Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 2, 1990 TAG: 9007020016
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: E-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TRACY WIMMER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Let me clarify that. I sat through three hours of rap Saturday night. The three senior students chosen from the Roanoke Times & World-News' Minority Journalism Workshop last week to review the concert were all over the place taking notes.
Anita Bradby of North Cross School, Carlton Spinner of Glenvar High School and Michael Goolsby of Patrick Henry High School contributed to the following concert review:
En Vogue, an all-girl group, canceled, but the audience of 6,800 (out of 11,000 available seats) did not walk away disappointed. Chill Rob G, Kid 'N Play, Digital Underground, Heavy D. and the Boyz and Public Enemy gave a rousing show.
Chill Rob's lead-off performance was preceded by dancers showing "incredible hip action," according to Spinner. Moving in unison on opposite ends of the stage, mounting five-foot high speakers in a single bound, these guys never lost their energy. And they dressed like they fell out of a fashion magazine - as did the audience.
"Kids these days get bored easily, so you have to keep them entertained," Spinner added. "You wouldn't want to have just a guy up there rapping."
In additon to his own fancy steps, Chill Rob pleased the crowd musically with his version of "The Power."
Kid 'N Play didn't need back-up dancers. The duo burst on stage wearing wild pink and green overalls. But it wasn't just their songs "2-Hype" and "Funhouse" that sent the crowd into a frenzy.
"Sex was a must to show at the show," Goolsby said, commenting on all the suggestive moves during the night.
True. Kid 'N Play made such moves with female audience members onstage. And later, the group took turns grinding the floor before a raging audience.
But even this act looked tame compared to Digital Underground, whose lead rapper, Humpty, used some fairly vile language in the process. At one point, group members brought life-size dolls on stage while singing their controversial hit, "Sex Packets."
Just as Digital Underground members were getting ready make some sexually explicit moves with the dolls on the stage floor, they stopped mid-song. Humpty yelled that the group had been threatened with arrest in Roanoke if they finished their act.
But Heavy D. and the Boyz, the next act, dominated the show. The self-described "Overweight Lover," in his fine baggy suit, entered through a gigantic red heart that stood upright on stage.
Heavy D. probably tips the scale at 300 pounds, but when the man sang "We Got Our Own Thing," "Don't You Know" and "Girls, They Love Me," it was obvious he had a lot of female fans.
Enter Public Enemy, a group not into the "sex stuff," our reviewers said. Instead their message to blacks was one of racial pride.
The sound for Public Enemy was disappointing. Because the rap mix is so varied and in this case, so loud, words were lost.
First, the DJ Terminator X, perched high above the stage, gave the audience an ear-piercing static message while other members stood by like statues, representing the Security of the First World.
Chuck D and comic sidekick Flavor Flav thundered in performing some of their best - "Fight The Power," "Don't Believe The Hype," and "911 Is A Joke."
Between songs, Chuck D and Flavor Flav got the crowd hyped. Chuck D urged the audience to support rap music, particularly rap artists "2 Live Crew," the rappers whose album "Nasty As They Wanna Be" was recently banned in Florida for violating obscenity laws.
Chuck D then held up a peace sign, moved his fingers together to form the number one and told the audience through peace and oneness, there would be no "Fear Of A Black Planet," the title of their latest album.
Flavor Flav congratulated graduating classes, noting, "A gold brain is worth a gold chain any day." Throughout the show, Flav's toddler sat on a corner watching her father perform.
Finally, our reviewers wanted to point out that Saturday night's concert was an integrated one.
"And nothing happened," Bradby said. "People expected fights, and that's what some wanted to hear about. But it didn't happen. It was a great concert."
by CNB