ISSU 6
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NTONIO FARGAS SPEAKS ON LIFE & CAREER AND WHO PAVED THE WAY FOR HIM
STEPS TO HAVING GREAT SEX LEARN YOUR CRAFT
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KEVIN BLACK FRESH KID ICE SEAN PRICE 4th DISCIPLE PAUL ANTHONY
www.ronniewalker.jeunesseglobal.com
INDEX
KEVIN BLACK FRESH KID ICE STEPS TO GREAT SEX SEAN PRICE AND 4th DISCIPLE LEARN YOUR CRAFT ANTONIO FARGAS PAUL ANTHONY
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KEVIN BLACK
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Hard work and persistence pays off in the end, just ask music industry executive Kevin Black. Born in the Bronx NY he began his career in the music industry by working as a roadie for legendary rap group Run Dmc quickly moving on to become tour manager. His fierce passion and drive along with an ear for hit music led him to the west coast where he became one of the hottest Djs on fm radio. Moving on from that in 1987 he became the National Promotions Director for Death Row Records and has held high level positions at Virgin Records ,A&M/ Twism Records, Warner Bros., and Interscope. Mr. Black has been instrumental in conceiving successful marketing and promotional campaigns and branding solutions. His track record is nothing short of remarkable. While at A&M/Twism he created various campaigns the led to almost immediate visibility for the new label and help to move over 3.5 million units. While involved with Twism he also provided promotional assistance to a wide range of diverse individuals including Shaquille O’Neal and many others.The magic continued during his tenure at Interscope Records where over 150 songs were promoted both regionally and nationally resulting in over 120 million units sold and over 600 million in yearly generated revenue for his department. Working in these capacities he has been personally involved with the making and shaping of the careers of such notable artists as Mary J. Blige, 50 Cents, Black Eye Peas, Keisha Cole, Game, Gwen Stefani and many more. While a senior label executive at Warner Bros. he was responsible for a $20 million dollar budget and directed a staff of 50 achieving a 15% sales growth despite a slowing economy and music industry contraction developing strategies that increased visibility and sales.
Often we think that the wave of urban music executives that we have seen over the last 20 years; especially those that have had the most public visibility such as Sean Combs, Dame Dash, Suge Knight, etc were just street dudes with hustle that got lucky. Success at this level is always much more than that. Look behind the bright lights and expensive suits and you will find people with not only hustle and grind but the EDUCATION that truly prepared them for what they are currently doing. Even if they started in the streets you will find that many returned to the classroom in order to gain the formal knowledge and learn the principles in marketing and promotion. This is true for Mr. Black, he received a college education and graduated with a bachelors degrees in business marketing. In addition to his education , while in college he also involved himself in student activities that complimented his studies and his desire to move forward in the music industry. He has also served in the U.S. military which no doubt also prepared him for future leadership positions In addition to his incredible run as a music executive he has also given back to the community by being involved with various philanthropic endeavors such as promoting GEANCO which secures funding for schools and hospitals in Africa. Kevin has also been connected to the Urban Network Connection and Sundance Music and Billboard festivals as panelist, motivational speaker and host. He is currently busy running his own company, U Can Fly which is a full service promotion and marketing company that specializes in assisting independent artists and labels with all aspects of raising visibility and awareness of their brand. Look forward to us bringing you information on the industry insiders that you may not know who are behind the most well known artists and personalities in the world. Stay tuned. written by DJ Sincere
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FRESH KID ICE The opportunity to sit down with one of the founders of arguably the most controversial and litigated group in the history of Hip Hop if not music entirely could not be missed. This groups members had their shows shut down, they were arrested and their music banned all for exercising their first amendment rights of free speech and self expression. Many politicians and “family values” activists made their names and careers during this period by grandstanding and and using the opportunity to gain media attention and notoriety. Please enjoy as we chop it up with Fresh Kid Ice of the legendary and the infamous 2Live Crew Fresh Kid Ice: “Yo what’s up Fresh Kid Ice from the 2Live Crew .” “Oh, well we want to give you some love, how you doing?” Fresh Kid Ice: “I’m good, I’m good, I’m good. “It is the china man.” “Well alright baby!” Fresh Kid Ice: “Fo sure.” “So I’ve researched your history and you guys and I did not know this, you are a very controversial crew. You were like in and out of court and you had a lot of drama going on with you right?” Fresh Kid Ice: “For sure. We had a few little things going on.” “Yes. So we’re going to talk about that. Because you are one of the original members of the group.” Fresh Kid Ice: “Right. I am one of the guys who started it. “That’s right. Ok so let me ask you this. Back in the days your album “As Nasty As They Want 2 B was banned! Their album was banned and it was banned for lack of clean lyrics. It was banned from the radio, people couldn’t sell it and later the judges overturned this. So during this period it was illegal because you couldn’t buy or you couldn’t sell anything that was the 2 Live Crew . Is that correct?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea, In some areas. Yea people would go jail over it for selling it and so forth and we got arrested for performing some of the lyrics in Broward County also.” “Ok so now after going through all that you went through, just to have your voice be heard do you think that what you have done in these proceedings helped opened other doors for other artists to exercise their freedom of speech? Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea well we did a lot because if nobody stood up at that time, a lot of these act today wouldn’t be able to record and so forth and they’d be rapping PG lyrics all the way. So you know they’ll be nickelodeon down.” “Exactly. So now I’m asking you, I want you to take me back to during that period of time when you were going in and out of court when there was this big controversy over you just saying we want some p**** or something like that as an example as that’s the name of one of their songs in case you didn’t know. I want you to take me back to that period of time. What was it like, did you feel like quitting or did you feel like we can’t quit because we’ve got to fight this battle. How did you feel during that period of time?”
