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Cljarlotte
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 1997
5B Arts Entertainment
Can’t ski? Snow
tubing is latest
range in West
Virgina 9B.
!A,BC gets
ratings
victory
By David Bauder
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK- It ■was a fairy tale
week in the ratings for ABC.
The network, which has lan
guished in third place for this tele
vision season despite its
omnipresent “TV is Good” cam
paign, scored its first weekly win
largely on the strength of Disney’s
new “Cinderella” movie.
An estimated 60 miUion people
tuned in Sunday night to at least
some part of the Rodgers &
Hammerstein musical, which
starred Brandy, Whitney Houston
and Whoopi Goldberg. Many were
yoiing girls: a whopping 70 per
cent of girls ages 2-11 were watch
ing’TV at that hour.
After “Cinderella,” many view-
ers’stayed with ABC for its movie
“Ograh Wmlrey Presents: Before
Wojnen Had Wings.”
don’t think anyone predicted
the; magnitude of Cinderella’s
numbers,” said Larry Hyams,
chief researcher at ABC. “Once
you got that audience and vrith
thel power of Oprah, you knew it
was going to be a strong evening.”
K was an opportune time for
ABC to break NBC’s five-week
wiitning streak. The one-month
“sw;eeps” period when ratings are
closely watched to set local adver
tising rates began on Thursday.
For the week. ABC had an 11.0
rating and 18 share, Nielsen
Media Research said. Second-
plaCe NBC had a 9.8 rating and
16 share, CBS had a 9.4 rating
and 15 share and Fox had a 7.4
rating and 12 share.
:■ Although “ER” held its custom-
^ spot at the top of the ratings,
it had one of its lowest ratings in
some time for an original episode.
NBC said CBS’ two-hour
“Diagnosis Murder” siphoned off
viewers.
■ Fox’s season premiere of “The X-
flles” finished among the week’s
top 10 shows, with its second
most-watched episode ever. The
episode broadcast after the Super
Powl last January was tops.
; NBC’s “Frasier,” running weU in
Ijhe ratings this year, scored a rare
mctory over ABC’s “Home
Improvement.”
' Among the emerging networks,
iiPN had a 3.4 rating and 5 share
Md the WB had a 2.8 rating and
4 share.
1A rating point represents
9^,000 households, or 1 percent
df'the nation’s estimated 98 mil
lion TV homes. Share is the per
centage of those televisions in use
t^t are tuned to a given show
during a specified time period.
- Ratings rose for nightly news
programs in the wake of Wall
Street’s gyrations. “NBC Nightly
News” was first with an 8.8 rating
and 18 share, ABC’s “World News
Tbnight” had an 8.3 rating and 17
^are and the resurgent “CBS
Evening News” had an 8.1 rating
ind 16 share.
i For the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2,
a)me of the top 10 shows, their
networks and ratings, were:
i“ER,” NBC, 20.6; “Seinfeld,”
NBC, 20.3; “ABC Sunday Night
Movie: Oprah Winfrey Presents:
^fore Women Had Wings,” ABC,
16.7; “Wonderful World of Disney:
Cinderella,” ABC, 18.4;
“Veronica’s Closet,” NBC, 17.5;
“NFL Monday Night Football:
IJew England at Green Bay or
Chicago at Miami,” ABC, 16.8;
“Friends,” NBC, 16.3.
Only in America...
PHOTO/HBO PRODUCTIONS
Ving Rhames as Don King in the HBO presentation “Don King: Only In America,” which premiers 8 p.m. Saturday.
...the saga of the myth, the man, the hair
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Don King could talk a snake
out of biting him if he could
get it to listen, and I’m almost
sure he could.
If you watch HBO’s excel
lent “Don King: Only In
America,” you may be con
vinced as well. It’s a fascinat
ing docudrama examining
what may be the most contro
versial figure in America.
The show, airing 8 p.m.
Saturday, isn’t preachy, nor is
it flattering. It’s two hours of
riveting television that’s
tumultuous but tempting,
graphic but gratifying. It pre
sents a straight-forward,
basically no-holds-barred
depiction of King. He was con
sulted and did make a few
script changes, but this seems
like something that would
make him uneasy.
It starts off in 1954 while he
was still a numbers runner
and ends up with the Mike
lyson-Evander Holyfield ear-
bitting fiasco, neither of
which King takes responsibil
ity for. King’s character even
narrates the program, disput
ing footage and trying to put
the best spin on troublesome
situations.
You learn a lot about King.
He’s a smart, but ruthless,
businessman who is afraid of
no one. He’s brutal, but, ironi
cally, a good family man.
“Don King” does have its
flaws. The numerous investi
gations and allegations are
alluded to, but never fleshed
out. And King does seem to
come off as some great
American hero at times. That
may be because of the top-
rate nature of the production.
There are no faults with
Ving Rhames (“Rosewood,”
“Pulp Fiction” and “Con Air”),
who is an absolute knockout
as King. He has a chameleon
like air that makes him look
different in each role. He
flawlessly mimics King’s
See KING on page 6B
Are song lyrics sending kids to grave?
By Libby Quaid
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON - Music often
sends children powerfid messages
of violence and sex, lawmakers
said, while the industry’s volun
tary labeling system tells parents
too little about its content.
But a recording industry execu
tive, Hilary Rosen, defended cror-
rent industry practices and said
researchers have formd that while
it may echo a teen-ager’s emotion
al state, music is not the cause.
Rosen, president and CEO of
the Recording Industry
Association of America, spoke
Thursday at a Senate
Government Affairs subcommit
tee hearing where a father
blamed shock rock lyrics for his
son’s suicide.
