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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2005
D
Section
More sonic
trash from
Trina CD
Trina
Glamorest Life
Various producers
Atlantic/SUp-N-Slide
One has to wonder how many
times the same person can talk
about the same stuff CD after
CD.
With TVina, that answer seems
to be each and every time. The
ghetto princess raps of sex, jew
elry, ‘da dub’ and shaking her
ample booty, and it seems to
work. Ha* CDs sell in the mil
lions. I tend to think it’s because
of the covers, but that’s probably
good for a couple of thousand
copies.
Since there’s not much talent
I here, the real rea-
I son must be sex.
I The most success-
I fill female rappers
] sell it by the
I pound. TVina’s one
] of the best at doing
this, which isn’t
saying a great
deal. This CD gets old by the
third song. Talk of chrome
wheels, rump shakin’ and
designer gear purchases do not a
great CD make
There are a few interesting
moments Kelly Rowland sup
plies vocals for ‘De We Go,”
based on the Force MD’s lilting
“Tbnder Love.” THna is anything
but, spitting out her verse as if
she’s a drill instructor. Finesse
isn’t her strong suit. “Lil’ Mama”
suffers the same fate. Nice idea
to use Tbny! Tbni! Tbnel’s ‘M-
low,” but THna’s nasal, grating
voice ruins the mood.
The rest of the stuflf goes fiom
OK (“Sexy Gurl” and “Da Qub”)
to wretched THna will probably
pocket another small fortune for
garbage, but this gravy train
can’t run forever.
Trina
No flow with BET hustle
‘Ultinmte Hustler’represents a new low in reality TV
Damon Dash
is looking
for hus
tlers in
training on
BET’S “Ulti
mate Hus
tler.”
TV REVIEW
By Cheris F. Hodges
cherts Jwdges®tbechaTloHqxaijcom
As if there weren’t enoi^h reasons for an all-out boycott of the
Black Entertainment Tfelevision network, here comes the “Ulti
mate Hustler.”
. This idiotic premise to this reality show features Damon Dash,
co-founder of Roc-a Fella Records and 16 people going for 15 min
utes of fame. Over 13 episodes, the competition puts the partici
pants’ business skill and street savvy to the test. Huh?
Since when did knowing your way around the street
translate into becoming a great businessperson?
Why not call this show what it is • “Ghetto
Apprentice.”
Sure people like Dash, Shawn Carter,
aka Jay-Z, and Sean ‘Diddy” Combs
didn’t go to the Wharton School of
Business, but they are the ejaep-
tion, not the rule.
Hustling usually means doing
something illegal. So, does
becoming the ultimate hustler
mean that you’re the ultimate
criminal?
Why does BET continue to
Hnmh down its program
ming and do such a disser
vice to the community it
allegedly serves?
Honestly BET should be
taken off the air. Aside
fi*om video shows, pro
grams about making
videos and old sitcoms,
what does this network
offer?
And you really can’t
blame Bobcats owner Bob
Johnson for it anymore
because he’s not a part of the
company Although he left the
raggedy blueprint for "^Tacom
and the new guard to follow when
he did away with all of the socially
responsible shows at the network.
It’s a shame that documentaries
about hip-hop and R&B are more eas
ily foimd on VHl or MTV
VHl, which was traditionally an
Please see BET/2D
London fans gather to see Jackson
WE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LONDON - Hundreds of ^fichael
Jackson fans turned up outside a
London theater Saturday to catch a
glimpse of the pop star as he arrived
to see the stage version of hit movie
“Billy Elliot.”
Security staff forced a path for
Jackson, 47, throu^ a crowd of
admirers and photographers stand
ing outside the Victoria Palace the
ater so he could reach the fiont door.
But the singer fell to the ground in
the commotion.
Jackson’s children accompanied
him to the show but had thdr faces
covered by dothing as they entered
ART REVIEW
the theater.
Jackson was staying at the Dorch
ester Hotel in Park
Lane. His fans had
gathered outside the
luxury hotel in hope
of seeing him before
heading to the the
ater.
“We were outside
his hotel and there
was a rumor that he
was coming here, so we came down,”
said admirer Phillip Goldstone, 22,
fiom east London.
During the performance interval,
Jackson mingled with other specta-
Jackson
tors, chatting and signing auto
graphs.
“He talked to us saying heUo and
there were a lot of people around
him,” said Roxanne Wisenberg, 47,
fium San Diego, California. “He was
very nice and his children were with
him.”
Jackson was in London to work on
recording a song to benefit Hurri
cane Katrina victims. The visit to
Britain was believed to be his first
since his acquittal in June of child
molestation charges. He has spent
much of his time in Bahrain since.
