Whats Buzzing in the Streets – Page 65

Strictly Business: The 30th Anniversary

Coming all the way from Long Island, NY, these two gentlemen came together to join forces and then became one of hip hop’s best to ever do it. Their names are Erick Sermon aka E Double and Parrish Smith aka Parrish Mic Doc and together they are EPMD. Eric And Parrish Making Dollars. On June 7th, 1988, they released their debut album “Strictly Business.” It is an essential hip hop classic and it is a first of its kind. With a sound that’s heavy bass with funk and rock samples and DJ scratches, they had heavy hits that can turn a party out. With four official singles, “It’s My Thing”, “I’m Housin’”, “Strictly Business”, and “You Gots To Chill”, EPMD became an instant hit. The album peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200, the album went gold four months after its release and The Source gave it a five mic rating, making it one of the 43 albums to ever receive this rating. 30 years later, the duo were recently seen at the Yo! MTV Raps: 30th Anniversary Show at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn performing their classics and even brought along K-Solo from the Hit Squad performing his classic “Spellbound.” These fellas have not lost their touch or step. I even had the opportunity to meet Parrish downtown at a spot on Houston Street called SOB’s for a Jam Master Jay birthday celebration and he was most definitely cool and a humbled guy. EPMD’s music hands down is one of the best and a must have in a hip hop collection. Album after album, they came with hits for years and even have merchandise but who in hip hop doesn’t have merchandise. Overall, when they come together on that stage, it’s all BUSINESS and no play.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy Jam Harris was born on this date in 1959. He is an African American musician, songwriter, and music producer.

He was born James “Jimmy Jam” Harris III in Minneapolis, MN. In a South Minneapolis high school, he met Terry Lewis, and the two formed a band called Flyte Tyme, which evolved into The Time. In 1981, they toured with Prince. They were fired from the tour because a blizzard left them unable to rejoin after a short break to produce The SOS Band. However, one of the tracks they were producing, “Just Be Good to Me,” became a big hit and established their reputation.

After working with artists like Gladys Knight and Luther Vandross, Jam and Lewis were introduced to Janet Jackson and produced her breakthrough album “Control” in 1986, for which the duo won a Grammy Award. Their collaboration on her next album, 1989’s “Rhythm Nation 1814”, was even more successful. In 1990, they created a record label, Perspective Records, and worked with artists that included Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men, The Human League, Usher, Mary J. Blige, and Mariah Carey.

In 2000, the two were guest performers for Utada Hikaru’s concert tour in Japan, Bohemian Summer. Harris is also the brother-in-law of NBA superstar Kevin Garnett. For over 25 years, Jimmy Jam Harris has created some of the most popular music in the world.

Four Tops Levi Stubbs

Levi Stubbs (June 6, 1936 – October 17, 2008) was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the R&B group the Four Tops, a band known for a variety of Motown hit records and other songs created in the 1960s and 1970s. The power of Stubbs’ emotional, often dramatic vocals have received praise from many critics over the years; for example, Allmusic’s Ed Hogan has remarked that Stubbs’ had a “pleading urgency in his voice that perfectly captured the longing anxiousness of the songs written by the producing trio of Holland-Dozier-Holland”. As well, War band member Lonnie Jordan told Billboard.com he felt “blessed” to meet Stubbs and thought that the Four Tops singer’s “voice was so good he was just, like, from another planet.”

He was also a voice artist in film and animated television series, most famously having provided the voice of the alien plant in the 1986 comedic horror film Little Shop of Horrors (an adaption of the stage musical of the same name) as well as Mother Brain in the 1989 TV series Captain N: The Game Master. Stubbs was admired by his peers for his impressive vocal range, having influenced many later pop and soul artists such as Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates.

Stubbs had five children. Living in Detroit, Michigan for much of his life, including his last days, he was married to Clineice Stubbs for over forty years until his death. His last performance was at the Four Tops’ “50th Anniversary Concert” on July 28, 2004 at the Detroit Opera House.

