http://www.thecharlottepost.com
tllje Charlotte ^ost
THURSDAY, JUNE 22, 2006
D
Section
PHOTO/CALVIN FERGUSON
PHOTO/JIVE RECORDS
Raheem DeVaughn brings the love to Charlotte June 29th at Amos' SouthEnd on S. Tryon Street. Tickets to the
show are $20 in advance.
DeVaughn intervention
Fusing R&B and soul influence takes crooner past neo-soul
By Chens F. Hodges
cheris.OodgesSriec/Ta/Jofleposf.com
When Raheem DeVau^m writes
music it has a message and that’s just
the way he meant for it to be.
“The Love Experience” is his first
album on a major record label, but
DeVaughn has recorded nine CDs.
Hell be in Charlotte June 29 at Amos’
Southend, 1423 S. Tiyon St. Doors
open at 8 p.m. and tichets are $20 in
advance.
“Mxisic has always been around me,”
the DC native said.
As a child, DeVaughn would play his
mother’s records when she wasn’t
around. His list of musical influences
read like an ipod shuffle: Bob Marley
Prince, Patti LaBelle and countless
others.
“I could go on and on,” DeVaughn
said.
And that’s probably why he earned
the title of “R&B Hippie Neo-Soul
Rock Star.”
‘T think people are startup to get it,”
he said. “My music can’t be placed in
one box.”
DeVaughn has a very diverse stjie
using a lot of guitar riffs-something
that isn’t typical of neo-soul.
DeVaughn’s vofoe - velvety chalky
pristine and gut wrenching - borrows
heavily fix)m generations before him.
From the hypnotic and soulful “Catch
22,” to the partj'-ready flirtatiousness
of“Nice Tb Meet You,” (featuring label-
mate Nivea), DeVaughn recreates a
time in musical history before hip-hop
existed, when revolutions were
recorded on vinyl and Marvin, Donnie
and Bob Marley were aU at the height
of their creativity He switches
between love songs and social con
sciousness that show love for aU peo
ple.
LyricaUy DeVaughn is a pistol, a
take-no-prisoners songwriter who
goes for the jugular. Questioning the
woman who bore a child believed to be
his, only to be confronted with the
truth three years later, DeVaughn
takes this true-Ufe tale and mixes a
blend of bewilderment, despair, and
rage on “Until.”
One of ihe album’s highlights is
“Breathe,” an unabashed tribute to
Prince, heavy on guitar and synthe
sizer but smooth enough to beloi^ in
any modem soul library The produc-
•tion - intense without being overbear
ing - is subtly sensational. And
Raheem’s voice, flittering fiom deep
alto to pure falsetto, is both soothing
and profound.
Please see DEVAUGHN/2D
Bitten by acting bug? Classes at Actor’s Theatre
SPECIAL TO THE POST
Registration is now open for
the summer session of Adult
Acting Classes, beginning
July 9 and 10 at Actor’s The
atre of Charlotte.
Taught by professional
actor/director Martin Thomp
son, these classes are appro
priate for both aspiring actors
and professionals who would
like to improve their skills
Class registration is limited
and will be accepted one week
prior to the first class of each
session. CaU Actors Theatre
at (704) 342-2251 for informa
tion and registration. Or reg
ister on the Web at
www.actorstheatrecharlotte.o
rg-
Basic technique classes wiU
be held Sunday evenings
fiom 7-9 p.m. for eight weeks:
July 9 - August 27. Cost:
$175 per^student.
Scene study dasses wiU be
held on Monday evenings
from 7-9 p.m. for eight weeks:
July 10 - August 28. Cost
$175 per student. Returning
students eligible for discormt.
About the dasses:
Basic technique: This dass
provides a very practical and
easily accessible method of
working for both beginning
and experienced actors. Incor
porating today’s best and
most modem prindples of
acting, this distinctive Layer
ing 'Ifechnique has been devel
oped by the instructor to pro
vide a practical working foun
dation for the actor, and to
serve as a sohd framework on
which to build more complex
work. Here the actor will
identify his \mique responsi
bilities to the creative process,
study the essential tools of his
craft, and learn to properly
apply those tools towards the
creation of reahty on the
stage or in front of a camera.
Scene study For the more
advanced actor, the emphasis
of this cleiss is on the practical
and creative application of
the actor’s technique throu^
a variety of scene work. In
this dass we will explore the
unique skills required to be a
truly creative actor. Students
wiU discover how to make
strong and interesting choic
es, and how to unlock the
pathways that propel a char
acter into dynamic action.
Other topics wiU also include:
script and character analysis,
audition techniques,
rehearsal methods, and spe
cific performance skiUs for
both period and modem
plays. Students must be pre
pared to spend time outside, of
dass for rehearsal with their
scene partners. Instructor’s
permission is required for
those who have not taken the
Basic Tfechnique'dass.
About the instmctor:
Martin Thompson (AEA-
AFTRA-SAG) is a profession
al actor and director with
extensive credits on the New
York stage, as weU as in
regional theatres across the
country His motion picture
credits indude “Spies,” “The
Boneyard,” ‘Mr. Destiny,” and
“BUly Bathgate.” On televi-
Please see ACTING /2D
Jumping on Oprah won’t earn rappers any street cred
By Cheris F. Hodges
cheris hodges t'lriechorloneposr.com
Who is Boyce Watkins and
what’s his deal with Oprah
Winfrey?
Watkins, a finance profes
sor at Syracuse University
and author of “What if
George Bush were a Black
Man,” has jumped into the
fray of Oprah versus rappers.