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Fresh Kid Ice: “Well, we felt that we had to stand up for what we believe in because the music was our form of expression and to us at that time our music was something like what Redd Foxx or Richard Pryor would be saying on records. Also locker room talk like what guys would say in their locker room or what a female would say to her friends. Like the female may come around and say that guy got a big d*** or whatever, you know what I’m saying? And we were just saying what we’d say behind closed doors.” “You were just keeping it real.” Fresh Kid Ice: “That’s right.” “Ya’ll say that we want some and that’s it.” Fresh Kid Ice: “Exactly because when you go to a party that’s your ultimate goal right?” “No but I can understand what you might think. Ok so let me ask you this question right now. I know you must have heard some of the music that is out right now, do you ever listen to some of the music that’s out right now? And have you ever thought to yourself oh man, these guys are copying our style!. Have you ever had that thought about a song or group that came out?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Hmmm… Not really you know. A lot of it is some sort of flattery or whatever you know because they are expressing themselves the way they should because sometimes the clean version can’t do it all so you got to put a curse word here or there to bring your point across.” “Right.” Fresh Kid Ice: “You know and it’s a good thing because it leaves room for us to come back and do what we are doing now you know? Like we understand that we’ve got a new single that’s out right now called ‘Take it Off ’ and we’ve got the album coming later this summer so its all good.” “Ok so we’re going to find out all of that because you are going to give me all that information before you get out of here Fresh Kid Ice: “Fo sure.” “Considering that you guys were pretty much in my opinion one of the pioneers in this music where you did curse and where you did talk about sex and where you did talk about women and you did put it out there. Do you think that you guys were a little bit ahead of your time?” Fresh Kid Ice: “I think we were right on time for our era due to the fact that if we didn’t do it, if we didn’t do what we were doing then, the progression of music would have not moved on to this level now because we did a lot of things. When we started we created our own label and all that stuff back then. We were independent and so forth and now these young independent artist are getting good deals and so forth and hip hop is growing up to be what it’s supposed to be and making a lot more young millionaires. And creating jobs.” “That’s right and I know you are trying to get yourself a piece of that green baby!” Fresh Kid Ice: “You know what I’m saying I think its owed to us.” “Are you still making this fun music, what is your style like now?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Well we’re still doing 2 Live Crew style music but what we have done is we’ve got some young cats around us and stuff like that so we’re trying to stay relevant so we’re trying to upgrade the tracks and so forth so we can be in the same lane of what’s going on but still be 2 Live Crew . We don’t want to lose our essence.” “So are you guys still touring, what’s been going on in the last year or so?”
