Cljarlotte ^osit
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1996
4B1ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Chuck D
offers great
rap CD
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
“D
Sadlvt utd
^ TOAij'
"TfCcteu^
'k
Chuck D can certainly be
called a rap pioneer. As leader
of the group Public Enemy, he
amassed a loyal following with
such albums Fear Of A Black
Planet and It Takes A
Nation of Millions To Hold
Us Back, called one of the
greatest rap albums ever
recorded by several music
magazines. Chuck’s puffy-
jawed delivery and command
ing stage presence took the
group aroimd the world and
back on 38 tours and a string
of gold and platinum CDs, gold
singles and heaps of critical
praise.
Chuck’s latest CD,
Autobiography of MistaChuck,
is his first solo recording. Like
h^_ recordings with PE,
C^Hk’s solo outing is rife with
socim commentary and slam
ming beats. What’s missing is
all the extraneous background
noise which made PE records
appeahng to its fans, but con
fusing to me. I much prefer the
sparse sound of this record. I
can understand everything the
brother’s talking about.
And he, just
to say. He taki
in “’TVIistaChudJ:”^ (“Tb all
critics wha had me
out/Tb aHraihe cynica
and tyl^ht they had me
ured The fibrst
“No” brilliant sodal.-S:i^-^
but went largely
M as the resti^
,* ‘‘i
{HToblem? This isnU
gai^fsta which
the airwaves. Chuck D>1^
^ in the social comcdw
mode, which is fiho> but,lli
.er sell than rapping tHcd
|oting someone betaaa^n
eyes for no particular rea>«
There’s plenty ofproltoi^
but it’s used the way
Pryor used it in Mi
ie^ routines; for a specify
"se. ■ i
is easily one of the 'ba^
CDs of the year. Tbo hEMl|
st people won’t give it a‘
teG
'"pvttcMt 1R/te»>uU
☆ ☆☆☆
was killed in
‘ending a^btilliapt
career was, stiU rising.
He may bO.best remember^
for his Pock^ City CD», which
comUned ja^t r&b ^d hip-
hopH^eats with, astbnishin|
success.
But his latest ^ ^tCLbe Mfl
See KHAN page SB'
Moore’s celebration more ttian entertainment
By Winfred B. Cross
THE CHARLOTTE POST
Moore
If you’re looking for Thomas
Moore on New Year’s Eve,
you’ll find him d|j||g the same
thing he’s beenljjpng for the
last 17 years - having a good
time with kids.
Moore will hold his Annual
New Year’s Eve Celebration
for Children and Families
Tuesday at Charlotte
Children’s
Theatre, 1017
East
Morehead
Street.
As usual,
music, dance
and story-
teUing will be
the order of
the day. Two
performances
will be given: one at 11 a.m.,
the other 1 p.m. Tickets are $5
for kids, $6 adults.
Parents will ring in the new
year after each performemce
with noise makers and singing
“We Wish You A Happy New
Year” to the tune of “We Wish
You a Merry Christmas.” ’They
will also boogie to a band play
ing “Rock Around The Clock.”
“I just tell the kids they are
celebrating New Year’s six
hours before anyone else,”
Moore said. “It’s not so much
of putting emphasis on the
performances. It’s the sharing.
That’s what the show is about
- sharing. Children and adults
sharing their talents with
their community.”
Moore wgaroud of the annual
show, as^^l he should be. It’s
one of the few, if not the only
event sponsored by African
Americans that has “a good
balance of people fi*om all over
Charlotte.
“(The show) is child-centered
and people are looking for
these kind of events,” Moore
said.
“There’s
a n
encouragement for parents to
do things with their children.
We’ve even had brothers and
sisters playing together in the
past.”
A variety of performances
will be given. One will include
Sammy Davis, the first black
to play with the Charlotte
Symphony, and his grand
daughter playing cello. “He’s
atflH^ed a number of shows.
Heipillfthere supporting his
grandchildren,” Moore said.
Moore sings and usually
plays the saxophone at the
event. He’s noticed a number
of recent children performers
now playing the sax, a pretty
good indication he’s having
some effect on kids.
“That makes me feel good,”
he said. “I don’t do this to try
to impress people. My vision is
more to empower. It’s not just
entertainment. When kids see
other kids doing things they
say ‘oh, I can do that.’”
Moore’s seen a lot of kids per
form in his show, including
Brian Watt, son of Rep. Melvin
Watt, (D-N.C) and a number of
students from noted local
piano teacher Clara Jones and
dance instructor Fran
Sullivan. Some past partici
pants eire still involved behind
the scenes. Parents of Jones’
students generally sell tickets
for the performances.