Exhibit connects art, human emotions
BySandy Seawright
WE CHARIjOTTE post
“Color of the Blues”
James Denmark
Afro-American
Cultural Center
East 7th Street at
North McDowell St.
Through Dec. 31
James Denmark of
Yemassee, S. C. creates
artwork that is about
human connection, all the
colors of the rainbow,
blues music, and the
human bcxiy in motion.
Denmark’s art is about
being in love with bong
alive.
He has studied with
some great artists such as
Dr. Samella Lewis when
he studied at Florida A &
M University and he has
been mentored by Romare
Bearden, Jacob Lawrence
and Norman Lewis. How
ever, he has developed a
unique stjie that he usu
ally e3q)resses in pastel
colors.
In his art, Denmark
relies on improvisation
just like a blues musi
cians. He says, “There are
no rules. I leave every
thing open ...striving for a
marriage between what is
pasted and what is paint
ed”
He uses high-keyed col
ors, harmonic patterns,
and creates a celebratory
mood using brightly col
ored papers with fabrics
and found objects. One of
Denmark’s most unique
qualities is that evoy fig
ure in his compositions is
interesting to look at. No
one is there just to fill
space. He will fill a jacture
like ‘House Party’ with
nine men and women and
Please see DENMARK/2D
Celebration of African American literature
By Cheris F. Hodges
cherts Jtodges@lhecharloOepost£om
North Carolina’s first literary fes
tival for Afiican American authors
is seeking self-published authors to
attend.
Imagem Publishing of VTnston-
Salem is hosting a black book festi
val, featuring authors like L A.
Banks, Jacquelin Thomas, Electa
Rome Parks and Van Whitfield
.“North Carolina has such a vast
populations of readers,” said Joseph
Dbron, the event coordinator. “This
gives readers a diance to meet some
of their favorite authors.”
With so many genres of fiction, the
event has something for all readers,
said Dixon.
“This festival was formed to pro
mote literacy in the North Caroli
na’s black immunity” he said
Opening the doors to self-pub-
Ushed authors is one way to help
artists promote their work and talk
to established authors and other
industry professionals.
“I’m looking for 15 to 20 self-pub-
Ushed authors to join the festival,”
he said.
Self-published authors should log
on at WWW, Ncbookfest.com for
instructions on how to be a part of
the festival.
The event, which runs fi*om
March 31-April 1, will include a
book extravaganza where attendees
can choose fix)m an array of
panel/author discussions, book sign
ings and workshops. Admission is
fiee, but seat reservations may be
required for some scheduled events.
The ojjening night gala will cele
brate the achievements of Thomas,
who lives in Raleig^i, and will be
presented with the festival’s writer’s
achievement award
WTth the festival held in WTnston-
Salem, Dbran said its proximity to
Charlotte and Greoisboro should
make for stellar turnout.
And ^Tnston-Salem, home of
Maya Angelou, seemed fime the
best place to cdd^rate black writers,
Dixon said
Get ‘Lost’
in tight
writing,
suspense
Lost
Seven-disc boxed set
Starring Matthew Fox,
Evangeline Lilly,
Terry O’Quinn,
Dominic
Monaghan and Harold
Perrineau
J.J. Abrams and Daniel
Attias, directors
Buena Vista Home
Entertainment
Wow.
That’s my initial reaction
to this wildly popular televi
sion show and neaiiy as
popular DVD set.
Who would have thought
such a gamble for ABC
would reap this big of a
reward? “Lost” could have
easily faded with most of
dramatic episodic TV, but it
had too much going.
The concept seemed like
“GOligan’s Island” meets
Reality TV (wait, that was
done) at first but it turned
out to be one of the most
intelligently written,
intensely acted programs of
any season. “Lost” kept
viewers dangling fix)m theh
couches each week, then
dashing toward a computer
to jump in a chat room. “Did
you see that?’ “Was that a
polar bear on a tropical
island?” “What the heck
does that mean?’ America
was hooked.
And I mean lots of Ameri
cans. “Lost” stayed in the
Tbp 10 the entire season. It
earned a best drama Emmy
and made a hi:^ ensemble
cast into stars. Dominic
Monaghan was probably
the best known as one of the
hobbits in Peter Jackson’s
“Lord of The Rings” trilc^,
but the rest was a bimch of
faces that looked familiar
The plot line is simple. A
plane bound for L.A. fi*om
Australia crashes on a
remote island. Forty-eight
people survive and have to
figure out how to deal with
each other and this crisis.
But this island (if that’s
what it is) has strange
goings on that threaten,
please and bewilder the
castaways.
If you want to know more,
buy this set. This treatment
is spectacular, offering all 24
episodes and a plane load of
special features. If you
missed any of the first sea
son, this is a must-have.
Heck, it’s that even if you
didn’t.