DATE: Tuesday, November 18, 1997            TAG: 9711180034
SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NIA NGINA MEEKS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  106 lines

RECORDING ARTIST IS READY TO LAUNCH HIS STAR, OTHERS' TOO

LEVI LITTLE remembers the stage. The beam of rose, teal and amber lights. The taste of special effects smoke. The seas of cheering fans.

Little lived that life from 1993 to 1995 as a member of the chart-topping R&B act Blackstreet. Then the group reorganized and Little went his own way. Now, he's ready to return to that world, solo, but not alone.

He wants other rappers, singers, musicians - starting in Hampton Roads - to soar beside him. Some already are set, flexing their skills on Little's debut, ``Tearing Down the Walls.'' If he has his way, more artists will blow up as part of NuWorld Entertainment, the record label he recently launched from his Virginia Beach home.

When Little makes the charts this time, he wants others to strive for the same dream with him. He sees it as a debt to pay for the success he has enjoyed.

``I always told myself that it's always better to give than receive,'' Little said. ``To have things and not give back, it doesn't mean anything.''

He said he received offers from major labels, Sony and Epic among them. Not interested.

``I was taking a sit back, really doing the math,'' Little said. ``It was more in my favor to do my own thing.''

So he did. Enter NuWorld Entertainment. The company will sign acts ranging from jazz to country and western. Little already has his next project lined up, a rap album by his neighbor, C. Stylz. Stylz is also known as 16-year-old Caligula Lekon Williams Jr.

Williams has a cameo on Little's album and will tour with him - so long as he doesn't miss any school, Little said.

They came together through a proposal. Williams would shape up Little's lawn in exchange for a demo. Deal, Little said.

They became tight.

``He's been looking out for me,'' said Williams, a Tallwood High School junior. ``Whenever I needed somebody to talk to. We'd talk. Then the situation would be straight. He's my best friend.''

Little works with others, too - a Beach girl group, The Haze, and some young rappers in his hometown of Paterson, N.J. And NuWorld is running an essay contest for would-be video producers who attend Hampton Roads high schools.

``I get a really big charge out of producing and developing acts,'' Little said. ``It's that hero thing. I'm seeing how people are getting screwed in the business and I can show them how not to fall into those pitfalls, take the wrong turns.''

He lives in Kempsville with his wife and three children. On his block, mowers buzz grass. Kids ride bikes. Minivans haul groceries.

No iron gates. No prim butlers. No stretch limos.

``You can't tell me I don't live in a mansion,'' Little said, waving around his living room, laughing. ``I grew up in the projects with five of us in one room.

``People get a little too materialistic. The big house, the phat car,'' Little said. ``That has nothing to do with the music.''

Music brought him to the Beach from Paterson. Little - born Andrew Levon Little - spent most of his life there, the ninth of 11 children. His mom worked at a Nabisco plant. His dad hustled, from bartending to factory work.

Levi Little showed his mother's musical talent as a kid playing in a Fat Albert-type band. An old vacuum cleaner served as a microphone. A plastic drum set became ``real'' with the addition of a beat-up cymbal for a high-hat. An old guitar became a bass with a few snips and tucks. Crowds gathered and asked for more.

Between lessons and intuition, Little learned to play several real instruments, guitar being his favorite. As a teen-ager, he played the club circuit in New Jersey, New York and Canada.

But bills had to be paid. Little took a job as a youth counselor at a local community center. He kept writing songs. A producer promised Little free studio time if he would sing on demo tracks.

Someone did like his alto-tenor: Teddy Riley, the Beach-based platinum music producer. In 1991, Riley and Little hooked up. Soon, Blackstreet was born. Little's voice helped propel the group to platinum status with hits such as ``Before I Let You Go'' and ``Joy.''

``His voice, he's like Mr. Silky Smooth,'' David Pic Conley said. Conley, a member of the CBS recording group Surface, has produced artists ranging from Jermaine Jackson to Aretha Franklin.

``Levi is probably one of the most incredible vocalists out here,'' Conley said. ``And he's a songwriter. So not only does he know how to sing, he knows how to to create the music around that which he sings, the lyrics and melodies.''

With all that, Little found himself out of the Blackstreet loop two years ago. He doesn't talk about the shuffle, just that it's over.

``Everything happens for a reason,'' he said. ``I don't hold grudges. I still have a lot of love for the fact of being in the original Blackstreet. It was a catalyst for where I am now.''

Now was in the middle of his C&L Studio, hugging his guitar, Betsy. C&L is the $60,000 renovation of one of his garages. A 48-track digital and analog studio, three keyboards, PC, couch, vocal booth, guitars and a drum set complete the area. It was here that he penned and recorded his album, the first of many he hopes.

He patted his stocking foot as he strummed an Eric Clapton tune, shoulders and eyebrows hunching and falling as he sang.

``I melt when I play,'' Little said. ``A lot of hip-hop people are relying too much on machines.''

Little, who says he's ``20-something,'' draws on many influences. Stevie Wonder. Marvin Gaye. Bob Dylan. Donny Hathaway. Prince. Mozart.

``My style is neoclassic soul with a touch of hip-hop, leaning to an old-school vibe,'' he said. ``You know how everyone has a favorite album? I want my album to be a `favorite album.' I'm trying to make classic stuff, stuff that you can listen to 20 years from now.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]

STEVE EARLEY

The Virginian-Pilot

Levi Little...

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