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Page 4..The Portland Observer...April 8, 1992
Few songs in the history o f con
tem porary music have been able to
capture the attitude o f an entire decade.
B ut C A L L O W A Y ’S block-buster hit,
“ I W anna Be R ich,” singularly exem
plified our country’s obsession with
m oney and material goods in the '80s.
W ith it, the Cincinnati-based brother
duo o f Reggie and Cino Calloway suc
cessfully launched an exciting new phase
in an a n istic career that already encom
passes a w ealth o f hitmaking as one o f
the prem ier songw riting and producing
team s in contem porary music. Now the
C allow ays look to add to their treasure
chest o f hits with their new Solar/Epic
album , L E T ’S G ET SMOOTH.
Along with a contingent of young
M idw estem erssuchasL .A . & Babyface
(w ho the Callow ays helped to intro
duce through their production work for
T he D eele) and Jimmy Jam & Terry
Lew is, R eggie & Cino Calloway have
becom e a dom inant force in the evolu
tion o f R& B/pop music over the past
tw o decades. W hat has distinguished
the C allow ays from their contem porar
ies is their uncanny ability to reflect and
personify the changing moods o f our
culture, and to separate their own art
istry from their creativity as prolific
songrw ri ter/producers.
A s founders o f the pioneering
techno-funk band Midnight Star, the
C allow ays racked up a string of Top 20
R & B hits including the #1 “O perator,”
along with tw o gold LPs and one double
platinum album. During this incarna
tion, Reggie and Cino also wrote and
produced hits for other artists, includ
ing K lym axx’s signature song, “ M eet
ing In The Ladies Room ,” and several
tracks for the W hispers’ Feel So Good.
Follow ing their departure from M id
night Star, Callow ay went on to create
four gold or platinum G ram m y-nom i
nated recordings: G ladys K n ig h t’s
G ra m m y -w in n in g h it “ L ove O ver
Portland Observer
B oard” (#1 R& B/# 13 Pop), Teddy
Pendergrass” “Joy" (#1 R&B), Levert’s
debut smash “Casanova” (#1 R&B/5
Pop), and Natalie C ole’s single “Jump
Start My Heart” (2 R&B/# 13 Pop).
“Casanova” also earned writer Reggie
Calloway a Gram m y nomination for
“ Song O f The Y ear.”
“We d o n ’t try to weight an artist
down with our style,” says Reggie
Calloway. “We w ant to bring out their
own colors and textures. W e’re not
concerned with the ego satisfaction o f
people saying ‘T hat’s a Calloway song ’
like they can with some other produc
ers.”
“That’s why w e’re recording art
ists,” adds Cino. “W e have our own
ideas that we put on our own records—
we d o n ’t have to project our creativity
as artists on the artists we produce.”
The common denom inator has a l
ways been great songs. “Music is m u
sic, and we should be able to play and
produced anything we can write,” says
Reggie. “Lennon & McCartney wrote
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34th Annual
and played rock, pop and R&B music.
As
A fric a n -A m e ric a n
a r tis ts ,
songwriters and producers, w e’d like to
be able to do the sam e.”
The title track (the prem ier single
and video from LET’S GET SMOOTH)
sums up this sentiment, and the ballads
that fo llo w -”I Desire You,” “Feel Like
A W o m a n ,” “ F o re v e r Y o u rs ” --
strengthen that emotion. “Set TheTable”
is the ultimate in red-carpet treatment
for women, and reinforces C allow ay’s
ideas about sharing in love.
Growing up (and still based) in
Cincinnati, Reggie and Cino were ex
posed at an early age to music through
their family. Both brothers are profi
cient on a n umber of in struments: Reggie
on trumpet, flute and keyboards, Cino
on trumpet, trombone, flugelhom and
keyboards. “'I W anna Be R ich’ gave a
great start to our career as a recording
duo,” offers Cino, “but some o f the
songs on L E T ’S G ET SMOOTH have
the potential to be even bigger. This
record is going to hit you from all sides!”
(CTQ
i1
It’s been nearly a year since
Nikeska was named Miss Na
tional Y oung M iss A m erica
(1991-92). It’s been a very busy
but productive year for her. S he ’ s
doing an outstanding job repre
senting Oregon. The Portland
Observer would like to commend
Nikesha. God bless you.
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V o lu n t e e r s
W a n te d
The Coalition for Responsive Gov
ernm ent, sponsor o f a M ultnom ah
County ballot measure, is looking for
volunteer help on its grass roots cam
paign for the May election.
If passed, Ballot M easure 26-6
would create a C itizens’ Convention to
exam ine and recommend changes for
local governm ent services within M ult
nomah County.
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Portland Chapter
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Benefit of
LINKS EDUCATIONAL
SCHOLARSHIP FUND
Masonic Temple
1119
S.W .
Park
Ave.