“The American Academy of
Child and Adolescent psychiatry
lists 14 signs to look for in a suici
dal child, and music is not among
them,” she said.
Lavraiakers said they were not
proposing legislation or censor
ship, but they want parents and
music executives to pay closer
attention to what teen-agers and
children are listening to. Sen.
Sam Brownback, R-Kan., said rap
and heavy metal songs about
murder, suicide, rape and drugs
help create a culture of violence
that desensitizes young people.
“The majority of popular music
does not contain violent or misog-
ynistic lyrics,” said Brownback,
chairman of the subcommittee on
District of Columbia issues. “Our
concern is not with ... rock or rap.
Our concern is with those songs
that do glorify violence, murder
and mayhem and condone the
abuse of women.”
He read lyrics from shock rocker
Marilyn Manson and asked
whether record companies consid
er violent lyrics in deciding to sign
an artist. Another senator, Joseph
Lieberman, D-Conn., graphically
described songs that exalt vio
lence toward women.
Raymond Kuntz’s voice broke as
he told how his 15-year-old son,
Richard, was listening to Marilyn
Manson when he shot himself last
Dec. n. Near his boy’s body,
Kuntz discovered an English
paper about the band, whose per-
See RAP on page 7B
Usher says ‘My Way’ CD is his foray into manhood
^y Michelle Dearmond
nTE ASSOCIATED PRESS
.LOS ANGELES - 'Ib chart-top-
f*ijg rhythm-and-blues artist
Hsiher, his latest album is more
tban just a collection of funky
j4ms and sweet-talking ballads.
Ifs a statement of his manhood -
ef age 18.
;The babyface singer is barely
old enough to vote and definitely
rpt able to legally drink. But he
says “My Way” demonstrates his
growth as an artist and as a man
since his self-titled debut three
years ago.
“Fra definitely older now. I’m a
lot more mature,” the soft-spoken
Usher says during a recent trip to
Los Angeles. “Tve taken my steps
into manhood.”
For his new project, Usher says
he played an active role in song-
writing and production with the
skilled tutelage of LaFace
Records veteran producers
Antonio “L.A.” Reid and Kenneth
“Babyface” Edmonds, and produc
er Jermaine Dupri of So Def
Records.
“I was really taking my time
and making sure it all goes right,”
he says.
Usher credits his mother (who
now is his manager) with giving
him the courage to speak his
mind, but admits that philosophy
only works when others are will
ing to listen.
“I have to thank them for hsten-
ing to me, and opening up to me,”
he says of Reid, Edmonds and
Dupri. “I guess it’s aU about the
people you work with.”
Usher admits the experience
with LaFace Records was a
change from his first album, pro
duced by Bad Boy Entertainment
See USHER on page 7B
Sounds
Rakim’s
CD is worth
the wait
Mase
Harlem World
Various producers
Bad Boy Records/Arista
Records
With the help of producer Sean
“Puffy” Combs, Mase became one
the most recognized voices in rap
without makine a CD. heine fea
tured on gold records by 112,
Mariah Carey and Puff Daddy’s
“Can’t Nobody Hold Me Dowm.”
It was just a matter of time
before he got his own record. Here
it is. Harlem World, possibly the
party record of the year.
Harlem World is a record which
proves Mase has talent, albeit
limited. His delivery is dry and
understated, but works with the
music he uses. Most of this stuff is
based on samples, but cleverly so.
“Do You Wanna Get $” uses Peter
Brown’s “Do You Wanna Get
Funky with Me,” which sure to
pull dance mavens to the floor.
“Luv U So” combines Rose Royce’s
“Ooh Boy” and Tina Marie’s
“Square Biz” into another dance
floor jam. “Feels So Good” bor
rows liberally from Kool and the
Gang’s “Hollywood Swinging.”
Some of the seunples aren’t so
obvious. “Cheat On You,” which
features 112, uses a small sample
from Michael Jackson’s “Don’t
Stop "Till You Get Enough.”
“Niggaz Wanna Act” uses a hard
to find Harold Melvin and the
Bluenotes song named “Hostage.”
Mase even proves he has a
sense of humor. He and Puffy do a
send-up of New Edition’s “Jealous
Girl” called “Jealous Guy.” At
least I hope this is supposed to be
a joke, because it is the worst duet
I’ve ever heard. It’s downright
hilarious. I just wish there wasn’t
so much foul language, talk of sex,
drugs and violence. I guess it
wouldn’t be a rap album if it did
n’t.
Rakim
The 18th Letter:
The Book of Life
Rakim and Dino Delvaille,
executive producers
Universal Records
founder Sean “Puffy” Combs in
1994. He says little else about
that project, which bore the 'Ibp
10 hit “Think of You.”
Usher says he asked Combs
about his prospects for another
album with Bad Boy, but it never
developed.
“I asked him...” he says, his voice
trailing off as it often does. “But
there’s no sour grapes. It just did-
I admit I’m essentially hip-hop
challenged because I didn’t pay
too much attention to the art form
in its early days. I remember
hearing the the name Rakim
associated with someone named
Eric B., but I don’t know if I ever
heard anything buy them.
Rakim’s latest CD refreshed my
memoiy. The limited addition ver
sion features a second CD of
greatest hits. ‘T know You Got
Soul” and “Mahogany” were radio
staples. I see why hip-hop fiends
couldn’t wait for this CD.
Rakim’s new stuff is just as com
pelling. Here’s a brother who can
get his point across without
assaulting my ears with profanity.
See SOUNDS on page 7B