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Fresh Kid Ice: “We’re always touring and getting ready to shoot the next video next month and so forth. We’ve got a record heading towards the radio right now and everything because we’ve got to be us and when music isn’t fun anymore then I’d give it up but right now its still fun.” “ I’ve heard that when you travel to other countries, when you leave the United States you get a lot more support. Do you find that that’s the case with the 2 Live Crew? Fresh Kid Ice: “We get the most love everywhere. In every state, every city, every country and so forth because that’s one thing that we never did too much with which is over expose ourselves out there in different markets so we have a lot of countries of where people are saying when are you coming over here, when your coming over here, when are you going to do this and so forth, you know? And that’s one of the things that keep 2 Live Crew kind of fresh.” “So there’s still a demand to see you? People still want to hear you and see you perform live?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea and especially when we’re performing live at the strip clubs and stuff like that. You know? It’s a good thing.” “Woooooo!!! Have you performed at the King of Diamonds yet?” Fresh Kid Ice: “I don’t like performing at the King of Diamonds because it’s so big and basically when you got to the King of Diamonds I’m hanging with all my friends so everybody would know so it’s all good.” “So keep it real. Keep it real. You don’t like performing there because you’d rather be sitting there getting you some lap dances from them naked b******. ” Fresh Kid Ice: “No because I’m always hanging out at the DJ booth with my dogs and them.” “Right.....” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea you know when you’re looking at 200 butt naked girls it’s a good thing.” “Well listen now, I don’t need to be looking at 200 butt naked girls but I would love to come hang out with ya’ll one day at the King of Diamonds.” Fresh Kid Ice: “It’s all good. There’s some of everything everywhere. Its Miami and you can find anything. I know that you guys have been interchangeable meaning you’ve had this artist here, added, you’ve subtracted etc. Who is in this group right now and is this it, is this the final group?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Right now it is myself and brother Marquis. I guess we’re the two (2) rappers that everybody knows our voices that have been on all the hits. So basically that’s it. “We try to do other things and so forth but other members are doing other things at this time so we’re doing our thing.” “Ok so you’ve worked with Luke before, are you still working with Luke?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Not right now you know. We were trying to do a reunion tour for the fans but it’s not working out right now. We’ll probably revisit it at a different time.” “So right now you’re just basically doing you?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea we’re doing us, myself and Brother Marquis.” “Ok and you say you have a new song coming out ‘Take it Off ’, what’s up with that?” Fresh Kid Ice: “The song is called ‘Take it Off ’ and its available now on ITunes and so forth. “And I want all you guys to check it out on ITunes. Go ahead.” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea its on ITunes and stuff like that. We’ll be shooting the video next month. “Where you at?
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Where you live at?” “I live in Brooklyn baby!” Fresh Kid Ice: “Ok I got plenty of family up there. I’m from Brooklyn too.” “Are you!?! Nooooo!!!!!!” Fresh Kid Ice: “Uh huh. I ain’t going to tell you where I graduated from but I’m from Brooklyn, write it up.” “You better not tell them. You know I find that amazing because tonight we’re taking about the topic of the day which is ‘Notorious BIG’ and we’re talking bout him because his birthday was yesterday and so we’re talking about him” Fresh Kid Ice: “My birthday is next week.” “Really? Have you ever met Notorious BIG?” Fresh Kid Ice: “No I never met him, I met Pac.” “Really? And what was your experience like when you met him?” Fresh Kid Ice: “With Pac? He was cool, we were straight. And you know I met him when he was with Digital Underground and then when he went solo and came down to do I think it was ‘splash down on the beach’ and stuff you know. We hung out for a little bit and gave him a couple beers and stuff you know? Hes cool you know?” “What did you say you gave him a couple of beers like he was charity (laughs)?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Nah, nah. We were hanging out drinking some beers you know? It was.... you don’t know how we do the splash down down here in summer time in the heat when it’s hot as hell out there. You know you get the beers out there, the cooler and you know we were there drinking some beers and talking.
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“Oh ok. So it’s like tailgating?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea we were just out there hanging before he performed for the people out there you know?” “Ok.” Fresh Kid Ice: “You don’t know that.” “No I don’t know that I’m from BK” Fresh Kid Ice: “I’m an old West Indian here so it’s all good.” “I thought you were Chinese! ”Fresh Kid Ice: “I was born in Trinidad.” “Oh so your one of those Trinidadian Chinese?” Fresh Kid Ice: “That right.” “Ohhhh!!!!!!! So your like the chicken with the lo mein?” Fresh Kid Ice: “Naah I like my roti.” “Oh lord..... He’s from Brooklyn alright.” Fresh Kid Ice: “Yea right by the junction, not too far.... all my cousins used to live on North Street. It’s a whole bunch of us from Trinidad.” CM: “Oh alright. You know something? You have been a pleasure to talk to. I want to say thank you so much, If I’m ever in Miami I’m going to hit you up because I will need to hang out with somebody from the 2Live Crew because I’m 2 live!!” Fresh Kid Ice: “That’s right and everybody’s got a little 2 live in them.” written by DJ Sincere
We’re all doing it. Some of us are just doing it better than others. Women are taking charge in so many ways, but it seems we are still behind in taking charge in the bedroom. The goal of sex is to enjoy it and with these few tips you will be on your way to greater sex.
Relax-- You’ve made it to this point. There’s no need to
be nervous. Even if it’s a new partner, keep in mind that you’re both about to be in the exact same position.
Clear your mind-- I know you probably have a
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STEPS HAVING GREAT SEX... By:
Paige Turner
million things running through your brain: what you need to do at work, what’s for dinner, did you turn the oven off, etc. but learn to be in the moment with your partner. I promise you will still be able to think about all those things later. Great sex requires you to connect with your partner mentally and physically. There’s no way you can do either of those things if you’re not present in the moment. You’ll be doing yourself and your partner a huge disservice.
