The Compass
Monday, February 17, 2003
ACTRESS NELL CARTER DIES AT 54 STUDENTS NEED TO APPRECIATE
Kerry Ann Cummings
klc90@hotmail.com
Nell Carter, the singer and
actress who exploded onto the New
York musical stage in the Fats
Waller revue “Ain’t Misbehavin’” and
who went on to become a popular
television star in the series “Gimme
a Break,” died on Jan. 24,2003 in
Beverly Hills, California. Ms.Carter is
succeeded by two adopted sons and
a daughter. Ms. Carter was born Nell
Hardy in Birmingham, Alabama, on
September 13,1948, she was 54.
Ms. Carter collapsed and was
found by one of her sons, said her
spokesman, Roger Lane. She had
been in rehearsals for “Raisin,” a
musical adaptation of the play “A
Raisin in the Sun,” at a theater in
Long Beach, California. A diabetic,
Ms. Carter survived two brain aneu
rysms in 1992.
Along with Patti LaBelle and
Jennifer Holliday, Ms.Carter was
considered one of the greatest
“DIVAS” on and off the stage. She
belonged to a select circle of theatri
cal pop-soul belters whose members
reveled in high-powered vocal flam
boyance.
A singer and high-energy stage
personality, Ms. Carter was also a
natural comedian. She took her work
seriously and worked hard on her
craft so she would be considered
the best or one of the best. The
warmth and feeling for comedy that
inflected her interpretations of even
the saddest songs reflected Ms.
Carter’s desire to be what she called
“Judy Garland without the tragedy.”
Her biggest success after “Ain’t
Misbehavin’” was the sitcom “Gimme
a Break!” in which she played Miss
Nellie Ruth “Nell” Harper, the house
keeper and surrogate mother for a
widowed California police chief and
his three children.
Ms. Carter will be missed, but
never forgotten for her great work on
and off stage. She was a great
African-American role model for up
and coming generations, especially
those who followed the same path
she took to greatness in American
theatre and television.
Nell Carter
Photo courtesy ofhttp://www.latimes.com/la-
me-carter24jan24,0,2455404.story
STOMP IMPACTS VIKINGS
Elizabeth A. Martins
EAMARTINS@mail.ecsu.edu
Thanks to Student Affairs, thirty
students got an opportunity to travel
Chrysler Hall in downtown Norfolk to
see “Stomp.”
As early as December, students
began signing up at Dr. Jean Holt,
assistant dean of student life’s office.
Students from the Maynard Scholars
program also went to the performance.
The bus, courtesy of C & R Bus
Tours of Elizabeth City, departed just
after noon on “Super Bowl” Sunday
The driver was Eddie Wilson of
Camden County The group arrived
about 1:00pm.
“STOMP” is a group of profes
sional performing artists who have
studied every genre of dance from jazz
to ballet. The performers range in
height from five to over six feet. Each
individual dancer is lithe and slim to
heavy and husky, but they each bring a
unique characteristic to their routines.
They stomp, pound, leap, and use
sinks, pans, pails, signs, and even
swing from suspension chords to bang,
thump, pound, chime, ching, and clank
into existence funky, exotic elements of
music. “STOMP” combines dance with
the creative process of sound.
The performance began at two
o’clock. A lone man methodically swept
the elaborately detailed stage with a
wooden custodial broom. He was
eventually joined by eight other men
and women of the troupe. They
thumped, swished, and pounded their
brooms with a tribal rhythm. Lights
blacked out after the climatic thump of
the scene. When lights came up, and
the troupe proceeded to tap dance on
sand, which had been scattered by a
muscular male dancer wearing a black
tank top and black cargo pants and
combat boots. The troupe ended the
routine with a competition similar to
black Greek step show routines.
The lights blacked out again.
When the lights came up, three
members, two women and a man,
speedily swept the sand with their
brooms and quickly exited the stage.
Then two members came out with hand
held dustpans and dust brushes. The
muscular man came out again with a
silver clad cylindrical waste can. Two
more people came out and musically
swept up the rest of the sand while
letting it fly into the waste can. They
thumped their brushes and tacked their
pans while pounding their feet on the
floor. After completing of the project,
another cast member entered from
stage left and playfully kicked the
canister away
Soon, the muscular man was left to
slump and pound a meter-long black
plastic tube on the floor. His eight
partners soon joined him. They each
carried single black pipes that varied in
length, pitch, and tone. They created an
array of sounds that helped to create a
calypso-like tune.
Originally created in the British
Isles, “STOMP” first traveled to Broad
way eventually making its way down
the East Coast.
After the show, students ate and
shopped at MacArthur Centre Mall.
“This was better than any step
show I’d ever been to. And I thought
that v^as great,” said one student.
