For the Record
enta da stage
black moon
Wreck Records
Reviewed by; Richard Harris
Who got the Props? Who got
the Props? Black Moon lock ‘em
when they busted
on the scene a
couple of years
ago. A mellow
organ grind
combined with
ruff lyrics by Evil
Dee, Buckshot
Shorty and the
5ft. Excellerator
served as the
potent
combination on
“Who Got the
Props” and
“How Many
Emcees.”
On this tape, they flex madder
combinations and manage to make
every track seem better and better.
You’ll be too busy trippin off how
d(^ the beats are when they come
in on songs like “Slave and I
GotChaOpin,”thatthelyricswiU
just blow your mind.
The only bone that I pick with
Black Moon is their Cypress Hill-
esque tendency to rap about
nodiin’ elsebutshootin’ fools and
sm4cin’ blunts.
Apart from the
lyrical
redundancy on
songs like “How
Many Emcees,”
“Black Smif and
Wesson,”
“Niguz Talks—
t” and “Buck
‘Em Down,” the
songs and
concepts are
hype.
If they could
say somethin’ a
little different,
the album would
be execptional. Truthfully, Black
Moon, courtesy of DJ Evil Dee
creates the ti^test beats yet; then
the crew kicks some dope lyrics
over the tracks. Rating A-.
Domino
Domino
Columbia Records
Reviewed by; Richard Hams
f
Plenty of artists have busted
onto the scene witfi a fly single
only to just disappear. Johnny
Kemp “Just got Paid” on Fiday
night, and on Monday that fool
was broke. And where is M.C.
Brains?
Long Beach,
Calif., native,
Domino,
howevCT, has
managed to
back up his
“Ghetto Jam”
with a decent
album.
Honestly, the
first track is
just weak—
sorry. It
doesn’t hit
But
Domino
follows with
“Ghetto Jam,” and after you
rewind it sevwal times and try to
figure out what he’s saying, he
comes correct with “Do you
Qualify,” anothCT slammin’ track
with dope bass and guitar work
that ranks with “Ghetto Jam.
Here, Domino asks all the
underage girls to uuthfully
distinguish themselves from
women.
Luckily, Domino starts to
actually get a
this is OD...” save your money.
After six or so songs and listening
to Snoop for the last month, the
the rap-sing *Long Beach
sty le’gets played outand his beats
start sounding more and more
like Dr. Dre’s.
Overall, the album is worth
picking up only if you really like
the sound. Rating; B-
VOTING FROM PAGE 14
little serious
on “Raincoat”
where he
warns
brothers about
unprotected
sex; “Just
because it
might feel
I good don’t
mean it’s real
good/ Catch a
disease you’ll
be lucky if you
heal good.”
The
fattest cut,
“Long Beach
Thang” sums up what the man
and his hood are all about;
“Thought you knew where I
graduated G, Player High,
majored in Mackology.”
Basically, if you liked “Ghetto
Jam,” rest assured, you ’ 11 like die
whole tape. But if you were sick
of hearing “One, two, three, and
constituwts. Abalanceniustbe
struck between the two with
major emphasis on sincere
caican. The reason fw this is
simfrie; a candidate mu^ have
experience in order to deal with
his OT her qpp«»e»tts. Without
concern for his or her
constituents, however, the
peq;)le who put that perscm in
offke get nothing.
Competency is easier to
attain than cultural identity and
I toysdty.Ttemosteffectivebladc
leaders had an intense loyalty to
blacks, even when expwience
was lacking. With tyamaa, a
persm knows where he or she
comes from; cuWvaes a sense
crfloy^ty; jmdcan becomebetter
equipped to hwtdle obstacles
through leaderrfiip training.
Due to manCTOUS historical
reasons, a low and
disproportionate number of
African AmerioHishaveaspired
for leadership positions,
especially on dnscanpus. Never
befae has the Afriam American
been so invrfved in politics than
in*e 12ye»s(rfRecooaxuct«)n,
over 100 years ago!
Oie reascm fw the lack of
political involvement is the
feeling of apathy, that is, in part,
due to the notion that we have
nothing to do with these
positions—that they ikan’thave
a major effect on us. This is a
myth!
Everything that happens on
this campus effects African
American because we are part i
of the student body. While it is
true that many issues (“Wack
issues”) tha adversely affect the
black community do not affect
the whcrte college community in
the same way, we are not
excluded from issues that affect
the majwity.
This is because we are truly
“doubly veiled.” We are both
African and Aroericim. Wecan
escape neitber the African nor
the American part of our
ancestry.
History has proven fcat to
effectively survive and fimction
in America, people need to learn
“standard English,” American
histwy, which often excludes the
minority contribution, and the
Eurocentric system upon which
America was estabU^ed. all of
this is learned in addition to our
own culture, way of tfimkii^, way
of talking, etc.
In Older to induce positive
change of the system, we must
get inside the system, learn and
master it, gain seniority and
eventually wield power that will
be used for the good of ail people.
We cannot, however, afford
to imitate die negative aspects of
the system because we would be
worse off than before. We are a
unique group in that our hindsi^t
gives us vision and compassicm
to dwrnge Babylon-
We cannot affwd to resign
from the fight like the ikmi-
political “cultural nationalist." i
These n.p. “cultoralnationalists”
celebrate their blackness, with
extreme pride but solely by
relating to African culture,
thereby closing their eyes to the
political scene in wder to pursue
their "new found” blackness.
One of the great features of
history is that we in the present
can kx* back, analyze it, learn
vahi^le lessons and apply what
we team to|»esent-lay ^roWems.
Malcolm X pointed out that,
“History is a people’s memory,
and without a memory, man is
demoted to the Iowct animals.”
I ftilly suRXMt anyone who
celebr^es her or his African
legacy in whatever way she or he
chooses, but I cannot support
anyone who ignwes the problems
of today by living in the past The
Black Panthers also advocated
cultural awareness, but its co-
founder, Huey P. Newtwi, put it
best when he said, “Africa is,
after all, no longer a virgin; she’s
been raped. We relate to here and
now.
At UNC, we need to asj^
to positiOTS of power on campus
and in those areas that relate to
campus life. These positions
are; Student Body President;
Student Congress positions;
Carolina Activities Union Boffl^d
President; and various
leactership positions in student
organizations such as
committees that fall under the
jurisdiction of Campus Y;RHA
president;Dai/y rorWeeieditor.
Chief Justice; etc. The list goes
on and on.
The time to make changes is
now. It is so simple to do. If
every black person on campus
were to vote smd if 75 percent
voted unanimously, then we
would start to see some changes.
Using the above criteria for
a candittete we must make sure
that he or she rq»esents the
entire university constituency
while staying true to the game
(for our readers who ate not
familiar with this slang, this
means rwnonbenng and doing
for your community).
Campus elections are
coming up soon. Do not let this
oppntunity slip through your
fingers. Organize wi* like-
minded people; support the
BSM, and let your voice be
heard tloough your vote.
More of us vote for
Homecoming Queen than fw
student body president! We
must get our vision straight go
fcff the power, but do not be
corrupted by it. Power is not
inherently bad, we have just
been made to believe it is
because we see it abused
everyday.
Right now. your vote is
power. You must, however,
remember that for any kind of
power to count in the balance
of eternity, you must follow
tiHough and empower others.
Peace.