Learn to communicate open and honestly--
You have to be able to effectively communicate your likes and dislikes. Failure to do that could result in 15 minutes of foreplay that does absolutely nothing for either of you. If you like something, say it. If you don’t like something, say that too. Be open to experimenting with new things to spice up your sex life. Trying new things doesn’t mean you have to force yourself to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Work within your own boundaries.
Have fun
-- Sex should be fun. It doesn’t always have to be serious and intense. It definitely shouldn’t feel like a chore. If it does, it’s time to reevaluate your approach and attitude towards it. Try incorporating these few tips into your sex life tonight. Great sex doesn’t happen overnight, but you can make the conscious decision to start having more enjoyable sex.
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“Destiny” best describes the recent partnerships between 4th Disciple and the late Sean Price. On August 5th, 4th Disciple, Price and Rhasun Tapp of Blakglobe Music Group got together for a session in Staten Island at Code Red Studios. The session also included Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck, Lounga Lo, Remedy (Code Red Entertainment) and up and coming MC, RIM from the group Davillins on Ruckdown Records. Initially, 4th Disciple and Price were going to record one or two tracks together but the unmistakable musical chemistry between 4th Disciple’s production and Price’s flow made these artists come to a mutual agreement to record a full length album featuring Deck, completely produced by 4th Disciple. The two-day all night sessions generated three verses from Price, two of them blessed by Deck which flow over dope 4th Disciple beats. Price and 4th decide to take a break and agree to reunite on Monday, August 10th, to finish the project. On Saturday, August 8th, 4th learned of the tragic passing of Sean Price from a family member: “Me and P had just only recently met but it felt like I had known him for years. He was a truthful Brother, Hip-Hop and the world will surely miss his presence. Utmost condolences to his family and crew.” ~4th Disciple The unexpected passing of the Boot Camp Click artist halted production of a project that was sure to be classic hip hop collaboration. The previously recorded songs will be placed on a compilation album. The project will feature an array of artists and will be released in the fall of 2015.
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Learn your
Craft
This will be a series of occasional articles designed to assist artists and DJs in their pursuit of a career in the music industry. Very often young artists and even not so young artist have difficulty preparing themselves for presentation in terms of their live performances, interviews and public interactions. This quite naturally extends to their approach to industry executives. We will strive in these article to give concrete ideas, solutions and resources to help give direction to all who desire and require it. Artist development is and has been dead for quite some time. Long gone are the days when labels would literally groom an artist. Artists were taught what it means to be one and how to engage themselves as such, from dressing and appearance to performance. Much of these things will have the sound of cliche as many are all things that have been heard before.... just not followed. We will begin at the very beginning.
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How many of you have heard this? All I’m sure, and on multiple occasions. Many however in their rush to “get out there”, be seen on the circuit or in the marketplace to begin their careers and start to raise their visibility on their purported road to stardom, this is the first casualty. There are different shortcuts that can be taken.... this however is not one of them. Whether you be a DJ or artist you have to practice. Long and hard. When I got my first pair of official turntables I practiced for four years before I went out and started charging people for my services. I have been called by many promoters over the years to judge various artist showcases. These are events thats are put on at clubs, lounges or bars where artists perform in a competition for cash or other prize packages. Let me stop here to differentiate between artist showcases and “open mics”. Open mics are just what they imply, an open microphone where anyone with talent and nerve (usually more of the latter than the former) can get on stage and have at it. Its more for fun and often a little goofy (think karaoke without the screen). While there may be a small cost associated with open mics, artist showcases are more serious affairs. The cost to participate can range from fifty to a few hundred dollars so why would anyone spend the money to enter this type of situation unprepared? That’s just what I’ve seen. Folks that obviously weren’t ready at this stage of their development for this level. It can be voice, delivery, appearance, the choice of song or the elusive quality of stage presence that they are lacking. Lets take the choice of material. Independent artists that I have seen often dont pick their best material to perform in front of a crowd. They perform the song(s) that they are “feeling” or that have the hardest bars. That should be saved for a battle rap league. Instead thought should be given to which songs can the audience quickly latch on to that have engaging lyrics and yes, a catchy hook. As a unknown artist this is very important as an audience can lose interest quickly. Artists that had potential but were in over their heads at the moment became quickly discouraged at gave up the pursuit of the dream at that very moment. All of this falls under learning your craft, it is just as important for an artist to be able to judge the audience that he/she is performing for as it is for a DJ to read the crowd that they are playing for. Every artist and DJ with few exceptions wants to make money from what they love doing. This is of course the ultimate career goal. If you feel that you are above the showcase level and ready for bigger and better things like paid shows, please take heed. Every artist I see on social media these days has a number or info if you want to book them for shows or features. After goggling these folks and maybe hearing some of their material it becomes easy to see that that is entirely unwarranted. Charging and expecting payment for a service rendered enters someone into the world of a professional, they have left amateur status. As such its is important and shows respect to both the client and the craft itself when the artist or performer is well versed and seasoned in their chose profession in order to give the customer what they are really paying for and that is a great time and great memories. Before any of that like it or not you have to “pay dues”. This could come in the form of performing at home or at family gatherings, friends parties, basement jams, local functions, open mics or anywhere the opportunity presents itself. Don’t be afraid to spend the time, energy and effort alone that it takes to get good at anything. It takes practice.
