The News Argus, March 2004
C
ampus
V
Marley Jr. finds his way with Miami Beach store
oices
Do you feel safe
when you are on
campus?
"I felt safe on campus
until my car was vandal
ized on February 27, 2004.
Since that incident occurred
I have not felt safe on cam
pus because I've come to
the realization that campus
police are not doing an
adequate job."
— Melissa Nelson,
Senior, Molecular Biology
major
"Yes, 1 feel safe because
we are all a family here on
campus."
-Kiel Griffin,
Junior, Special Education
"Yes I do. I feel it is a
sufficient amount of secu
rity guards, and there are
lights in the right places.
Student patrol is also here
to transport us."
— Andrea Scott,
Freshman, Ctiemlstry
"Yes, because we have 24-
hour police patrol."
— Travis Stinson,
, Sophomore, Sports
Management
By D.E. Leger
Knight Ripper Newspapers (krt)
MIAMI
While his two-month-old twins slept on a couch
in the South Beach store with the wooden floors and
antique furniture of a Caribbean home, Robert
Marley played a DVD on a large flat screen TV and
looked wistfully at the highlights of the adventurous
life he led before he joined the ranks of South
Florida small business owners.
In one shot, he is standing on the seat of a
motorcycle as it cruises through a street in
Kingston, Jamaica, looking bored and regal with his
hair in chest-length dreadlocks.
In another shot, the now shorn Marley - who
prefers to be called Robbie instead of Bob Marley
Jr. — is riding a four-wheel all-terrain vehicle
through a Miami street backward.
“That’s all we did back then,” the 31-year-old
said of his daredevil biker days. “We even went to
comf)etitions around the world.”
Now it’s out with the old and in with the new for
Robbie Marley. Sort of. He broke new ground last
October by becoming the first person in his family
to open a retail store. Vintage Marley, at 233 12th
St. in Miami Beach. It specializes in clothes and
accessories made cool or inspired by Robbie’s
father, reggae legend Bob Marley.
The store features everything from CDs, vinyl
records and posters to T-shirts, sandals and designer
clothes from his big sister Cedella’s Catch A Fire
clothing line.
Prices range from $1 for a Bob Marley button to
$400 for a women’s leather jacket from Catch A
Fire.
He said the store looks like it will break even
within a year, though “it will take a few more years
for me to recoup my investment,” Marley said.
Bom in the Trenchtown section of Kingston,
Jamaica, Marley said he lived most of his life in
Miami and currently lives in Coral Gables, Fla.,
near most of his siblings.
He dreamed up the store two years ago, he said,
and financed it with part of the monthly stipend he
receives from the proceeds of his family’s enter
prises. An artist and poet, he scrutinized every detail
in the store’s design, “like I was doing artwork.”
Marley said he spent his twenties enjoying the
fact that he could afford to never work for a living,
thanks to revenue generated by his father’s still
immensely popular music and celebrity.
mi
Photo courtesy of KRT
Robbie Marley, 31, Bob Marley’s son, recently opened a store specializing in clothing
and accessories inspired by his reggae-legend dad.
“1 never wanted to have a boss,” he said. “1
c o u I dn’t handle the pressure.”
He said he receives a discount from Zion
Rootswear, Trenchtown Enterprises and Catch A Fire
Clothing, his suppliers. It helps that, as one of Bob
Marley’s legal heirs, he sits on the equivalent of a
family board of directors. They decide, for example, if
a company will receive a license to feature Bob
Marley on its products and how long a license will
last.
He said each of the 12 heirs — the 11 siblings and
step-mother Rita - hold equal votes and pay a royalty
fee to Bob Marley Music, which manages the Bob
Marley catalog and trademark, if they use Bob
Marley’s name or likeness or a sample of his music or
lyrics in individual businesses.
“This is my effort to help the bigger picture,” he
said. “It’s also my way to take a little of the bigger
picture for myself.”
Working so intimately with his father’s legacy is
worth it, he said.
“People always ask me what it feels like to be Bob
Marley’s son,” he said. “1 tell them, 1 don’t know. It’s
the only way 1 know how to be.”
