Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 January 2003 — Page 16

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THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2003

G-WIZ

> Continued from Page 1 any city in California and it has been a culture shock for G-Wiz. He says Indianapolis and Izrs Angeles are two different worlds because the paces of the cities are significantly opposite. He describes L.A. as extremely fast and Indianapolis as laid back and the type of city where you can relax and raise a family. G-Wiz considers himself creative, honest, and positive. “I can’t have negative energy around me. I can’t work and I won’t work,” said G-Wiz. “If I’m in the studio and I’m trying to

work and a negative person enters the room they have to leave." G-Wiz credits Tupac as his favorite rapper and “StankomV by OutKast his favorite rap album. I f he was not rapping he would be an engineer dealing with any genre of entertainment because he enjoys the work that is put into a project and watching the pieces come together before his eyes. His best experience while recording “Just Like You” was recognizing the growth within himself. The album will be distributed nationwide and Sam Goody, Best Buy, Karma, independently owned record stores, and other major entertainment stores will be the place where fans in India-

napolis can purchase the album. Although G-Wiz enjoys the L.A lifestyle there is nothing like home. “I miss the people in Indianapolis,” said G-Wiz. “California is cool, but I’m from the Midwest and I represent Naptown to the fullest."

Sharon Patton to head Nahonal Museum of African Art

WASHINGTON (AP)Sharon F. Patton, head of the Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, has been named director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art. Patton, 58, is an expert on West African and AfricanAmerican art. She has written two books and organized 20 exhibits on her subjects. She began at Oberlin as professor of art history, having taught

previously at the University of Michigan and directed other art galleries. “Under her vision and leadership, and with the new initiatives she will implement, the museum will continue to grow in stature as it expands its services to visitors from around the world,” predicted Lawrence M. Small, secretary of the Smithsonian, which includes 16 museums and the National Zoo. Patton succeeds Roslyn A. Walker, who retired last June.

HERO

► Continued from Page 1 Despite such a decidedly disadvantaged start and the absence of a father figure, Ben was still able to make more of his life than anyone could ever imagine, except maybe his mother, who never gave up on her delinquent son. Before he turned his life around, Carson was teased unmercifully by classmates and treated by teachers as the dumbest kid in his class. Eventually, Ben began to act out and developed some serious behavioral problems, including violence. “As a kid, his knife was a weapon. Now he uses it to save lives,”explain Gregg and Deborah Shaw Lewis in this touching bi-

JARREAU ► Continued from Page 1 rhythmic enough for head bobbin’ and toe-tapping. In 2000, Jarreau recorded “Tomorrow Today," his first with new label GRP/Verve. The CD topped Billboard’s Contemporary Jazz Chart for 11 weeks. But despite sold-out shows, critical acclaim and his unparalleled feat of winning Grammys in three musical categories (pop, R&B and jazz), the talkative singer/songwxiter still has a chip on his shoulder when it comes to one remaining facet of the music business: record sales. In his mind, he just can’t get enough. “I’ve never been a huge record

ography specifically tailored to 8-12-year-olds. At $5, it just might be the cheapest inspirational read vou could hope to share with your child. In a series of engaging vignettes, we see exactly how a life teetering at the brink of oblivion w'as resurrected by a combination of faith, motherly love and his own personal commitment to becoming the very best that he could be. Kudos to the Lewises for finding such a worthy role model and for telling his story so simply, yet effectively. Only a callous soul could still have dry eyes after finishing a book like this, and only the most heartless could ever again think of giving up on a child, no matter how troubled.

sales artist - like the names that we would recognizein music,’’said the bewildered singer. “I just expect - maybe I expect too much,” Jarreau laughed, as he often does while talking. “I’m always expecting and hoping that the music that I’m doing has a greater and broader appeal than it turns out to have.” Jarreau opines that fan’s contentment with listening to the radio and the advent of download capability has cut into purchases by the music-buying public. “The variety on the record is amazing,” says Jarreau of “All I Got. "“There are a couple of pieces that I wrote with my band. There’s six pieces of music that I’m the author of,” he adds. “That makes it kind of personal.”

