State: New
system already
netting stolen
cars
SPECIAL ro I HI CHRONICLE
Since a new salvage yard reporting
law went into effect a month ago, the
N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles' License
and Theft Bureau has received 41 reports
of stolen vehicles, stopping 22 from
being sold to salvage yards and confis
cating 19 following sales.
DMV's new North Carolina Scrap
Vehicle Reporting System requires met
als recyclers and salvage yards to verify
whether a vehicle brought to them with
out a title and more than 10 model years
old has been
reported stolen
prior to pur
chase. With
access to the
system, these
recyclers can
cross-reference
DMV files.
Since the law's
implication, the
Bureau and sev
eral local law
enforcement
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recovered 33 vehicles and also uncov
ered three fictitious IDs still under inves
tigation. Additionally, the Bureau is
beginning to receive reports of illegal
activities in buying and selling junked
cars.
"This is a great example of how one
new law has already made a big differ
ence in a very short amount of time," said
Motor Vehicles Commissioner Kelly J.
Thomas. He said the number of vehicles
stolen in North Carolina during 2012
totaled more than 15,876.
North Carolina salvage yards and
recyclers were required to begin verify
ing the status of vehicles brought to them
as of Dec. 1. Businesses who have not
registered with the Division will be
audited and are subject to felony charges
if unregistered.
"I am thankful the law is now in
effect and' that the N.C. Division of
Motor Vehicles will be able to more
quickly identify stolen vehicles," said
Rep. Tim Moore of Kings Mountain, the
bill's sponsor. "1 have talked with con
stituents, detectives, recyclers and others
who wanted to see our law strengthened,
and it is very encouraging to have the
new law show such an immediate
impact."
Moore
Rahman wraps up Russian tour
BY LAYLA GARMS
l III c HRONK I E
After more than three
decades of performing,
Abdullah Rahman has recently
completed his first overseas
gig
The percussionist, a New
Jersey native who has called
Winston-Salem home for near
ly 30 years, played for jazz
singer Michelle Walker during
her tour of Russia. Rahman
had met Walker years before,
but says her invitation to join
the tour came at the spur of the
moment.
"This whole thing came
about in two weeks. She liter
ally sent me a text message
saying, 'Would you like to go
to Russia with me?'" he
recalled. "1 had two and a half
weeks to get a visa, which is
no small feat for Russia."
Nevertheless, Rahman says
he jumped at the chance to
make the two weeklong jour
ney, which he says served as a
crash course in Russian culture
and topography. He and the
other musicians traversed the
country, from Moscow in the
east to Khabarovsk, one of
Russia's westernmost cities,
and back again.
"We did 13 cities in 14
days, throughout the entire
country. 1 was in the air proba
bly more than 50 hours," said
Rahman. "We would play, eat,
get up and fly, play, eat and fly
some more."
Visiting Russia gave him a
whole new perspective on
being a minority, Rahman
said.
"The running joke is that
there are no black people in
Russia, and it's very, very
true," he related with a chuck
le, adding that he was often
stared at and stopped by curi
ous countrymen who wanted
to photograph him. "...
Russian military is every
where. I would always pick up
a detail when 1 was by myself.
It's so different from what
we're used to and it makes you
appreciate the US and the free
doms that we have here. It
stops being a cliche when you
go to Russia."
Though African Americans
are few and far between in
Russia, their musical traditions
are highly regarded, and as
performers, Rahman and his
band mates were given the
royal treatment, he said.
"They love American cul
ture, they love American
music," said the Winston
Salem State University alum
nus. "They love jazz. We
would walk into a venue and
they would start clapping
before we even played."
Rahman spent two decades
working in corporate America
and performing on the side
before breaking out on his own
as a full time performer, but
his passion for the craft dates
back as long as he can remem
ber.
"1 would play anything," he
said. "1 was that guy who,
from nine or 10 years-old, 1
always had drumsticks in my
pocket, tapping on everything.
That's all 1 ever wanted to do."
Throughout his career,
Rahman has placed a strong
emphasis on educating and
mentoring the next generation
of musicians, providing private
lessons for young performers
and conducting jazz master
classes for school systems and
colleges throughout the
Southeast. The father of two
says it is his way of paying for
ward all the encouragement
and opportunities he has
received over the years.
"I feel passionate about it
because every opportunity that
has come to me has been from
someone thinking enough of
me to mention my name or to
give me an opportunity to
play," he noted. "...I want to
do that same thing for people."
Several years ago, Rahman
decided to pursue a master's
degree in Percussion
Performance from UNC
School of the Arts. Since grad
uating with a 3.9 GPA in 2012,
he has devoted himself to per
forming full time. He has been
a National Black Theatre
Festival mainstay in recent
years. In 2011. he served as
the assistant musical director
for Tony winner Lillias
White's "...On Black Theater
Holy Ground." He joined
White again on stage in 2013,
playing in the band and co
starring as her love interest in
"Big Maybelle Soul of the
Blues."
"That was a stretch to me,"
he said of acting and singing.
"But it was a wonderful thing
to do."
Since that time, Rahman
has set his sights on a new
dream. He hopes to someday
relocate to New York and per
form in Broadway musicals.
Rahman will be getting
back to basics today
(Thursday, Jan. 30), doing one
of the things he loves best, per
forming for youngsters as part
of the Carolina Music Ways
project, which teaches stu
dents about North Carolina's
musical heritage. Singer Chris
Murrell, his longtime friend,
believes the best is yet to come
for Rahman.
"He's got a huge future,"
declared Murrell. who has
graced stages the world over as
a member of the Grammy
Award winning Count Basie
Orchestra. "He's an accom
plished drummer as well as
teacher."
Murrell. who has visited
Russia four times times him
self, believes touring abroad is
an important step in Rahman's
music career.
"It's one thing to play
around the area where people
know you," said the city
native. ".. But when your stuff
ends up someplace where peo
ple don't know you from
Adam's house cat, that's when
you know you're coming
strong."
Submitted photos *
(Left) Well-known local
drummer Abdullah Rahman
stands in front of the famous
Moscow Kremlin.
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