Portland, Oregon
Friday, April 24, 1992
8:00 p.m.
Ticket Price:
$25.00
TICKETS AVAILABLE AT:
Mrs. C's Wigs, 707 N.E. Fremont
House ol Sound.
3606 N. Williams Ave.
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___________ 2948 N.E. M .L.K.Jr. Blvd
Ticket Prices:
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BOSTON’S MINI MARKET
NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!
PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY STORE
IT’S A MUST.
PLEASE REFRAIN FROM DRINKING
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IT CAUSES MANY
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t .
The Portland Chapter o f Jack & Jill
o f America, Inc. will have a Spring
fundraising event on Saturday, April 11,
6:00-8:00 p.m.. Interstate Firehouse
Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate Av
enue.
Join them at 6:00p.m . for the recep
tion and 7:00 p.m. for a performance of
the Colin Thomas play, “One Thousand
Cranes,” that will be directed by Julie
Akers. The production company will
have a question and answer series fol
lowing the performance. The cost is
$10.00, and includes the reception and
play. The designated charily for this
fundraiser will be “Christian W omen
Against Crim e.”
T he C hristian W om en A gainst
Crime program consists of a dedicated
group o f women who are providing a
m ultitude o f resources and positive al
4* /
r
• ’S»
Jack & Jill Spring Fundraiser
ternatives for youth. If you w ant to
become involved in this program, con
tact Mrs. Alberta Phillips, 120 N.E. Ivy,
282-1316.
Jack & Jill o f A merica members
selected this play for our fundraising
event because it providescultural aw are
ness through the eyes o f children. Jack
& Jill kids have made Origami crane
decorations for this performance. The
children attended classes that were taught
by Toshimi Tanaka who is o f Japanese
descent.
Jack & Jill o f America, Inc., is a
national non-profit minority parenting
organization whose main focus areas
are education, recreation, social and
cultural well beingof minority children.
Please join the Portland chapter in
the fundraising benefit for”Christian
W omen A gainst C rim e.”
Cleo-Lilliann
Social Club ~
remembers, “...until I realized the girls
paid more attention to the rappers in
stead of me. I had to change that right
aw ay.”
The discovery of Brains by New
Edition-Bell, Biv, DeVoc m ember and
music impresario Michael Bivins is the
stuff of which, well, record company
bios are made. They met when Bell,
Biv, DeVoe blew into Cleveland. Late
after the Superfest show, a friend called
Brains and informed him that Bivins
and entourage were at a local restau
rant. It was B rains’ nom - with her
husband, she used to manage the Dazz
Band — who persuaded Brains to seize
the moment. “She got up out o f bed at
three in the morning and we went down
to the restaurant. W hen we got there,
Bivins was just leaving, but mom went
over and introduced herself and grabbed
him by the arm. His bodyguard moved
in, but mom w ouldn’t let go. 1 guess
Bivins said to him self, “The only way
I’m gonna get out of here is to listen to
this guy rap.”
N evertheless, Brains is already
looking well past his debut and into the
future, and his goals arc formidable.
“ I’d like to be known as a rapper who
crosses all audience barriers,” he says.
“ I’d like to hear people say, “ 1 didn’t
really care for rap - until I heard M.C.
Brains.” Such a goal is a challenge for
any artist, but as Brains well knows,
dreams do come true.
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<0?
H e’s just given the term “O ochie
Coochie” a new definition. An age old
slang for doin’, shall we say, The W ild
T hang, it now also m eans sm ash,
“Oochie Coochie”, is the debut Motown/
Biv Entertainm ent Inc. single from new
Michael Bivins discovery, 17-yearold
rapper-writer M.C. Brains. If the early
reception of this fresh slice of “Ghetto
Swing” is any indication, then rapdom ’s
about to witness the rise o f another
major star.
I t’s not enough that “O ochie
Coochie,” written by Brains along with
producer Ricco (another talent from the
BEI roost) and Executive Producer
Michael B ivins, is some seriously sw ag
gering groovetim e, both musically and
verse-wise; during it’s B-section, Brains
jumps into a hip-hop-meets-reggae flow
that is as funky as it is inventive, the
kind of move that separates Brains from
the rest.
“I like to describe my style as “rap
meets R&B,” says the handsome M.C.,
whose name is actually an acronym for
Bringing Raps And Instrumentals Non-
Stop. “A lot o f rappers fake the R&B
tip. The rap is cool, and the R&B is
there, but it doesn’t fit, doesn’t feel
natural. I like to think I’m versatile in
that way.”
B ra in s , b o rn an d ra is e d in
Cleveland,Ohio, got into rap in Junior
high school. “ I enjoyed backing up
rappers as the human beat box,” he
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23RD & NW JOHNSON
2 4 8 -0 1 6 3
MUSIC
MILLENNIUM
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