European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Checking in with Chuck d by Robert Hilburn los Angeles times t easy to understand Why Public enemy s Chuck d looks tired As he slumps to a chair on the Patio of a a Ltd Quot a 1 id looks tired As he slumps in a chair on the Patio of a West Hollywood hotel the morning after the first of the rap group s two concerts with u2 recently at dodger stadium the problem says the 32-year-old new yorker is that be has been on the run since Public enemy started touring with u2 Early last month. To die pop world however. Chuck d seems to have been on the run non Stop for five years now. It was 1987 when Public enemy s debut album yol bum Rush the 5/row, ushered in a new Era in rap by adding a sense of social Rby a Cru anal social political urgency and Field that had been dismissed largely As sophistication to a lightweight like Bob Marley in reggae during the 70s, Chuck d Teal name Carlton Ridenhour not Only influenced a generation of rappers but also became an ambassador for the music. In that role he helped expand the Tough inner City sound to a much wider audience. By 1992 standards some of Public enemy s Early tunes including prop rets of rage and Mitzi weighs a ton Are tame. But they were the first wave of hard Core accusatory rap and they were attacked at the time As everything from inflammatory to racist. Chuck d fought Back in his music and in interviews 6ss my Chat a Abrams rapper Chuck d sees Hope in America s youth. He says Young Whites Are More in tune with Black culture. Don t believe the hype he declared i m not a Hooligan. I m not a  he continues to push boundaries generating More criticism and alarm last year in the video Tor by the time i get Tori Iona which included a staged assassination of politicians. The song was a slap at Arizona officials for failing to join the rest of the nation in declaring a Martin Luther King or. Holiday. Arizona voters have since approved a ballot measure establishing a King Holiday the u2 tour should expand the audience for Public enemy and rap even More As the group performs before 50,000-plus fans a night. During the hotel interview rap s most acclaimed figure looked Back on the last five years of rap and of Public enemy. It q what do you think is the biggest Public misconception about you a where do i Start i be heard it All. I guess the main thing is that a lot of people think i m on some kind of search and destroy Mission. Out to tear everything Down. The truth is i have a great respect for this planet and cod s creations if anything i m on a live and learn Mission. We All have to learn to live together. We have to coexist arid that Means learning More about each other. Education. ,. Q How did you develop your style. Your themes a we wanted to be different from other artists a so we would stand out. Everybody in rap at the time was talking about Gold chains and being stupid and producer Hank Shocklee and i wanted to find a new direction. What always gave rap a leg up on other musics was the anger in it but the anger before was always directed at other rappers a Quot i m better than you Quot and so Forth. When we came along we decided to direct our anger at something real,., the government and people who were responsible for what was happening in society. If you look Back at our first record the subtitle is the for Afna so Anonymous voice by Ron Mckinney staff writer seven years ago Sonja Mccraw snapped out of a troubled sleep and heard. Nothing. Where was the music wondered the teen aged disc jockey she sat up in her bed Quot in a kind of a panic Quot sweating while listening intently to the sound of silence. Why was t Keith Whitley singing or Randy Travis crooning then it slowly dawned on her that she was t at work. The dead air a radio jargon for silence on the air a had nothing to do with her radio show. She was Havinga Nightmare. Quot it was awful Quot she said of those night frights things have changed for the better since those Days in 1986 when she was a fledgling country music do for Kupsa radio in Alamogordo , so Good in fact that last month Mccraw was named the air Force broadcaster of the year. Mccraw a 23-year-old senior airman with 31/2 years service said she was approached last fail by George Smith an s chief of radio who encouraged her to enter the contest. She put together a package of audio and video tapes As entries in the categories of radio spot production radio feature Story and television news Story. Compiling her own version of greatest hits was no easy task she said. Quot  newscasts and i said 9 can t use this it was real fun i Tell you Quot she said her voice oozing sarcasm. Although she was passed Over in the individual categories entered she won the big award. Quot i did t know what to