Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 9 August 2002 — Page 24

PAGEC6

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9,2002

Ashanti’s performance was disappointing in Jamaica

THE SCOOP

Electronic Urban Report Our man in Jamaica, Kevin Jackson, reports that Ashanti made her debut performance in the island nation just recently, at Reggae Sumfest's International Night. The reggae festival featured performances from Bob Marley's son Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, (this year's Grammy award winner for Best Reggae Album), as well as Ja Rule and other reggae acts. Ashanti was disappointing to say the least. Not only can’t she dance, but girlfriend really can't sing, Jackson said. A lot of press folks have been asking, "What's all the hype on this sister, if she can't deliver?" After three songs, she left the stage. Her labelmate Ja Rule delivered the goods and had the crowd begging for more. The following night, Ashanti and Ja Rule performed at the annual beach bash Fully Loaded, in St. Catherine, where Ja Rule energized the crowd with his hits. Ashanti again was a disappointment, however, the crowd seemed to appreciate her song "Foolish” more than anything else. Well, well, well, EUR readers. You have spoken and someone is listening to all the hubbub about Ashanti being selected to receive the Aretha Franklin Award at the upcoming Lady of Soul Awards. In fact, there's an online petition posted at PetitionOnline.com for those hoping the show's producers will pick a "more deserving" singer. A music fan by the name of Rommel Zamora posted the petition, called, "BetterCandidate For Aretha Franklin Award." t . Foaanore goto EURweb.com: http://eurweb.com/articles/ musicpages/08022002/ musicpages760308022002.cfm

In other Ashanti news, the singer has spoken out about her sexy photos and posters. She told German magazine Speigel Online. "I find sexy pictures erotic. And I love it when men find me erotic and 1 can boost their sex lives through my pictures. Why not?" she said. "Sex is not a bad thing, after all." ***** And speaking of Ja Rule, he may be everywhere, kicking it and guesting with just about everyone, but you won’t see him hangin’ with DMX anymore. DMX told MTV he’s about to bang on Ja on wax. “I got some s-t, man," he told MTV News about songs on his new set. “They’re trying to stop me from doing this song called ‘Ruled Out.’ Everybody in here don’t want me to do it... but I’m gonna do it.” "What.'’ you say ? Ja Rule and X were running buddies not too long ago. But it seems that DMX has decidedly agreed that Ja sounds too much like him. Although he

never mentions Ja’s name in the single, “Do You,” from Funkmaster Rex’s “Vol. 4-60 Minutes of Funk,” X told MTV the lyrics were targeted at him: “You don’t even know what you got inside/ How the f— you gon’ find out, you keep wanting to ride ... Can’t do you, then what you flow for?/ You ain’t gon’ get there tryin’ to be me, dog.” Apparently, X isn’t the only one who finds a lot of similarity in Ja’s flow. “It’s not like I’m the only one that thinks about this,” X said. “N—as ask me about this s--t every day. So what I’m gonna do. sit here and do nothing about this s-t? That ain’t right. I could see if the n—a talked like that regularly. How I talk is how I rap." Earlier, Ja told the music network that it’s been hard for him to make people believe he’s not imitating X, but he told MTV, “I am tpy own man.” Still, DMX is taking him on for another round. Hisyet-untitledCD is due in December.

Martin Lawrence is raw, raunchy and revealing; but really revolting, too

By KAM WILLIAMS For The Recorder Martin Lawrence makes it clear from the start of “RunTelDat” just how he feels about film critics. Grabbing himself by the gonads, he pompously challenges, “If there are any critics here, tonight, criticize this!” The audience both onscreen and at my screening erupted with laughter at the expletivelaced, two-minute tirade which the popular comic exclamation pointed with the ever endearing, “F— you!” How charming. Since turnabout is fairplay, permit me at the outset to say how I feel about Martin Lawrence Live. I found the film to be a tedious, 100minute test of endurance which failed to make me even chuckle once. Produced by MTV, the movie is merely his unrelentingly uncouth, standup act as caught on tape by director David Raynr (Trippin’) at a recent Washington, D.C., concert. During the performance, the Yoda-eared, hyper-thy-roid Lawrence, paces back-and-forth across the stage incessantly, substituting his foul mouth for punchlines, as if in a frantic search for funny material. Although I will readily admit that many others laughed aloud, they seemed to be spontaneously responding more to the cadence of his cursing than to anything inherently clever about the content of his quips. Much was made in the prerelease hoopla about how Martin would use “RunTelDat” as an opportunity to tell his side of his highly-publicized tabloid sa-

Martin Lawrence In “RunTelDat'

gas, such as when he collapsed into a coma while jogging during a heat wave and when he was arrested for weapons possession and for a fight at a nightclub. For me, these were the only entertaining moments of the movie, as the contrite funnyman does make a few amusing admissions, at that brief juncture, while offering some self-serving explanations for the incidents. But the rest of the time, he trades mostly in the misogynistic humor which might appeal to the misguided machismo associated with the ghetto, gangsta’ swagger. For example, Lawrence flirts with his female fans, encouraging their advances with, “Put your phone number on your panties and I’ll get back to the ones that smell the best.” Meanwhile, he handles a heckler

film.

with, “Somebody put something in his mouth because my zipper’s stuck.” Prancing about the stage in a patched-up, urine-colored, leather daishiki, the sex-ob-sessed comedian covers such salacious subjects as having sex with the hole in the neck of a throat cancer victim, sex with a woman who has recently given birth, sex with a woman 75 pounds overweight, sex with an animal, sex during menstruation, sado-masochistic sex and his perverse obsession with mammaries. Yet despite his own checkered track record, Martin, with a cross dangling from his neck, dares to throw the first stone at Jesse Jackson, warning him to, “Stop chasing them hos!” Raw, raunchy and revealing. But really revolting, too.

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