Did Moore to be doing
this so long?
“I never really thought
about it,” he said. “I just
thought there was a vacuum in
Charlotte for a celebration
that focused on family. There
wasn’t enough continuity with
organizations. There was
nothing that emphasized shar
ing with kids. That’s what this
show is about.”
Moore is a Charlotte natiye
and is a consultant in child
development. He’s worked
with the North Carolina
Division of Child
Development. He was an asso
ciate professor of family and
child studies at Georgia
Southern University. He is
writer and singer whose books
and records are used in
Charlotte-Mecklenburg
schools.
The Artist ^eaks
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK - Pop singer
Prince confirmed Thursday
that his first child was bom in
October with some kind of
problem, bu^TSe would not
elaborate.
Appearing on NBC’s “Today”
with wife Ma5rte, Prince said:
“All I can say is that I’d like to
believe that we’re both
enlightened individuals that
filed for a “Baby Gregory” was
for the same infant, said Violet
Kilbo, manager of the
Hennepin County, Minn., ser
vice center for birth, death and
marriage certificates.
“Baby Gregory” was bom
Oct. 16, the same day as
Prince’s child, and died Oct.
23. Neither certificate lists a
father and the death certifi
cate does not clearly identify
the child’s mother-
‘People’ intrigued by Rodman
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Artist
know that if you leave things
in God’s haiMj^ou’ll find out
everything, and you’ll find out
the answer to the plan. So any
thing that happens, we
accept.”
Anchor Bryant Gumbel fol
lowed up with: “That sounds
like ... there’s been a problem
but you’re of the belief that
whatever has happened has
happened for the best.”
The Twin Cities artist
answered: “It’s happened for a
reason, yes.”
Previously, the 38-year-old
singer, who now uses a sign for
a name, had refused to com
ment on press reports his child
was bom prematurely with a
deformity or that the baby
died.
a birth certificate for
Imre’s child was filed in
Minneapohs, county officials
have been unable to substanti
ate that a death certificate
Kilbo said the matter was
turned over to the state vital
statistics office after her office
got no cooperation from the
l^^tal where Prince’s child
w^R)om or the mortician who
signed the death certificate.
While falsifying a death cer
tificate is a misdemeanor, she
said, officials just want to get
accurate information, and
criminal charges are unlikely.
In the “TodaY’ interview,
Gumbel also asked about “the
continuing point of having an
impronounceable name.”
The artist responded: “My
name is very spiritual to me. ...
One day maybe I’ll hear a
sovmd that will best give me
the feeling of what it’s sup
posed to be. But for right now I
just go by the loo^^i|||’
The normally llimH artist
is giving interviews to^omote
his new three-CD set
“Emancipation.”
NEW YORK
- What could
nude, lewd
and tattooed
Dennis
Rodman possi
bly have in
common with
Cody and
Cassidy’s prim
and proper
mom, Kathie
Lee Gifford?
Both made
this year’s list
of People mag
azine’s “25
Most
Intriguing
People of
1996.”
The list,
which chroni
cles those who
captured
America’s
interest for
better or for
RODMAN
worse, was particularly wide-ranging this year.
Binti-Jua, the gorilla that cradled an injiired 3-
year-old boy at an Illinois zoo, was listed
between cleared Atlanta bombing suspect
Richard Jewell and buxom MTV star Jenny
McCarthy.
Another unlikely threesome: Accused
Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, cartoon character
Dilbert and GOP presidential candidate Bob
Dole. (President Chnton failed to make the cut).
The only repeaters from last year’s list were
Princess Di, making her 10th appearance, and
paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve.
Carolyn Bessette Kennedy made it for marry
ing JFK Jr.; her husband’s
alleged old flame, Madonna,
made it for having a baby.
The rest of the list: Tom
Cruise, Rosie O’Donnell,
Chelsea Clinton, George
Clooney, Tiger Woods, Goldie
Hawn, Conan O’Brien, newly-
elected U.S. Rep. Carolyn
McCarthy, children’s advocate
Marian Wright Edelman,
Gw5meth Paltrow, Brooke
Shields, Alanis Morissette
Shannon Lucid.
WOODS
and astronaut
loses second
V V ^ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
' ' ' " ' "g
NEW YORK - Singer Whitney Houston suf-
fered her second miscarriage in 2 1/2 years.
The'33-year-old star of “The Preacher’s Wife”
had the miscarriage on Thursday and was
recovering at her Mehdham, New Jersey, home,
the PMK public relations firm said in a state
ment. The Girammy-vrinning singer was due ini
July.
She also miscarried in mid-1994.
Houston, who is married to singer Bobby
Brown, has one child, bom in 1993