lot of it is fairly predictable stuff in the "Luke- I'm-Your-Father" vein. Although director Bill Condon spends way too much time trying to evoke the same eerieness of the vastly superior first film, he does occasionally borrow effectively. Philip Glass's score ; drives even the ordinary scenes with a sense of foreboding, and the slightly r antagonistic racial tension is used ef- fectively until the muddled climax. The real disappointment of the film is that Clive Barker's involve-s ment does little. His absence from the. "Hellraiser" sequels made a differ- ence, but even here with a screenplay based directly on a story of his and an] executive producer credit, the usualZ Personalized Graduation Announcements! ".". i