Written by DJ Sincere DJ Sincere is the founder of Drtybsmnt Multimedia, mobile/mixtape DJ, Syndicated radio host and columnist
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A ntonio Fargas 22
Photo’s Courtesy of DOUBLEXXSPOURE MEDIA INC
It has been our pleasure over the years to be able to bring to both our radio and print audiences interviews from many artists and personalities that we greatly admire. This could not be more true for our next guest. We have watched and been entertained by this gentleman for many years in a multiple of classic and memorable roles on television, stage and the silver screen. With a career that spans over 50 years more than one era has experienced his dramatic and comedic talents. Sitting down with us today is Mr. Antonio Fargas. CM: Mr. Fargas it is an honor, a pleasure, it’s a pleasure, a honor to talk to you. Thank you so much Mr. Fargas, in case you don’t know who we’re talking to we are talking to… Well hold on a second let me just let you guys know who this man is. This is Huggie Bear from Starsky and Hutch. This is the man with the fish shoes on “I’m Gonna Get You Sucker”. This is the man Fly Guy. This is the man from everywhere you name it Martin and so much more.... AF: Also Everybody Hates Chris. Let’s back step to that, you know you might remember me on All My Children. If you’re into nostalgia Foxy Brown. I played a character called Link. In a film called Car wash I played a character called Lindy. Well you can go on and on cause I cant even some of that stuff is so old I can’t even remember. But I’ve just been blessed that 54 years of doing something that I love and it’s been a gift. And my gift has been you know, that I’ve been able to give it to you and to share it with so many people. Not only in this country but around the world through the miracle of television and film and not even the internet. CM: Do people still call you Huggie Bear? AF: It Depends you know, people call me fly guy, they call me doc, they call me Huggie Bear. Huggie Bear was the most, I guess like a foundation in a 54 year career in film, television and theater, because Starsky and Hutch was syndicated in over a hundred countries around the world. And I always tell people, you do a play for five years but a Full House does not reach as many people as a syndicated show like Starsky and Hutch reached around the world on any given evening. So, television is a very powerful media, so powerful that no matter where I go even in Europe or you know South America, Mediterranean wherever television reach I reach people. So there is some old school folks around the world and new school because it has been continually showing around the world. In fact, when I was doing a play in England a few years ago, I had to take a taxi to the theater every night in a small town in England. They have a great theater tradition in England, even in the small town. So I was doing a play there and every time the cab driver would pick me up he would say you know what Antonio I just want to thank you for what you did for me growing up watching Starsky and Hutch, you don’t have to pay me for this fare. So it was something that they could give back to me which makes me feel like I am a very very blessed and rich man because of all the love that I’ve been given back through my participation in this business that I love. CM: Okay Mr. Fargas I’m gonna need the phone number for that cab company because I need me some free ride because I can’t...... AF: You can get a ride with me. You can carry my head shot.. You carry my head shot you can say hey I know Antonio. I know Huggie... CM: That’s what I may have to do cause I’m tired of peddling. I got to ride my bike to go everywhere. And I got to dodge traffic, sanitation truck, fire truck I try to live, so I try to be.... AF: That’s because they don’t know who you are cause you know Antonio and he is very close with Huggie Bear so you know let me give me at ticket to ride baby.
