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Entertain ment Page 9 Clark Atlanta University Panther December 4, 1990 the beat and what she considers the truth. Harmony drops some serious science. The title to her first released single, “Pound cake,” addresses the way society treats women. “In a society, a woman is just intelligent or attractive or spiritual, said Harmony. On commercials, you’re always seeing parts of a woman’s body — a piece here, a piece there, a piece everywhere. What Poundcake is saying is that it’s not about just one piece. Women are whole entities. They are all those things — intelligent, physical and spiritual. It’s about the need for man to realize that he’s not the only creature on earth.” “Art of War” talks about the need for unity and challenges the Eurocentric view that Africa is “the smallest (continent) when in fact it’s the tallest.” “Mother Africa” pays tribute to her African ancestry and the Motherland. Harmony, who has written a book of poetry, credits Boogie Down Productions as provid ing her a launching pad to a rapping and singing career. Moggie's Dream Becomes Reality Harmony Harmony Rings At CAU H-A-R-M-O-N-Y, it’s HAR MONY So wipe the tears from your eye I exist in bliss, With a gift With a mic in my fist I’m out to uplift the R-A-P industry Then me Who says a rapper can’t be in key? By PAULETTE V. WALKER Editor-in-Chief Rapper and singer Har mony, a.k.a. Pamela Scott, will be appearing at Clark Atlanta University Dec. 6. She is scheduled to be interviewed for Clark’s New Music Report television show which will be aired on WUTV Cable 3. Harmony, Blastmaster KRS-One’s 24-year-old sister-in-law sings and raps on her Virgin Records debut album, Let There Be Harmony. She has a unique and assertive style that is full of conviction and she is out to define a respectable place for women in hip hop. Like her contemporaries — K.RS-1, Queen Latifah, and A Tribe Called Quest — Har mony is very aware and proud of her African heritage. This is evident after one listens to her album. She raps the impor tance of self-knowledge and seeks to get this message across to her audience. “I am not the kind of woman who sells records with her butt,” said Harmony in a published interview. And that is exactly what she wants people to realize with this album. “I’m a rapper who can sing,” Harmony insists. The rich smooth vocals on “Jah Ruiez,” a single from Boogie Down Productions Guetto Music: The Blueprint of Hip Hop album was Har mony’s singing debut. The chorus, written and sung by Harmony, had record execu tives asking who she was. With her debut album, Harmony is a bit of a philo sopher. She philosophizes about God, family and unity within an Afrocentric theme. She’s a poet who speaks her mind, a vocalists who sings with finesse and a rapper who breaks it down to the bare essentials, leaving little else but “I never thought I would be this great rapper or R&B artist,” said Harmony. “It was just a hobby. I sang in school and church and hung out at the recording studios with my family. 1 didn’t forsee signing a recording contract. It just happened that after I san on that single, ‘Jah Ruiez,’ a lot of record companies started calling my house, so eventually, Kris (Kris Parker of KRS-ONe of BDP) and 1 decided to shop a deal. Harmony attended Hunter College in New York for two years and studied psychology. She also sang. She became a member of the school’s choir, and performed at the 1989 Miss New York Pageant at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum. “I got involved in that because some of my peers said (important) people would be there to hear you." Harmony recalled. The Brooklyn native plans to. return to school later to continue her academic pursuits. A very important project that Harmony envisions is establishing “Harmony House” where children “...can hang out, learn about their heritage or just have rape sessions.” “Right now, I’m training to work in the public school system to teach children how to read,”said Harmony. “I believe if you train children early, when they grow up they won’t depart from their roots.” By PAULETTE V. WALKER Editor-in-Chief “Staring eyes examine me just because I’m from the sea. They all choose not to look at the pages in the book. Why do people judge each other according to their skin’s own color?’’ These are some lyrics from “Human,” a song about racism that appears on Maggies Dream’s self-titled debut album. “All the songs reflect our environment and our perspec tive on it,” says Maggie’s Dream drummer Tony James in a published interview. “There is definitely a serious problem with drugs and neighborhood decay. But we’re certainly not writing about anything that other people havent’ seen. And if anything, I think these songs are definitely more reporting than preaching about what we think are serious issues.” The five men who make up Maggie’s Dream are a multi ethnic crew from Manhattan (New York City). Their name was taken from Dr. James Comer’s book “Maggie’s American Dream,” a book that speaks about society’s prevail ing views on Black America, through the inspiring chronicle of a Black family’s struggle in the rural South. On sheer visuals, Maggie’s Dream will most likely be one of those groups destined to have rumors made up about them in the tabloid press. Nevertheless, they seem to be primarily concerned with the creative process. For this crew, it appears that intuition rules over image. As they see it, “There’s nothing like being inspired and having an idea in your mind grow into a song that in the absence of public response, is worthy and satisfying to us. That’s not to say we don’t hope to attract as many different segments of the population as we possibly can, but the bottom line is focusing on the kind of music-making that will go beyond contempor ary trends. That's what it’s all about.” And with that it looks like Maggie’s Dream will be making great music for a long time to come or, as their song “Father Mother” aptly puts it, for “many more revolutions around the sun.” The songs focus on racial consciousness, AIDS, drug abuse and divorce. Some may find it morbid, but according to the band members, it’s reality. “You go out on the street every day and it’s everywhere you look,” said Lonnie Hillyer, the base player for the band. “You can’t help but be affected by it — and if that's what you see daily, then chances are it’s going to turn up in your music whether you intend for it to or not.” Maggie’s Dream