Newspapers / Elizabeth City State University … / April 29, 1992, edition 1 / Page 6
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6 The Compass Wednesday, April 29, 1992 Photo by Rodtuy hfoort J cM Steadi Groove By Steve Cooke and Taisha White //A n ike check, one-two! Mike check, one- JL ▼ JL two!" says Keiwanee Powell, as he listens for his voice in the head phones. He is sitting in the engi neering section of ECSU's recording stu dio. 'It's on, man," says Stephen Talley, from the control room. '7ust be ready when tf»e music starts." Talley and Powell, two membersof the ECSU-tesed group, "Steadi Groove," are hard at work on recording their new song, "Wamack." "But I can't hear m)^If!" says Powell. "OK, OK, we'll check the levels again." As student engineer Arian Malory presses a flashing white button on the studio'sconsole,amid-tempo reggae style beat pumps through the sound system, giving Powell the motivation he n^s to demonstrate his unique style of rap. "Don't let your girl go-a Warrutck! Na-m- na-na Don't let your girl go-a Wamack." Meanwhile, Talley is checking out the microphone levels on the recording con sole to make sure that every lyric comes out dear. Powell wrote the rap song, which is heavily influenced by Jamaican reggae, for the "guys in ECSU's Wamack Hall," he says. "The song addresses the issue on campus that all of the girls (of ECSU) think that all of the guys in Wamack are aU after one thing, and it's not like that." Wamack also was written "to give the guys credit for dealing with the over crowded conditions," Powell adds. "I think that the song is good and gives peoplea different view of Wamack," said a resident of the dormitory. Keiwanee's brother, Umoja Powell, a senior at John A. Holmes High, is the primary rapper on the song. He is helped outby Keiwanee and McGrue(BookLuv) Booter, Adam (Bart) High, Terri Lewis and Kurt (Asheville) Gordon. Thebackgroimd percussion isprovkled by a drum machirte. Keiwanee, a freshman from Ocho Rios, Jamaica, is a Music Industries major who wants to use his degree "to bring reggae music to an international scene." He also wants to see that reggae music receives "its proper respect." Powell says he first got interested in music through the influence of his father, who plays lead guitar, piano and sings, and his mother who plays bass guitar and piano. Powell says thattheinfluenceof reggae in the US Offers from its influence in Jamaica because "a majority of the people in the US don't understand the words; they just like the beat but in Jamaica the people understand the words and like the beat and have a higher appreciation for the music." Like Powell, Talley's interest in music comes from his family. "My family loves to sing," he says. His family primarily sings gospel and church songs. Talley, who plays drums, says he is tlw first instrumentalist in his family. A Mu sic Industries major, he plans to use his degree "to bring the quality back into music. I want to focus more on the instru mentalist instead of the drum machine and an individual." A week after the initial recording ses- sionTalley and Powell return to theECSU Music Department's studio to work on remixing the drum machine track for "Wamack." They are joined by other members of the group, Amanda Free man, Kimberly Hall and Josephine Artis, backup singers for tiie group, and Jerald Robertson, a guitarist. Talley is using a keyboard to experi ment with different sounds. The drum track is accented by such devices as a "high hat," a pair of cymbals opened arxl closed by a palal. Other sounds irxJude bells, a "kick drum," and bongos. While Talley and Powell concentrate on the taskathand, the background sing ers talk to a visitor about their lives. Freeman, a senior Music Industries major from Windsor, says her interest in music began with singing in church. She ^ ■ W: Keiwanee Powell, a freshman from Jamaica, is the songwriter for Steadi Groove, a band made up of ECSU students. Two of the group's songs can be heard on WRVS. later performed in ensemble choirs. She SteadiGroovewasoriginallyconceived plans to use Iwr degree to work with a by shidents in the Music Industries Qub. Powell says their songs atxi recording projects have been helped by department chairperson I>r. Willie Sullivan, and by Dr. Scott Frederickson aixl Barry Hill of the ECSU Music Department. This project also helps as a learning experience and "harxls on" training for students in the music merchandising aiKl music engineering classes by allowing them a first hand look at all of the aspects of the recording business. "Wamack," which will be played on WRVS, is the group's second original song. It follows, 'The Harder You Rght," —7 .....It iiiciiiucr, also written by Powell. Robertson smterest in music comes from "The Harder You Fight," a mid-tempo guit^ or three years and from rapsongwithaheavyemphaasondnuns f ^ amateur bands. He and bass guitsir, has a clear message of carw to ECSU to learn more about music love, peace and unity. dnd the musir VnicinMc rjy, . , The song begins "As we come down toward the f^ of • ^ 2(XX), we must recognize that despite our anH ' elementary education technological achievements and ad- •'er vances,thereisaneedforGodlyloveand undeistandmg. fcar not the power of father who h ^ and nudearenergy,becausenothingcanstop ^.whohadtharowngospdmusic Ufebutttae, Accoriingtopn>,Lcya«l history, after 2000 years of blood, sweat record company or to own her own mu sic store. Hall, a sophonwre from Merry Hill, N.C., is one of two members of the group who is not a music major. An elementary education major, she says her interest in music comes from "always being in volved in music in high school" and tak ing piano lessons for six years. "I love music," she says. "All types of music appeal to n\e, and that's why I enjoy it." Jerald Robertson, a freshman from Manteo, N.C. majors in music business. The band's only white member. and the music business "I never had a formal music lesson until I came to college," he says.
Elizabeth City State University Student Newspaper
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April 29, 1992, edition 1
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