Born in 1936 in Detroit, Stubbs had a brother, Joe, who later became a member of 100 Proof Aged In Soul, the Falcons, the Contours and the Originals. His cousin was Jackie Wilson. Stubbs attended Detroit Pershing High School, where he met Abdul “Duke” Fakir. He began his professional singing career with friends Fakir, Renaldo “Obie” Benson, and Lawrence Payton, forming a singing group called the Four Aims in 1954. Two years later, after having signed with Chess Records, the group changed their name to the Four Tops. The name change was meant to avoid confusion with the then-popular Ames Brothers. The Four Tops began as a supper-club act before signing to Motown Records in 1963. By the end of the decade, they had over a dozen hits. The most popular of their hits (all of which featured Stubbs on lead vocals) include “Baby I Need Your Loving”, “I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)”, “It’s the Same Old Song”, “Reach Out I’ll Be There”, “Standing in the Shadows of Love”, “Bernadette”, “Still Water (Love)”, “Ain’t No Woman (Like the One I’ve Got)” as well as the late hit “Loco In Acapulco”. Although Stubbs was a natural baritone, most Four Tops’ hits were written in a tenor range to give the lead vocals a sense of urgency.

Despite being the most prominent member of the group, Stubbs refused to have separate billing (in contrast to other Motown acts such as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and Diana Ross and the Supremes), and he also turned down several offers for a solo career, out of loyalty to his bandmates. Stubbs and the other Tops remained a team until Payton died in 1997, at which point Theo Peoples took his place. The Four Tops were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2013. They have sold over 50 million records worldwide.

During the band’s long career, it was signed to the Motown, ABC Dunhill, Arista, and Casablanca record labels, and Stubbs’ vocals influenced many later pop and soul artists such as Daryl Hall of Hall and Oates. Hall has remarked that Stubbs’ “unique” style rendered the Four Tops’ material “timeless”. Other musical peers expressing admiration for the Four Tops’ work include Lonnie Jordan of War and Smokey Robinson of The Miracles among many others.

In 2000, Theo Peoples replaced Stubbs as lead singer after Stubbs suffered a stroke, with Ronnie McNeir taking the place that Payton originally held. Benson died on July 1, 2005, leaving Duke Fakir as the only surviving member of the Four Tops’ original lineup. Stubb’s final performance with the Four Tops was at the group’s “50th Anniversary Concert” on July 28, 2004 at the Detroit Opera House.

Although not an actor per se, Stubbs provided the voice of the carnivorous plant Audrey II in the 1986 movie version of the musical Little Shop of Horrors and the voice of Mother Brain in the animated TV series Captain N: The Game Master (1989).

Stubbs also guest starred in a number of TV shows as himself. Berry Gordy offered him the role of Louis McKay in the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues, which would have starred him opposite Diana Ross as Billie Holiday. However, Stubbs turned the role down, once again not wishing to overshadow the other members of the Four Tops.

Levi Stubbs and his wife Clineice were married from 1960 until his death. The couple had five children.

Stubbs features in Billy Bragg’s 1986 song, “Levi Stubbs’ Tears,” about a woman whose Four Tops album brings her comfort through difficult times. The chorus goes:

“When the world falls apart, some things stay in place Levi Stubbs’ tears run down his face.”

Stubbs was diagnosed with cancer, in 1995, and later he was no longer able to tour with the group after suffering a stroke. He died in his sleep on October 17, 2008, at his home in Detroit. A memorial service for Stubbs was held at the Greater Grace Temple in Detroit on October 27. Many of Stubbs’ friends from the music industry attended including Berry Gordy, Martha Reeves, Brian Holland, Ali-Ollie Woodson, and Dennis Edwards. Detroit City Council member JoAnn Watson, along with Martha Reeves, presented a resolution naming Stubbs’ birthday “Levi Stubbs Day” in Detroit. Stubbs is interred at Detroit’s historic Woodlawn Cemetery.

Larry Davis

Larry Davis (May 28, 1966 – February 20, 2008), who changed his name to Adam Abdul-Hakeem in 1989, was a New Yorker who shot six New York City Police Department officers on November 19, 1986 when they raided his sister’s apartment in the Bronx. The police said that the raid was executed in order to question Davis about the killing of four suspected drug dealers.

At trial, Davis’s defense attorneys, including William Kunstler, claimed that the raid was staged to murder him because of his knowledge of the involvement of corrupt police in the drug business. With the help of family contacts and friends, he eluded capture for the next 17 days despite a massive manhunt. Once the search was narrowed to a single building, he took several hostages but surrendered to police when the presence of reporters convinced him he would not be harmed.

Davis was acquitted of attempted murder charges in the police shootout case and also acquitted of murder charges in the case involving the slain drug dealers. He was found guilty of weapons possession in the shootout case, acquitted in another murder case, and was found guilty in a later murder case, for which he was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. In 2008, Davis was stabbed to death in a fight with another inmate.

