THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 30, 1994 TAG: 9406300108
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICKEY WRIGHT, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940630 LENGTH: Long
These are the reasons superstar record producer and performer Teddy Riley is hosting his Celebrity 4th of July Weekend Extravaganza. Riley, who moved to Virginia Beach from his native New York in 1990, has hosted community-oriented events such as talent shows and youth basketball games in past years.
{REST} The Extravaganza, however, is a more ambitious package. It consolidates and expands on Riley's previous good works, adding a B-ball game with NBA players such as J.R. Reid and Rod Strickland playing against a Riley-led team including boxer Sweetpea Whitaker and members of Wreckx-N-Effect and Blackstreet, Riley's new group. Another new happening is an alcohol-free Picnic in Da Park with Blackstreet at Virginia Beach's Princess Anne Park.
Proceeds are earmarked for the recently conceived Teddy Riley's Youth Foundation, which will provide scholarship money and other assistance to needy area young people. The weekend will serve as an unveiling of the foundation.
``It's a pet project,'' said Chris Washington, the speed-talking production coordinator of Riley's Future Records. ``Teddy wants to be thought of as a philanthropist. He wants to keep it low-budget in terms of people being able to come out.''
To that end, admission to the big-name ball game is between $5 and $7, depending on when tickets are bought. The third annual Night of Magic talent show, which includes a second guest shot by Blackstreet, will set audience members back $10.50 in advance and $13.50 that day. (A past talent show second-placer, the Portsmouth act 3 Feet, recently released its first single, ``Musical Sister,'' on Polygram Records.) An all-star youth basketball tournament will be gratis.
You know y'all are listening to Blackstreet, right? You feel like moving, right?''
Wanda Croudy, public relations director for Riley's L.O.R. Entertainment Group, was riding herd over a couple of dozen press people, business associates, and performers, gathered in Studio A at Future Records in Virginia Beach, where the king of New Jack Swing helped mastermind funky hits like Wreckx-N-Effect's ``Rump Shaker'' and Blackstreet's current ``Booti Call.''
The occasion is twofold: To plug Blackstreet's debut album, and stir up talk about the July 4th weekend.
Blackstreet is another Riley pet project. Comprised of Riley - a platinum artist in his own right with the now-defunct Guy - and three pals named Chauncey ``Black'' Hannibal, Dave Hollister and Levi Little. The group is touted as a kind of Four Musketeers.
``There's no lead singer,'' Riley notes. ``Everybody sings. Nobody in this group is going to become a solo star. We're in it together.''
The camaraderie is visible. The guys hug, talk with arms around each others' shoulders, smack each other on the head with rolled-up copies of a local magazine, InSyte, that has Riley's picture on its cover.
Completed in between Riley's other projects (remix work for the likes of SWV and MC Lyte, as well as on new tunes by the Rolling Stones, Prince and Michael Jackson), Blackstreet's self-titled disc has been so long delayed that it's had time to move from one major record label to another. Riley says chances are very good that, like Blackstreet, ``my other artists will be moving over to Interscope'' from one-time home MCA. Interscope, a hot Atlantic-distributed firm, has earned street credibility thanks to names such as Dr. Dre and Snoop.
After dropping a broad hint about being unhappy with MCA - ``We work with machines. We don't want to be treated like machines'' - Riley refers to Interscope as ``one of the companies that understands black music and a producer like me.''
The move has already paid off, with the funky ``Booti Call'' already ensconced in radio. It could succeed ``Rump Shaker'' as the bikini hunter's anthem.
``Booti Call'' is one of 28 separate tracks - only a couple short enough to be billed as ``interludes'' - on ``Blackstreet.'' Why so many cuts?
``It was straight-up creativity,'' he says. ``When we were in the studio, it just kept flowin'.''
Blackstreet member Levi Little comes over to razz Riley about the latter's reference to Little's old hairstyle in a recent interview.
``You said I had a high-top fade!'' Little laughs.
``Everybody had a fade,'' Riley says, guffawing just as hard, adding, that Levi's fade ``was like Kid and Play - real high!''
Chris Washington comes back around. Having exhausted his rap on the 4th of July Extravaganza, he's now on the subject of Blackstreet and their record.
``It's oldschoolnewschoolraphiphop,'' he blazes. ``Levi, he's the type of cat, when he sings, it's like an O'Jays, Levert kind of thing. And Chauncey likes the K.C. flavor.
``The only album that's trying to do what this album does is R. Kelly - other than that, there's no competition. But when this album comes out, people will hear a new sound. He's gonna send a lot of producers and a lot of artists back into the studio to redo they albums.''
Those, anyway, who aren't doing their records with him in the first place.
by CNB