The Compass
Friday, September 20, 2002
C Arts & Entertainment J
HOLLYWOOD COMES TO ECSU
Rukiya Williams
kiyawms@hotmail.com
Dr. Ida Muldrow, the new addi
tion to the Elizabeth City State Uni
versity Drama Department, is not at
all impressed by her resume’, but
others would be. She earned both
a Bachelor’s Degree of Science
in Home Economics and Fashion
Design and a Bachelor’s of Arts
Degree in Visual Communication
from North Carolina Central Univer
sity. She received her Master’s of
Arts Degree in Fashion Design and
Illustration Art from Texas Woman’s
University.
“Thirsty,” says Muldrow, about
how she drove across the United
States. At the University of Califor
nia at Los Angeles, she became the
first African American accepted into
the School of Costume Design for
Film. She would be one of three
accepted out of 700 applicants and
she was the only student to walk
across the stage with a Master
of Fine Arts, the equivalent of a
doctorate, in two years rather than
three.
Later, Dr. Muldrow completed
couture hat design at the Wilma
Rae Design School located in Los
Angeles. Realizing she had “the
gift to comfort,” says Muldrow, she
questioned how she was able to
use her ability and show others how
to find comfort in themselves.
On a quest for knowledge she
entered the Crenshaw Christian
Center of Ministry in Los Angeles
where in two years, she received
her certificate for completion.
Her experiences at the Cren
shaw Center included the head of
fashion design and merchandise,
advisor. She has also worked as
an instructor at Clark Atlanta Uni
versity She was an instructor at
Job Corps, the Fashion Institute of
Atlanta, the Ministry Training Insti
tute and the First AME Zion Chil
dren’s Church.
Her career has also taken
her from sketch artist to costume
designer; she has worked with
BET’S Comic View, UPN’s Good
News and Fox’s Townsend Tele
vision. Muldrow has done similar
work on many major films such
as Call Me Claus, Serving Sarah,
Big Mama’s House, Universal Sol
diers 2, The Temptations, BAPS,
The Negotiator. Experience in the
theatre as costume designer and
sketch artist has also seen her
working with directors such as
Debbie Allen and Robert Townsend.
A native of Elizabeth City State
University, Muldrow is the youngest
of four siblings. Both her parents
taught at Elizabeth City State Uni
versity.
Muldrow says she literally
“grew up on the campus of ECSU.”
Her family once resided in the
second cottage where the ROTC
and Incentive Scholarship Head
quarters are located. She attended
Northeastern Catholic School, but
was raised Presbyterian.
She accredits her parents for
her success and says they instilled
“a hunger to learn and a thirst for
more information,” states Muldrow.
Moreover, she says she realized for
herself that she had “a lot to learn
and a lot to give.” She “specialized
in beating out the competition, not
for competitive reasons, but striving
to push for excellence, not perfec
tion,” she says clearly
Muldrow opened her own
professional design studio in Los
Angeles, Forecasting Inc. In 1994,
she closed the doors, packed up
and drove back across the United
States to take care of her mother.
Of her journey back home she
says, “There comes a time when
one has to make a decision to be
selfish...or give to someone you
love, it was my crossroad.” She says
that God told her to “go home and
take care of the one who took care
of you all your life, and with that, it
was easy, and I don’t regret it.”
Muldrow’s advice for students
is “to encourage students to pursue
their passions, give 100 percent to
find a higher belief to hold on to
when times get rough.”
“I challenge them to get up and
go do it, no excuses!” she exclaims.
As Dr. Muldrow grows, so does
her repertoire and so will the lives
of the ECSU students with whom
she comes into contact.
Ida Muldrow
Sketches done my Ida Muldrow: a. Nisi from BAPS, b. CECE Winans
Photos by Antonio Barrow
mm
Trina
Photo courtesy of www.atlantic-records.com/trina
SLIPPIN” AND SLIDING INTO THE TOP OF THE CHARTS
Michael Webb
Mdubb419@hotmail.com
“Da Saddest Chick” is back and
is taking the airwaves by storm with
her latest single, “No Panties.” The
25-year-old Miami-based rapper Trina
has been keeping herself busy lately,
emerging from her gold-selling debut
album, “Da Baddest *****; which she
released two years ago to various
guest-appearances with some of the
most notable artist in the music indus
try, and now she releases her 17-track
CD “Diamond Princess” under Slip-
N-Slide/Atlantic Records. On the “Dia
mond Princess” CD, Trina has been
working with some very special
guests such as Tweet, Ludacris,
Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott, Eve, Rick
Ross, Jagged Edge, Fabolous, and
producers Kanye West (Scarface’s
Guest Who’s Back) and Just Blaze
(Cam’ Ron’s Oh Boy).
With all the guest appearances
on the “Diamond Princess” CD, Trina
still manages to use her talented rap
persona to express herself as an
independent woman. She continues
to show people that she is definitely
a true diva who is going to keep on
letting the world know that women too
can make it in the music business.
Trina emphasizes this on the single
“Ladies First,” where she teams up
with female rap counterpart Eve,
which Trina mentions in her biogra
phy as “a Thelma and Louise type
thing.” This single focuses on women
being independent and being able
to do what they love in life without
having to result to men. It’s a single
that shows the true rap dynamics of
two very sophisticated women in the
rap industry On a similar track on
her CD, “Rewind that back,” Trina
talks about being a real woman and
expresses herself as an “empowered
woman of hip-hop,” in which she
has the help of Missy “Misdemeanor”
Elliot.
Now don’t think that the whole
CD is geared towards independent
women and revenge on cheating boy
friends. Trina also decides to partner
up with another “loud mouth” rap artist
on her CD. The single “B R Right”
features the rap dynamics of Ludacris,
where the two of them have their own'
version of “battle of the sexes.” Kanye
West produced the catchy-beat single
that is merely another version of Lud
acris single “What’s Your Fantasy,”
where Trina made a guest appear
ance on the remix version. But on
this track, Trina has the front seat and
she definitely expresses her true con
fidence in herself. Another single on
her album that is definitely an atten
tion getter is the single “U and Me,"
which she basically puts herself in
her own shoes and talks about her
life struggle growing up in the Liberty
City section of Miami, Florida.
The “Diamond Princess” CD is
Trina’s most talented work yet. Many
have seen Trina as well as others
speak about her latest project on
MTV, BET’S 106 & Park, BET’s Rap
City, and BET’s In the Grind. Trina
displays a lot of talent on this CD
and a lot of quality production as well
from some of the most talented pro
ducers in the industry. The “Diamond
Princess” CD is in stores now.
Mike-Skillz rates this ***1/2.
i