The Davis case generated controversy. Many were outraged by his actions and acquittal, but others regarded him as a folk hero for his ability to elude capture in the massive manhunt, or as the embodiment of a community’s frustration with the police, or as “a symbol of resistance” because “he fought back for African-Americans who are being killed by white police officers.”

Davis was the youngest of 15 children and a father to 1 daughter, Larrima Davis.Davis was sought as a suspect in seven murders: the execution-style killing of four drug dealers in a Bronx apartment, another during an apparent drug robbery in Manhattan, and two more. During the weeks before the raid, he knew he was wanted by the police and avoided his own apartment, spending time at his girlfriend’s and at his two sisters’ adjoining apartments on Fulton Avenue. At age 20, Davis had a record of arrests and convictions dating back over three years, to early 1983 and had violated his probation for a 1984 robbery.

Acting on a tip, in the evening of Wednesday, November 19, 1986 a team of 27 officers and detectives from the Bronx 41st Precinct and the NYPD’s elite Emergency Service Unit assembled in a parking lot. Wearing bulletproof vests and armed with shotguns and handguns, they went to the six-story Fulton Avenue building where two of Davis’s sisters had adjoining apartments on the ground floor. The police later said the raid was an attempt to question Davis. Although a “positive identification” of Davis had been made in a car chase 20 days earlier in which shots were fired at the police, he had not been named as a suspect in any crime, and no arrest warrant was issued until after the raid and shootout. A senior police official said that no charges had been brought beforehand because “once you move to introduce an accusatory instrument you lose the benefit of being able to talk to that person.” A lawyer for Davis said the raid was staged to kill him to suppress his knowledge of police involvement in drug sales.

At about 8:30 p.m. 15 officers surrounded the building and 12 others entered; nine of these went to the three-room apartment of Davis’s sister Regina Lewis and seven entered it. Davis, his girlfriend, his sister and her husband were in the apartment along with four children. Lewis’s two infant children were asleep in the bedroom at the rear.

According to an interview with Regina Lewis the next day, she answered a knock at the door and the police entered the living room with guns drawn. They told the adults to get the children out, and called out “Come out, Larry, you don’t have a chance – we’ve got you surrounded.” Thinking the police were about to start firing, Lewis shouted “Don’t shoot! My babies are back there!” At trial, accounts would differ as to whether Davis or the police fired first. The jury believed the events presented by the defense, in which an officer entered the apartment with a shotgun and fired at Davis, while he was seated behind a desk holding a baby. The officer, thinking he had hit Davis, was then shot in the neck by Davis with a handgun. The police took cover, returning fire as they retreated. In the confusion no one kept track of Davis, who slipped into his other sister’s apartment and escaped out a back window. Lewis had complained to her brother about him bringing guns to the apartment and told him to get out; he did leave but returned. She also quoted him as telling her, “If I’m caught in the street, the police are going to shoot me. But I am going to shoot them first.”

Police collected the shotgun and the expended shells from the .45-caliber pistol that Davis took with him. A .32-caliber revolver and .357 Magnum pistol were also left behind. Ballistics tests would later link the .32-caliber revolver to the Manhattan drug dealer killing and the .45 caliber pistol to the four dead Bronx dealers. A police official said that all escape routes had been covered by officers but none apparently saw Davis leave. He also said that the wounded officers were unable to return fire effectively due to the presence in the apartment of the two infants and other bystanders. Davis fired four shotgun rounds and nine .45 caliber pistol shots; the police fired four shotgun rounds and 20 pistol shots. Neither Davis nor the two infants with him in the bedroom were wounded.

In the following year, three of the wounded officers accused the NYPD of “negligent” and “reckless” planning and execution of the raid, and blamed the Bronx detectives for creating “chaos” by bursting into the apartment before Emergency Service Unit officers could seal off escape routes.

The six wounded officers were carried across the street to the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital and the manhunt began. The surrounding area and the rest of the building were searched immediately. Police stakeouts were set up at terminals, bridges and tunnels leading out of the city and a nationwide alarm was issued. As the manhunt spread, raids were staged in Chicago, Albany, Newark and other cities where Davis had relatives or friends. A man who said he was Davis called ABC-TV, expressing fears he would be beaten by police and stating he would not be taken alive.

Acting on a tip that Davis had been seen entering his mother’s home four days after the escape, police searched the building while interviewing Mary Davis in a laundromat across the street. She suffered an apparent heart attack shortly thereafter. As she recuperated three days later, she urged her son to call the NAACP, who had offered to help arrange a safe surrender.