KURUPT

► Continued from Page 1 have to twist it up just a little bit.” So now that he’s been bitten by the acting bug, does that mean no more platinum heat from the lyricist? Not quite. Kuru pt said he plans to stick with the acting thing for a while. In the meantime, he’s focusing his energy on being a big part of the executive team at Death Row (Tha Row) - he is now the senior VP of the

label - and being a big part of his children’s lives. “I’m really chillin’ right now,” he said about his delay in returning to the studio. “I have a lot of things to do from this executive page right now. I have to concentrate on sitting behind this desk right now. I’m kind of a little burnt on the rapping right now. I have kids, so you know I’ve gotta concentrate on my kids. So I’m just going to be posted up and concentrating on the acts that we have. I’m going to enjoy this executive game for a second before I drop another

DOCUMENTARY ► Continued from Page 1 slaves were conducted for the Federal Writers’ Project, with the transcripts (written in the vernacular of the time) forming a unique firsthand record of slave life. “Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives,” brings this anecdotal history to life with a wealth of archival photographs, authentic slave music and footage evoking the brutal legacy of slavery in the United States. The narratives chronicle the life of a slave, from childhood to adulthood, to marriage, to death. No reservations are necessary to attend the event, although seating will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Since 1830, the Indiana Historical Society has been

Indiana’s storyteller, connecting people to the past by collecting, preserving, interpreting and disseminating Indiana history. The independent, nonprofit organization also publishes books and periodicals; sponsors teacher workshops; provides youth, adult and family programming; assists local historical groups throughout the state; and maintains the world’s largest collection of material on the history of Indiana and the Old Northwest. The Indiana Historical Society is one of the oldest historical societies in the United States, and one of the largest with more than 10,000 members. The society opened a new 165,000-square-foot headquarters in downtown Indianapolis in July 1999. 3 Selected Quotes from Unchained Memories:

torpedo.” We had to ask, did that mean he’d lost his passion for rap? “Never!” he adamantly replied. “I just think I’ve gained a new passion for business. I won’t hold back for too long, but there’s a lot that I have to learn in this business. It’s an experience I need to go through.” Some of music projects coming up for the Kurupt businessman are the N.I.N.A. (Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes) solo project, music from Row vets Crooked I and Danny Boy, and

albums from newcomer female rappers the Red Bones and solo artist Eastwood. Kurupt only had good things and great expectations for all the projects on his plate. But between being an up-an-coming actor and a successftil businessman, the talented artist said his family is definitely first. “The year’s been good, actually it’s been great. God is good. There’s been a lot of work tossed my way. There have been a lot of different positive things going on. I’ve really been more or less active with my children.”

Narratives: “None of us was allowed to see a book or try to learn. They say we get smarter than they was if we learn anything, but we slips around and gets hold of that Webster’s old blue back speller, and we hides it ‘til way in the night, and then we lights a little pine torch and studies that spellin’ book. We learn it, too.” - Read by Oprah Winfrey in the words of former slave Jennie Proctor

“I had on a white dress, white shoes and long white gloves that come to my elbow, and Miss Betsy done made me a wedding veil out of a white net window curtain.” The couple took turns jumping over a broomstick, “I jumped first, and you ought to seen me. I sailed right over that broomstick same

as a cricket.” - read by Vanessa L. Williams, recalling the words of Tempie Herndon Durham and her marriage to Exter Durham, a slave from a neighboring plantation.

“Don’t know how I ever rowed the boat across the river. The current was strong and I was trembling. I couldn’t see a thing there in the dark ... That was my first trip. It took me a long time to get over my scared feeling, but I finally did, and I soon found myself going back across the river with two and three people, and sometimes a whole boatload. I got so I used to make three and four trips a month.” - Read by Courtney B. Vance, telling of how Arnold Gragston joined the Underground Railroad and helped smuggle slaves into the free state of Ohio.

Wednesday, February 26,2003 at 7:30pm Hilbert Circle Theatre Andre' Raphel Smith, Conductor Marietta Simpson, Mezzo-soprano Free of charge - no tickets required