think i was surprised Quot she said. Iowa Mccraw Firsta Wardas broadcaster Quot i m tickled to death that she s gotten this recognition Quot said capt. Cary Carruthers her detachment commander. Quot i be been trying since the Day she got Here to get her to re enlist and  some of the judges comments on Mccraw s work a Quot smooth easy yet credible style on camera Quot a Quot very Clever writing and her voice sounds  a Quot rare to see someone with so much Talent in so Many  Mccraw came to an Headquarters at Frankfurt Germany in 1990 from the naval air station at Kef Lavik Iceland. Her duties have included radio and television promotional work and television hews broadcasting. Mccraw enjoys herself most when she s alone in the Booth playing music and talking to an audience that cannot see her Quot it s Kinda neat being an Anonymous voice Quot Mccraw said. Quot that s the magic of radio for  she accepts it As a responsibility la present an upbeat feeling across the airwaves. Quot Ever time i open that microphone. I m going to smile and carry on As if it s i everything s great Quot Mccraw said Quot Halo one wants to hear a grouch on the radio because you hear it every Day. J Quot when i open the Mike that s my self expression. If i Don t do what my is there s something missing. It s my creative  i it May sound simple. Open the m Ike g h Avri pop a singles 1. Will always love you Whitney Hou Ston 2. It t Ever fall in love Shai 3. In the still of the nil i u rom mba Boyz men 4. Rump Shaker wreck a effect 9, saving forever for you Shanyce 6. Rhythm la a dancer snap 7, Good enough Bobby Brown 5. Deeper and deeper Madonna 9. A whole new world Perabo Bryson and Regina Belle. 10.1�?~d Date without you . Dawn top a albums 1. Soundtrack to Quot the bodyguard Quot various artists 2. The Chaee Garth Brooks 3. Some gave Alt Billy Ray Cyrus 4. Unplugged Eric Clapton 5. To Melee the classics Michael Bolton 6. Breathless Kenny q. 7. Ten Pearl Jam b. It s your Call Roba Mcentire 9. Soundtrack to Quot pure country Quot George Strait 10. Brand new Man Brooks and Dunn country a singles 1. Look heart no hands Randy Travis 2. Walkaway Joe Trisha Yearwood 3. Somewhere other than the night Liberty 4. Don t let our love Start slip plan away Vince Gill 5. Too Busy being in love Doug Stone 6. Life s a dance John Michael Montgomery 7. Wild Man Ricky Van Shelton 8. Love without mercy Lee Roy Parnell 9. Take it Back Reba Mcentire 10. Can i Trust you with my heart Travis Tritt ramp by singles and Start rapping with her listening audience. Interact. Develop a rapport. It s not All that easy however. The playlist is generated by a computer which can offer a Rich if not schizophrenic mix of Salt a Pepa followed by Metallica and then Barry Manilow. It s Mccraw s Job to make some sense out of that to balance the mix with a More compatible transition of songs. Quot As a do i owe it to my audience to think a Little Quot Mccraw said. Quot we Don t just open up the microphone and go for it. We d make fools of  Carruther s attempts to convince Mccraw to re enlist have been in vain. She has about six months before she and fianc6 Bruce Coderre an an graphic Illustrator. Leave the service. They plan to stay in Germany where Mccraw who Speaks German Hopes to land a Job Witt a German firm in marketing or Public affairs. Mccraw currently hosts the Power Lite show on an am weekday afternoons. The show features soft adult. Contemporary music or As Mccraw laughingly puts it Quot barbra Barry and Neil a my three favorite  government is responsible. Q what was the reaction in rap circles a if you introduce something Strong there is always. Going to be mixed feelings. Some people will want to tune you out but others might Start checking you out wanting to find out More. I d say by the second album it was easier. You weren t alone in an empty room talking about a subject nobody else was talking about. Soon pretty much everybody in rap seemed to be talking about real things. Q do you feel a kinship to rappers like ice cube and ice to ,. A at absolutely. I was at cube s the other night. We have to support each other As Peers As artists because i really do believe there is an underlying tone in America that does t want to see Black men express themselves whether what they re saying is right or wrong. But that expression is essential if we Are going to change things As a society. Q what do you say to people who see the violence in the Quot by the time get to Arizona Quot and hear the anger in the music and think you Are irresponsible and dangerous a i can t go into Scottsdale Arizona and talk to a. Whole bunco of 70-year-Olds and say Quot love  my whole thing is you can t teach old dogs new tricks. It their children and their grandchildren that i m trying to reach. They re the ones who la make the change and i think that s the message and Hope of the last five years. The biggest Gap in America is Between White americans 25 and under and White americans 40 and Over. Remember How they used to cad it a generation Gap Well it s a cultural Gap now. Now you see a White kid and there is a White understanding of Black culture 25 and under and a feeling of Quot Damn things really have been Kinda expletive up. What can we do Quot White America will get changed from its future rather than its past. A amps Gus Sci Tettier Sonja Mccraw is not just another pretty voice. 