On the afternoon of December 5, 1986, police received another tip that Davis had been seen entering the Bronx housing project where his sister Margaret lived. They surrounded the 14-story building, closed off local streets and posted sharpshooters on nearby rooftops. After searching his sister’s second-floor apartment, police began a systematic canvass of all 312 units. At some point during the day, Mr. Davis forced his way at gunpoint into Apartment 14-EB, where Elroy and Sophia Sewer lived with their two daughters, just as neighbor Theresa Ali, and her 2-year-old son, arrived for a visit. Mr. Sewer arrived home at 8 P.M. to find his family and the neighbors being held hostage by Mr. Davis. At 11:45 p.m. Davis released the two visitors and sent Mr. Sewer out to pick up food from a nearby Chinese restaurant. He also ordered Mr. Sewer to call Mr. Davis’ mother’s and sister’s tapped telephones and give false location information. When the husband returned with the food he was stopped for questioning by the police and, at 12:45 a.m., informed them that his wife and two daughters were being held hostage by Mr. Davis.

Police set up a command post in a nearby apartment and by 1:30 a.m. had established telephone contact. At one point Davis threatened to kill the hostages with a hand grenade, at other points he chatted with negotiators about stereo equipment, asked about a lawyer, and showed concern for his own safety, saying that he was afraid police would harm him. Throughout, negotiators repeated, “There is no use running, you have nowhere to hide now.” To assure Davis that he would not be harmed, police showed him the press credentials of three reporters in a nearby apartment and allowed him to speak to his girlfriend. At about 7 a.m. Larry Davis laid down his .45-caliber pistol and surrendered. As he was taken from the building in handcuffs, residents leaned out of their windows, clapped, and chanted Davis’s name.

Davis was serving his sentence at Shawangunk Correctional Facility near the Ulster County hamlet of Wallkill. At 7 p.m. on February 20, 2008, correctional officers overseeing one of the yards noticed inmates congregating around an apparent fight. When they went to break it up, they found Davis had been stabbed repeatedly with a 9 inches (23 cm) long metal shiv. He was taken by ambulance to St. Luke’s Hospital in nearby Newburgh, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

After questioning by the state police and the New York State Department of Correctional Services’s (DOCS) inspector general’s office, another inmate, Luis Rosado, 42, was charged with murder.

Rosado was already serving a sentence of 25 years to life for murder and assault charges in the early 1980s, and had been denied parole in 2007. He was arraigned at Shawangunk Town Court the next morning. DOCS officials said both he and Davis had long disciplinary records, including fights with other inmates, but there was no record of any previous violence between the two.

On July 31, 2008, an Ulster County grand jury indicted Rosado on nine felony charges related to the stabbing, including three different counts of murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and possession of prison contraband. The murder charges carried a potential sentence of life without parole. After his arrest, Rosado was moved to Clinton Correctional Facility, located in upstate New York close to the Canadian border. On Wednesday, February 25, 2009, Luis Rosado pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in Ulster County Court and was sentenced to an additional 10 years in prison, to be served consecutively with his current 25-to-life sentence for murder.

El DeBarge

Eldra Patrick “El” DeBarge (born June 4, 1961) is an American singer-songwriter, producer and musician. DeBarge was the focal point and primary lead singer of the family group DeBarge throughout the early to mid-1980s. Popular songs led by El include “Time Will Reveal”, “Stay with Me”, “All This Love”, and “Rhythm of the Night”. As a solo artist, he is best known for his unique high tenor register, strong falsetto and the hits “Who’s Johnny” and “Love Always”, and for his collaborations with Tone Loc, George Clinton, Faith Evans, Quincy Jones, Fourplay, and DJ Quik. DeBarge is a three-time Grammy nominee.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, El was the sixth of ten children born to Robert Louis DeBarge, Sr. (1932-2009) and Etterlene (née Abney) DeBarge. DeBarge was already singing in his local church choir and playing piano as a child. Later after his family moved to Grand Rapids, he and the rest of his family began performing at their uncle’s Pentecostal church. When El was thirteen, his parents divorced after a difficult and stormy marriage. El is of African American, English, French, and Native American descent. Growing up, he was closest to eldest brother Bobby and began imitating his brother’s vocal styling.