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CM: Yes, that is what I’m talking about. Now let me ask you this Antonio. You are something else and I love your energy and I love I’ve always watched everything that you’ve done. I’m a big fan. You’ve been around for a while. You were in Blaxsploitation movies. You all don’t understand what this man has done for black actors. How hard was it for Black actors to crack into the entertainment business when you first emerged as an actor? AF: If I knew how hard it was I probably wouldn’t have done it you know. I was naive and hungry. And now I look back and I realize that every time you even get a job in a series it’s like hitting the lottery because everybody wanted that job. Everybody thought that it wasn’t even available so I was just like one of the young pioneers of television. As an African American to be on television starring in a series in the early 70’s when it wasn’t fashionable yet for us to be in these positions and then it got better and better on the shoulders of those who never made it to series television. When I did my first job I think I had a guest star role when I got to Los Angeles on Bill Cosby show. When he had his little cartoon. The Bill Cosby show and so it was and then he was almost the first, he was such a pioneer that he had that I Spy show when it was just unheard of. And because he was a squeaky clean and sharp cat who just came out the comedy clubs it was very palatable. It was just Sidney Poitier in film and Bill Cosby on television and then we all stand on both cats shoulders and then again it was just a it was really tough but at the same time I didn’t pay any attention to that, cause I just had a hunger for what I did. And God provided me with opportunities that I could show what I could do and gain a reputation as being somebody who could be depended on or who represented characters that were just people just wanted to see as well as characters that represented the streetswith dignity and then in characters that represented the people that you know when I was like playing the kinds of roles of survivors. AF: Huggie Bear was a survivor. Lindy in Car Wash was a survivor. Lincoln in Foxy Brown was just trying to get along you know, just trying to make it in a hostile world. So to gain a reputation as a urban street actor who also did theater who was trained almost in the classical sense. But we didn’t get an opportunity to do those things, we didn’t get an opportunity to play decent characters until one of the biggest cats on television broke thru. Before that it was very easy for them to present the negative side of our community; the pimping, pimps and all that and survivors and all that. But eventually you know we were able to show that we could be a doctor, we could be an astronaut, we could be lawyers, I mean Denzel Washington on television as a doctor.
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After a brilliant theater baptism in New York and then he went once he began on St. Elsewhere it was on from there and his star is still continuing to rise and he has been such an inspiration to us. So it’s just that we came from a community where we helped each other. Living in New York was a very small family of actors who were just hungry in just doing it. And then we get a little break and we go to LA and then we come to television and movies and then we start to get a separation. Everybody is competing against the next one an all that, and its been on from all that. But that small community I found...... CM: You’ve made it happen. You open the door and what he is saying guys if you’re listening in. It was just the beginning when these black actors were actually getting in. No matter how you got in whoever open the door for you, you kick the door in and you made it happen. AF: You had to be good. You had to be the best, you hear me. There were no slouches I mean we had to be better than the next. We had to be you stronger you know, we had to have the more fortitude in spiritual conviction in order to survive. AF: And I love that word spiritual because I hear you mention God you know and I’m not the type that always preach on the show. But you know lately I’ve been calling on God a lot and he has been answering so I appreciate you for saying that because a lot of times a lot of people don’t understand that there is a higher power and that you have to put something out in the universe. CM: You got to put it out there in the universe what you want. You got to believe and you got to understand that you can’t do it alone there’s gotta be somebody else to help you and in my opinion and in my heart is that man above that he’s the answer to everything. I want to say thank you. AF: I just found out that my life has always been spiritually guided. And like you say, I pray, I pray and God always answers it’s just sometimes I didn’t understand what the answer was but he always, he always answers prayer. And so you know my life has been a continual prayer I know he has been taking care of me relaxing and knowing that all this was predetermined before we were born. This conversation, this radio and internet and all that stuff was predetermined by that higher power. Then I go about my business, try not to hurt nobody, try to put something into the stream of life, try to put away the shopping cart, try not to get mad at the person who cuts me off you know, when I’m driving my car. I mean I have found an inner peace that came from this struggle. It came from you know, becoming compliant you know, to God’s will. Not just compliant with the handcuffs, and the things that we get addicted to and all of that not just becoming but to being compliant to the spiritual guidance, to the spiritual source of whence all this comes from. That has been the cherry on the cake of my 68 years old on the planet. My 54 years in this business. CM: Let me ask you this what was your favorite role what did you love the most out of everything that you did? AF: I get asked that question and the only thing I can go to is that each one I love each one of these roles. I don’t care if it was a small role or a larger role and I always did small roles. I just made my color of that vivid color of that character that I get a chance to show his stuff in movies and television because I wasn’t the star, but I love each one of those roles like I love my children you know, and I love all my children no pun instead. And so it’s hard for me to pick one over the other you know. It was a love for each one of those roles and each one of them was a significant part of the foundation in the matrix of the amalgam of the steel that I forged in this business and in life.