Recently he was on “The
Wendy Williams Experience,”
which airs in Charlotte on
92.7 FM (WQNC) where he
spoke about the feud between
Oprah and Ice Cube.
1 The skinny
I on O and Cube
I is this: Ice
I Cube (govem-
I ment name
O’Shea Jack-
son) is miffed
that Oprah
doesn’t have
Winfrey
rappers on her show. She did
n’t even have him on there
when she invited the cast of
the hit movie “Barbershop”
for a sit-down. Cube starred
in the movie.
Watkins says Cube is right
and Oprah has a problem
with showing rank and file
black men on her show.
‘We have those who wor
ship Oprah like she’s a god,”
he said. “And we have those
who are thankir^ me for hav
ing the courage to confront
the issue openly”
The issue, Watkins says, is
black men don’t get a fair
shake. He said Winfiey wel
comes the rich and famous
but for a regular guy to get
on, he has to be on the down
low or beating his wife.
Watkins admits that Cube
and other rappers who’ve
given Oprah hp over that last
few months have lyrics that
are offensive to women.
This aU started when
Ludacris, also known as
Chris Bridges, was miffed at
Winfrey for h^ comments to
him when he was on her
Jefferson,
Changes
at Afro
Center
Jazz concert at
Attic Theatre
Sunday
SPECIAL TO THE POST
T^one Jefferson and Going
Through Changes will fea
ture an evening of contrasts -
hot jazz in a cool place - this
month at the Afiu-American
Cultural Center. On Sunday
the band wfll play finm 5- 8
p.m. at the Attic Theater.
Admission is $8 for AACC
members and $10 for non
members.
With so many jazz aficiona
dos in the city and so few live
performance venues, AU That
Jazz, AACC’s monthly series,
is music to a straight-ahead
jazz lover’s ears - literaUy
“Tyrone and the band are
guaranteed to play a favorite
you haven’t heaid. in years,”
an audience member pointed
out after hearing them at the
Center in, April, “tonight it
was [Quincy Jones’] KUlei-
Joe.”
Bom in New York City and
raised in Charlotte, Jefferson
joined singer James Brown in
1979 and by 1980 had risen
to musical director of Brown’s
band Jefferson worked with
the “Godfather of Soul” off
and on fi^sm 1981 throi^
2003 to rave reviews. During
one performance, the Boston
Globe said “... the best
moment of the James Brown
show was Tyrone Jefferson’s
... solo...”
Jefferson has also played -
and in some cases recorded -
with jazz artists Frank Fos
ter, Slide Hampton, Carla
Cook, Alex Bi^non, and the
Ray Abrams Big Band. He’s
even recorded with L.L. Cool
J and Pubhc Enemy
Gkiing Thi'ough Changes,
along with Jefferson, are fea
tured every fourth Svmday at
the Afro-American Cultural
Center. Jefferson is an
accomplished composer and
arranger, so a typical set
might include original compo
sitions as wdl as biiUiantly-
arrangedjazz standards.
The monthly jazz series
was launched six months ago
as a prelude to the Afro-
American Cultural Center’s
2006-07 theme, Jazz: The
Story of a People. Durirgthe
forthcoming season, AACC’s
educational outreach initia
tives and visual and perform
ing arts presentations wiU
explore the devdopment of
“America’s classical music”
fixtm its origins in Afiica to its
present-day fusion of styles.
show to talk about the hit
movie “Crash.” Since then
other rappers have come out
of the woodwork bemoaning
Oprah’s non-support of their
misogyny
These dudes act as if they
don’t have anywhere to go
and voice their opinion. Last
time I checked, BET was still
aroimd.
What I don’t get is why a
man with a Ph.D. doesn’t see
what Oprah is doing is creat-
Please see OPRAH /2D
Star of Spike TV’s ‘Blade’ looks to add his own twist on vampire fare
By Cheris F. Hodges
chens.hodges@lhecharlottepost. com
There aren’t too many black
superheroes out there, so hav
ing a series like “Blade” on
Spike TV is something big,
accordir^ to the man who
plays the half hiunan half
vampire butt kicking
machine.
Kirk “Sticky” Jones, known
to some as “Sticky Fingaz”
fixim the rap group Onyx or as
an actor fi’om movies like
“dockers,” “Dead Presi
dents,” or the FX series “The
Shield,” is Blade, Marvel
Comic’s immortal superhu
man who’s trying to rid
Detroit of its creatures of the
night.
The TV series picks up
where the movie left off, but
Jones isn’t doing an imitation
of Wesley Snipes, the first to
bring Blade to life.
‘T’m not subtractir^ from
the role. I’m adding to it,”
Jones said in a recent inter
view finm the set.
He’s also doing his own
stunts and there are a lot of
them in this show. Jones said
he does about 90 percent of
his own flippir^, kicking and
swordplay much to the cha
grin of his stuntmen.
“That’s not taking anything
away fixim them, because
they are incredible,” he said.
But for Jones, it’s easy to get
cau^t up in being Blade. He
said he’s been a fan since he
was your^er.
The two-hour premier c^ns
with Jones setting up shop in
Detroit, investigating the
vampire House of Chihon.
Along the way. Blade forms
an imeasy partnership with
Krista Starr (Jill Wagner), a
military veteran who’s inves
tigating the death of her
brother.
This action-packed pre
miere has enough twists and
turns to be its own movie.
Jones’ performance as Blade
is dead on-he has the body
the attitude and the scowl.
Jones said he had to fight for
the role.
Please see BLADE /2D
Kirk “Sticky” Jones takes on the role of Blade.
omo