For several years, El spent time being in private study with music educator Ricky Callier. By 1975, El had begun to express a desire to become a performer. El became a father for the first time at sixteen. He would eventually father eleven more children. In 1977, he dropped out of high school and began performing with his elder brothers in clubs and venues in Michigan. By 1979, Bernd Lichters was able to secure a deal with Source Records/MCA to release the Pall Mall Groove – Hot Ice album as SMASH for the USA/Canada market and moved El from Michigan to Los Angeles, to have him, his brothers Mark and Randy DeBarge, in addition to their cousin Andre Abney, Elliot Townsend, and Stanley Hood, to back up the release as the SMASH band. Eldest sister Bunny joined her brothers in California as well. In 1980, because of the success of their brothers Bobby and Tommy DeBarge with the hit group Switch, he was able to perform live at the piano and singing in front of Motown CEO Berry Gordy, who immediately signed the group, then known as The DeBarges, to the label.

Motown mentored them with members later working and contributing songwriting, arrangements, and production to the recordings of Switch, including the 1980 albums This Is My Dream and Reaching for Tomorrow. El DeBarge’s first professional recording was as background vocalist to Switch’s 1979 hit “I Call Your Name”. He later helped to arrange music for several Switch songs including “Love Over and Over Again” and “My Friend in the Sky,” which he, Bunny, and Bobby wrote. This song would later be sampled by the likes of Queen Pen and Raheem DeVaughn.

In 1981, The DeBarges was released after the family had worked in the studio for a year recording it. The album was noted for most of its songs produced and written by all four family members including Bobby DeBarge, who helped end the album track “Queen of My Heart” after El had led the song for most of its tenure. The following album, 1982’s All This Love featured younger brother James and saw much success with the compositions “I Like It” and the title track. El would remain the producer and arranger for all of the group’s Motown albums. In 1983, DeBarge released In a Special Way, which spawned the hits “Time Will Reveal (song)” and “Love Me in a Special Way”, and in 1984, the band became a sensation while touring for Luther Vandross on the singer’s Busy Body tour. Though the group enjoyed much success and appeared to be a family unit, there were growing tensions between El and his brothers, mainly because of Motown’s push to have El become the only noted star of the group, repeating a pattern that began with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. By the end of the tour, El DeBarge was mainly called to handle the production of DeBarge’s next album, Rhythm of the Night, without much help from his siblings.

Rhythm of the Night became the group’s best-selling album ever, though some contended that El DeBarge was the only member present on the album with the exception of the title track, which became a top five hit in several countries including the US and UK becoming the group’s and El’s signature song. In late 1985, he appeared on The Facts of Life in the Season 7 episode “Doo-Wah” as himself and performed his single “You Wear it Well” with Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, and Nancy McKeon singing backup. In 1986, El DeBarge left the group and began his solo career with the release of his self-titled debut album, which spawned the hits “Who’s Johnny” and “Love Always”. Three years passed, however, until DeBarge released his second album, Gemini in 1989. The album was a failure. DeBarge’s contract with Motown was terminated in 1990, and he signed with Warner Bros.. In the meantime, DeBarge was featured on the Quincy Jones single “The Secret Garden”, alongside Al B. Sure!, James Ingram, and Barry White, released in 1990.

In 1992, DeBarge released his third album, the Maurice White-produced In The Storm, which featured the Chante Moore duet “You Know What I Like”, which was Moore’s first professional recording. Critics noted the album for its Marvin Gaye-styled productions, with El DeBarge later admitting that Gaye was a huge influence on his musical style. He once commented that he had initially written “All This Love” as a song he imagined Gaye doing, even imitating Gaye’s ad-libs during his I Want You era near the end. That same year, he had chart success on the R&B charts with a collaboration with Fourplay on their version of Gaye’s “After the Dance”. DeBarge’s next album, 1994’s Heart, Mind and Soul, was co-produced with Babyface, yielding modest charted singles such as “Slide” and “Where is My Love” (which featured Babyface on duet vocals).

While DeBarge continued to collaborate on other artists’ projects including brother Chico and rapper DJ Quik among others (the duo collaborated on Quik’s hit “Hand in Hand”), he didn’t release any more albums between 1994 and 2009. In 2010, he finally emerged from a sixteen-year delay with the appropriately titled Second Chance, released after a series of comeback performances and appearances including a well received performance at the 2010 BET Awards. The album yielded two singles, “Second Chance” and the Faith Evans duet “Lay With You”, and later resulted in three Grammy Award nominations: Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Best R&B Song, and Best R&B Album. He remains the only member of the DeBarges to have Grammy nominations outside of the group and in the family altogether.