Interviewed by DJ Sincere DJ Sincere is the founder of Drtybsmnt Multimedia, mobile/mixtape DJ, Syndicated radio host and columnist
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PAUL ANTHONY
F U L L F O R C E Musical Champions By Belinda Trotter-James
Brooklyn is definitely in the house when you talk about the birth of the legendary R&B singers, songwriters and producers Full Force. They have survived the test of time and produced some of the hottest acts in the music industry. They are recognized in the industry as icons and will go down in history as a major force. The group consist of brothers Paul Anthony, Lucien “Bowlegged Lou” George Jr. and Brian “B Fine” George along with cousins Junior “Shy Shy” Clark, Gerry “Baby Gee” Charles and Curt “Curt-T-T” Bedeau. Even though they are known for their R&B and New Jack Swing style of music, their new music projects encompasses a fusion of various genres. The group has wrote and produced music for Patti LaBelle, Jasmine Guy, UTFO, Britney Spears, James Brown, Rihanna, The Black Eyed Peas, Bob Dylan, La Toya Jackson, Lisa, Lisa & The Cult Jam and the list just goes on and on… The group’s latest project has put together a Who’s Who on their new album entitled, “Full Force: With Love From Our Friends”. Actually it was Bowlegged Lou who came up with the idea to gather everyone together and also dedicate it to his brother and band member Paul Anthony who was diagnosed in 2006 with Mantle Cell Lymphoma and to date is free and clear of the disease. I spoke with both Paul Anthony and Bowlegged Lou about the love relationship they have with their celebrity friends in putting together their album and how Paul Anthony’s cancer challenge has changed how everyone moves forward as a group. Bowlegged Lou begins, “I was a fan of Quincy Jones’ Back On The Block and he had assembled so many people so I wanted to do the same thing. We have been in the recording business for 30 years so it was a labor of love to put it together and also dedicate it to Paul Anthony and his Camp Of Champions Initiative. It’s just been great and that’s why we call it, “With Love From Our Friends”. A lot of our musical friends came aboard. A lot of them love the Camp Of Champions Initiative. Most of them saw us on our TV One’s UnSung documentary, the Full Force story. It talks about the body of work that we have.” It was the highest rated to date in UnSung history. TV One plans to do an UnSung revisited and of course, Full Force will be the first act that they revisit.” The members of Full Force knew all the artists on this particular project because they have been in the music industry for a very long time. “Throughout the years some of the artists were label mates”, says Paul Anthony. Artists showing their love on this album include Sheila E., Vivica A. Fox, Big Daddy Kane, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Faith Evans, Samantha Fox, Blair Underwood and Tevin Campbell just to name a few. “There are a lot of songs that the whole family can enjoy”, says Paul Anthony. “We have some songs that are just about having a good time. Full Force is very versatile and we’ve always been well rounded. It’s a blessing to be able to do all genres and pretty much pave the way with the hip-hop, pop, R&B, dance and Latina music where we have broken down some walls and have had some success. We wanted to make sure this album was reflective of a few things such as our mentor, Quincy Jones and the different genres of music that we have enjoyed. In the album you can hear fun, dance stuff, love, spiritual, recovery and there is just a lot for everyone and that’s what makes it so well-rounded.”
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Music seems to be the universal medicine that can allow people to get in touch with whatever challenges come along in their life’s journey. Of all the members of Full Force Paul Anthony is the main health conscious member and would be the one to get the group to think healthy. However, he was the one diagnosed with cancer. At first you can’t believe it; then you look to God for answers. Through dealing with my own challenge of fibroids and possibly not having any children I learned that it was not a setback. It actually was a set up to learn and grow. With that being said the first thing I asked Paul Anthony was what did he say to God when he got the diagnosis. “Actually the very first thing I said was to myself not to God,” begins Paul Anthony. “I said, ‘Oh wow,’ because when you hear that word, you think fatal and incurable. Then the second thing I said to myself 45 seconds after that was, ‘I am not changing anything.’ And by that I meant my fortitude, my spirit and my constitution; I was not changing that and then I immediately started having a conversation with Him. At the same time I started working on myself. I wasn’t going to wait for when it was time for the medicine or time for chemo. I thought I would pretty much be doing all the things that I do all the time. There are tools that are available to us all the time. You just have to know where they are. So whether I’m onstage or training in the gym I would always go within and just call all my internal forces together to deal with the weights, to deal with this song… so once again, I just did the same thing… I just went within and that’s when I really spent time getting to know Him even better.” Those who lead very hectic lives may not make time to sit still and talk to God. Those who are able to sit still can benefit from inner spiritual guidance. “I tell people it’s not away, but it’s the way,” says Paul Anthony. “Sometimes God will tap you on your shoulder and you are still not listening because we are just busy, busy. In my case he said I’m going to smack you upside your head with a sledge hammer and I’m going to make you be still just so you can hear what I have to say because after this, you’ll know you have purpose,” laughs Paul Anthony. “The creator has a way of stilling you to see if you can really hear what he has to say. So that’s exactly what this was.” In my observation I see that celebrities are not exempt from life’s challenges. I see them as the voice of strength and faith. And you can clearly hear it through their songs. When a person has nowhere to turn, they can listen to their favorite artists words of inspiration and strength in the songs. Paul Anthony’s words of wisdom to anyone going through cancer or any challenge is to claim victory. “The first thing that a person would really have to know is that no matter how deep the challenge is you have to look at yourself not as the victim, but as the victor,” advises Paul Anthony. “People will often trip out and say, ‘Oh my God! He has cancer! Oh my God… He’s got cancer.’ We all have cancer cells just lying inside our bodies. It’s waiting to see how we live our lives spiritually, mentally, organically, energetically and then they will proliferate or not… When or if they come to the surface, you can’t look at yourself and say, ‘Why me?’ I never said that because that’s not the way I’m built and that’s not the way we were raised as sons and that’s not the way my brothers are, my kids or my family. I just said I have to deal with this and sometimes you have to play tricks with your head. I just started telling people that cancer was nothing more than a virus. Now and then you got to give your body something to do. That’s all it is. I mean if you have an army sitting at the gate waiting to do something and the gun is not going to go off, the grenade is not going to blow up and everything is just going to get rusty… every now and then the body will say, ‘You know what?… let’s get something to do. Let’s get a war on… let’s fight,’” reveals Paul.