REAPING THE BENEFITS
Miss Gospel World USA begins her reign with a CD
By Janell J. Lewis
Argus Managing Epitor
Last November, Kimberly
Patrick was named Miss Gospel
World USA at the pageant held in
K.R. Williams auditorium. Patrick is
now reaping the benefits of what it
means to wear this crown.
Patrick was told she would win a
$2,000 shopping spree in New York,
a new vehicle, a day at the spa, an
appearance on the Maury Povich
Show, the Oprah Show, and various
radio stations, and a shot at a record
deal.
The first thing Patrick did was
jump into the studio and record her
first single. Now she is anxious to
finish the rest of her demo album.
“We’re working on the second
one. I’m writing all of my own
music,” Patrick said.
Though Patrick is wearing the
crown for Miss Gospel USA, she
said that her album is not gospel.
“These are all R&B songs,” she
said.
The faculty in the music depart
ment at the University of North
Carolina at Greensboro train Patrick
on her voice, pitch and technique
while she records in the studio in
Greensboro.
“I’m performing with a live
band,” Patrick said.
She said her first single took
about 15 hours to record over a span
of three days.
Patrick was supposed to be per
forming just a few songs with a
band, but once Dr. Horace Fulton
(coordinator of the pageant) and
Michael Bennett (CEO of One Hit
Records) heard her voice, they
decided to make her the main
attraction. Besides recording,
Patrick is enjoying a few of her
other gifts.
“I’ve already started going to the
spa. The name of it is Image
Within,” she said. Patrick said she
goes once every other week.
Patrick has not received any
information of when she is sched
uled to appear on the Maury Povich
or Oprah show, but she anticipates
that it will be soon. She added, “1
haven’t received a check, yet, but
the car is ready.”
She said her mother is getting
the insurance together before she
can drive it.
“I’ll probably just send that car
home because 1 don’t need another
one here at school,” she said,
A wardrobe will be delivered to
Patrick by the end of February just
in time for her to prepare for her
appearances in a few local jazz
clubs. Patrick will be scheduled to
perform at different local jazz spots
like Thea’s in Winston-Salem, and a
few others in Greensboro.
COLLEGE HILL, from page 7
— compiled by Sherea Cross
like the students shown.. Next, BET
is calling it a reality television show,
however, the prixlucers are taking an
active role in manipulating student
activities. For example, in one
episode, male stu
dents ride in a limo
stocked with beer
and Budweiser
girls. I don’t know
about any other
campus, but I
know that is defi
nitely not happen
ing everyday at my
university. A stunt
like this definitely
does not capture
the reality of the
college life expe
rience and does not
hold on to credibil
ity.
Although this
show is being com
pared to MTV’s
Real World, it is
turning out to be a
cheap unrealistic
cop out. Yes the
fast cuts are exe
cuted. but the con
sistency of how the
show is con-
structed changes.
On the Real World,
you could count on an occasional
caption to refresh your memory on
the characters as well as other vari
ous information. On College Hill, the
characters and information were
shown once, and never again. Along
with MTV’s, Real World. BET's
new reality series is also being com
pared to Showtime’s “Freshman
Diaries”, a reality show that was
filmed on the campus of the
University of the Texas. The differ
ences between the two shows are the
As a young black
college student, I
want to see young
blacks being more
positive and less neg -
ative. I believe that
College Hill should
show the good times,
the bad times, and the
truth, not just igno -
ranee and the down -
side of HBCU's.
- Stephanie Price
big role that producers are playing in
altering the college life on the show.
I believe that having a full cast
of African Americans on a reality
television show is a great idea just
being produced the
wrong way. The
13-week series
seems to be por
traying HBCU’s
and their students
negatively when
we offer so much
more. As a young
black college stu
dent, I want to see
young blacks being
more positive and
less negative. 1
believe that
College Hill should
show the good
times, the bad
times, and the
truth, not just igno
rance and the
downside of
HBCU’s.
Reality shows
work better and are
more interesting
when producers
shape their charac-
ters, and allow
audiences to watch
them grow. Action will be shown,
but so will emotions that engage us
and pull us into each individual’s
personal life. On College Hill .the
show moves so fast, you don't really
have time to learn anything about the
characters. The minute you think
you’re really getting deep into some
one, the show moves to someone
else.
Unfortunately, College Hill only
gets 2 stars from me: 1 for effort, the
other for hope.
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