1,1 Wittl always love you Jitney Houston 2. If i Ever fall in love Shal 3. Rump Shaker Recta a effect 4.herwgoagaln Portt 5. Baby i m for real nature High after 7 6. Quality time i five i 7. Love should brought if u Home Toni Braxton j a. Don t walk away Jade i 9. In tha still of the Nite i  ii men ,. 10. Good enough Bobby Brwn adult contemporary 1. A whole new world Perabo Bryson and Regina Belle 2. When she cries restless heart3,1 will always love you Whitney Houston 4. Never a time genesis 5. The last song Elton John 6 feels like heaven Peter Cetera with Chaka Khan 7. Faithful go West 0. To Lova somebody Michael Bolton 9. Forever in love Kenny g. 10. Heal tha world Michael Jackson jazz a albums 1.25, Harry Connick  2. Perfectly Frank Tony Bennett 3.1 heard you twice the first time Branford Marsalis 4. Haunted hear Charlie Haden quartet West 5. Letter to Evan David Benoit. 6. You must balls is in Spring Frank Morgan 7. Portraits by Ellington the Lincoln Center jazz orchestra 6. Rhythm of the Earth Jackie Mclean 9. Fantasia Eliane Elias 10. Mors than a mood Stanley Turrentine a comp Ltd by billboard on disc Tillis Mark Collie Mark Collie Mca he so Many Nashville acts defining themselves either As country pop or hard Core Honky Tonk it s Nice to know that there Are Stilt some singers who reject that sort of single style approach. Hand Mark Collie a song As pop Friendly As even the Man in the Moon is crying or the eagles ish bom to love you and he puts the Melody across with As much Heartfelt Confidence As any Chart Topper give him something Grittier a a sos style number like shame shame shame shame say or the aggressively swinging the heart of the matter a and he shines even brighter. And what makes Mark Collie such a Delight is that he handles both kinds of music with equal expertise. A . Cons Dino the Baltimore Sun homeward looking Angel  Tillis Arista maybe  Tillis set expectations a Little High with her last album. It produced enough realty Good songs to earn her a country music association nomination for Best newcomer. Her new album has a couple of More potential hits but sometimes the sugar Content is High enough to make the listener s Teeth ache. Almost every cd Echo in the songwriting Book is used on let that Pony Bun about the Good woman who finds out her Man is doing her wrong when he gets drunk one night finally giving her reason to take care of herself. The biggest problem is that Tillis is conjuring up an image of a Southern woman draped in longing and Chiffon but has forgotten to add a Little Backbone to make the album stand up straight. _ Teresa a Walker the associated press connected stereo my s gee Street contrary to popular belief techno in t the Only kind of dance music they make in Britain these Days. Indeed listening to the stereo my s is enough to make most listeners believe that the heyday of Manchester sound never passed. Yet a was much As the groups Bass heavy Groove recalls the Funk psychedelia of groups like Happy mondays or the farm there s a real sense of soul to the material the my s offer on this album. Even better the my s Are savvy enough to augment Rob Birch s tart vocals with cameos by genuine soul singers like Mica Paris. And even though the loping basslines and Vintage samples get monotonous at times there s no mistaking the urgency of tracks like fade away or done to let up. A . Cons done dance Hall Stylee various artists profile Habba ranks and mad cobra May be the Best known exponents of dance Hall in this country but they re hardly the Only jamaicans to ply this fusion of reggae rhythm and hip hop technology not Only is this album chock Block with irresistible examples of the genre but it is also the third such Sampler in the profile Catalon. Casual fans will be immediately attracted to manhunt a collaboration Between Shabba ranks and jamaican crooner to Vandeer As Well As Cutty ranks cleverly edited the stopper. But there Are plenty of surprises in store As Well ranging from ambition on which Cady Patra reinvents Althea and Donnas Uptown top ranking to the Bass driven Funk of Nln Jaman and flour gone a irresistible Zig it up. A . Cons done 18 the stars and stripes Tartu Arv 22. 1003