LIBERAL ARTS
Elizabeth A. Martins
FAMARTiNS@mail.ecsu.edu
Elizabeth City State University’s
students need to show more apprecia
tion for the liberal arts, especially
performances and cultural arts.
One example of this lack of atten
tiveness occurred when the Koresh
Dance Company performed in the
Floyd L. Robinson Auditorium as a
tribute to the Rev Dr Martin Luther
King, Jr It was free to the public.
With over 3,000 students in the
four schools of the university, you
would have expected a packed audito
rium. Instead, people from the community
nearly packed the auditorium. Some
students even left early
Considering that Ronen Koresh, the
choreographer, and his troupe took time to
travel to Elizabeth City from their home
base of Philadelphia, it seems that student
attendance would have been better Our
university is a liberal arts school and
encourages students to embrace culture
and cultural activities. All of us should do
that and take advantage of the arts oppor
tunities right here in our own back yard.
CD REVIEWS: HOT MUSIC FOR 2003
Michael Webb
Mdubb419@hotmail.com
JAY-Z
“It’s Hova Baby!” Back again for
the second blueprint, which has
been already bootlegged throughout
the U.S. states, Jigga gives to you
“The Gift and The Curse.” Why is
this a hot item for 2003.
It came out in 2002, but it’s still
being played consecutively on the
streets, in the clubs, at home, on the
Internet, on mixtapes, on the radio,
and video’s are still being showed
on MTV and BET.
Many aren’t too excited about
this one; few have said that it is
better than the first. Although that
may be true, it’s still one of the most
talked about CD’s for the year of
2002 and 2003.
Some of the hot tracks on this
album ranges from rap dynamics
such as Twista, Big Boi, and Big
Mike on the track “poppin tags,”
which is a personal favorite of mine,
to blazing hot beats produced by hit
producers such as Kanye’ West,
Timberland, and The Neptunes.
Some other tracks on this CD mas
terpiece are songs like “Meet the
Parents,” which JayZ incorporates
his ability of storytelling. “Bonnie
and Clyde ’03,” of course has been
played numerous times on the radio
and made me second guest listen
ing to the rest of the CD. For those
who like to listen to a mixture of rock
and rap, “Guns and Roses” features
the dynamic sounds of Lenny
Kravitz, and finally for those who
wanted to see if he came back with
another Nas Diss, “Blueprint 2,” (the
song) should catch your attention.
The CD is out now in stores (of
course) and check out the Roc Fam
at www.rocafella.com.
FAT JOE
Notice the chain hanging from
the neck of Fat Joe? Well, he also
has a set of rims that looks similar
to that and that’s not all.
You may have seen his house
(excuse me) mansion on MTV cribs.
It looks nice don’t it?
Just some inside info on the
lifestyle of Fat Joe and it may seem a
little extravagant, but if Fat Joe keeps
putting out hot CD’s like “Loyalty,” then
the luxury living will continue.
This is another hop, skip, and
jump from 2002 that seems to keep
getting a lot of rotation on the radio as
well as on video shows, mixtapes, and
all those other places that I’ve men
tioned before.
Fat Joe also gives you a warm
welcome at the very beginning of the
CD with that million dollar Mr. Rogers
phrase “Hi Neighbor!” This is the intro
to his first track, “Take a look at my
life,” which later becomes grimy and
dirty where Fat Joe rhymes about his
life growing up in the South Bronx. The
track, “Born in The Ghetto,” which
features the vocal sounds of Lamajic,
talks about the life and hard times of
growing up in urban America. This
track is pretty slow, but the tempo
speeds up with the
club banger, “Crush Tonight,”
featuring Ginuwine, which many
should already recognize from the
numerous spins on the radio. Currently
being played on the radio and on
numerous video shows is the single,
“All I need.” Fat Joe also features his
crew the “Terror Squad” on the track
Loyalty, where Fat Joe also shows
respect towards his culture. Fat Joe’s
“Loyalty” (the album) is in stores now
as well.
CD’s to be released soon this
year.
Lir Kim, Album: La Bella Mafia
Release Date: March 4th
Ludacris, Album: Chicken and
Beer Release Date: TEA
50 Cent, Album: Get Rich or Die
Trying All ready released; SOLD OUT
IN MOST STATES.
Look out for albums from artist
such as
*Beanie Sigel
*Wayne Wonder
*DMX and more.
TUNE INTOJHE SUBDIVISION
WITH DJ MYKE SKILLS TUESDAY
NIGHTS FROM 10PM UNTIL 1AM ON
WRVS 89.9FM.
JAY-Z ,
Jay-Zs Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse Fat Joe s Loyalty
Both Photos Courtesy of http:shopping.yahoo.coW