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“I do stuff like that to myself the same way I do when I go to the gym. I manipulate the mind and the body to make sure they are coming together. So for those of you who are out there with this type of challenge you first have to know that you have to respect it because it’s a beast, but you don’t own it. So as long as you know that, you can move forward and do the things you need to do and don’t procrastinate. Be pro active in everything you have to do. I would also like to say that in the multiplication of life never leave God out of the equation so that you will have every thing you need available to you.” Because God tapped Paul Anthony with a sledgehammer, he created a wonderful Paul Anthony foundation, which has more than enough activities available for those who need them when it comes to dealing with cancer. “There are many things going on,” says Paul Anthony. “Lou and I will be going out to churches and colleges. I just called my old high school. Lou and I both graduated from James Madison high school and I called them to speak to the principal. I want to go back to that school and speak to the kids because they are the future. People are comfortable with us because of the legacy of the music and because of House Party. Lou can’t go anywhere without someone quoting a line from Peewee. So we have that to pull their attention and once we have their attention mentally, spiritually and physically, we can give them the information they need. We just want to go out and meet the people.” Paul and Lou also revealed that they are going to be doing a lot of wonderful things closely with the Leukemia Society. “We just did a walk by the Westside Highway and we will be doing things overseas along with blood donor drives,” says Paul. “I am a cancer champion and I want people to change their mindset to being a champion; not a survivor, but a champion. I love that because when I meet people who are five to ten years out, I hug them immediately and say, ‘I want to get where you are. I’m a cancer champion, but you are a cancer conquer.’” Saying it that way definitely changes your mindset and that’s why Paul Anthony feels it’s important to get the word out about his health and wellness initiatives. In the UnSung documentary you will see some of the things that Paul did in his reverse isolation room. Since he could not leave the room, he did some training, breathing techniques and since his wife, Michelle is a licensed acupuncturist and has a degree in health and nutrition, they did things nutritionally together. “We exercised together and that’s important for couples to know,” states Paul Anthony. “The couples that train together remain together. The couples that pray together stay together. So you have all those wonderful things working in your favor and we will be sharing all of that. We will do concerts, House Party concerts, gospel concerts as well as going into the churches. We are so excited about everything that’s coming down the line.” You can go to the Paul Anthony Live Life Give Life Foundation, which will be updated shortly at http:// www.PAlivelife.org and of course check out http://www.FullForceworld.com to get updates on everything the group will be doing in the coming year. Is so wonderful how God works through people to feed the masses through health, healing and spirituality. Therefore the next step is to definitely write a book so it can live on for future generations. Paul Anthony adds, “Yes, I mean I have to. There are literally hundreds of people who have been asking me that. We have
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a book out right now called, Not Such A House Party that is a Full Force book and I shared some of my journey in that book. You get a perspective from my brothers, cousins, our parents, the kids and it was something for everybody which was done maybe four or five years ago. Life moves on and here we are now and there have been other challenges and victories. I’m definitely going to share a lot of other personal things in it.” While sitting in his hospital bed Paul Anthony did exactly what he said he would do and that’s to keep living his life doing the things he enjoys. The only thing he had to change in his life was how much time he actually was able to sit still. That is a luxury that music industry people don’t get enough of. Lou revealed that’s how he was able to write the song with Faith Evans and Shelia E. Bowlegged Lou explains, “Paul co-wrote a song from his hospital bed before this transplant which features Faith Evans and Shelley E. In the video we have some great God friends such as Will Smith, Quincy Jones, Donnie McClurkin, the Braxton sisters, Roland Martin, Biz Markie and so many more. It is a great inspirational video and everyone will love it.”
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Photo by: @iamronniewalker
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