Written by Dianne Washington

Angela Davis

On this date in 1972, Angela Davis was acquitted of all charges stemming from a failed escape and kidnap attempt in the Marin County, CA’s Hall of Justice two years earlier.

In the escape, kidnap attempt, and shooting, the trial judge and three others were killed. Though not at the crime scene, Davis was implicated when police claimed that the guns used had been registered in her name. Davis fled via underground and was consequently listed on the FBI’s Top 10 Most Wanted Criminals list, setting off one of the most intensive manhunts in recent American history. Then California Governor Ronald Reagan, publicly vowed that Davis would never teach in that state again.

Davis was an American socialist organizer and professor who was associated with the Black Panther Party (BPP) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), among other organizations.

She was captured in New York City in August 1970, but was freed 18 months later and cleared of all charges by an all white jury. During the trial, an international Free Angela Davis movement had grown, and she used the momentum to found The National Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression, which remains active today.

Written by Dianne Washington

Keith David

Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956), known professionally as Keith David, is an American film and television actor, voice actor, singer and comedian. He is known for his co-starring role as Childs alongside Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s The Thing. He has acted in many mainstream films, such as Crash, There’s Something About Mary, Barbershop, and Men at Work.

He had memorable roles in numerous cult favorites, including John Carpenter’s films The Thing (as Childs) and They Live (as Armitage), the Riddick films Pitch Black and The Chronicles of Riddick (as the Imam), General Kimsey in Armageddon, King in Oliver Stone’s Platoon, and Big Tim in Darren Aronofsky’s Requiem for a Dream. David last starred as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the comedy series, Community. In 2016, he began starring as Bishop James Greenleaf in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.

His Emmy Award-winning voice-over career includes work as the narrator of numerous Ken Burns films such as The War. Characters that he has voiced include the Arbiter Thel ‘Vadam in Halo 2, Halo 3 and Halo 5, Goliath on the Disney series Gargoyles, Spawn/Al Simmons on Todd McFarlane’s Spawn which aired on HBO, David Anderson in the Mass Effect series, the Decepticon Barricade in Transformers: The Game, Julius Little in Saints Row, Saints Row 2, and Saints Row IV (as well as making a major guest appearance in the last game voicing himself), Sgt. Foley in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Dr. Facilier in The Princess and the Frog, the Flame King in Adventure Time, and Chaos in the English versions of Dissidia Final Fantasy, Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy and Solovar in The Flash.

David was born in Harlem and raised in Corona, Queens, both in New York City. His mother, Dolores (née Dickenson), was a manager at New York Telephone, and his father, Lester Williams, worked as a director of payroll operations.

He initially intended to become an actor after playing the Cowardly Lion in a school production of The Wizard of Oz and went on to study at Manhattan’s High School of Performing Arts. He attended the Juilliard School’s Drama Division (1975–1979, Group 8) where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1979.

In 1980–81, David honed his craft touring the country with John Houseman’s The Acting Company in productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot. Less than two years later, he went on to star as Childs, opposite Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s The Thing, and his lengthy on-screen career had begun. In the 1980s run of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, he portrayed Keith the Southwood Carpenter in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe segments. He also played Keith, the game coin collector in an episode where Rogers and a small child learn to play the arcade game Donkey Kong.

He went on to appear in films such as Oliver Stone’s Platoon, The Quick and the Dead, They Live (reuniting with The Thing director, John Carpenter), Men at Work, Marked for Death, and Stars and Bars. He played Kirby in the 1995 film Dead Presidents, and he appeared in the 1995 Spike Lee’s film Clockers. He followed this up with roles in other films such as Volcano, Armageddon, There’s Something About Mary, Pitch Black, Barbershop, Agent Cody Banks, The Chronicles of Riddick, Crash, ATL, Delta Farce and First Sunday.

He portrayed “Father” in the romantic comedy action film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. At the same time, he has appeared in numerous independent films including the critically acclaimed Requiem for a Dream, playing the role of Big Tim. He has also appeared extensively in television productions since the 1980s and as a regular character Lieutenant Williams on the short-lived television series The Job. He was a regular on another shoot made for ABC entitled The Big House in 2004. David portrayed Detective Jim Crenshaw in the 2010 horror film Chain Letter.

In 2010, David was cast as Max Malini for the NBC television series The Cape. On April 18, 2011, Keith appeared in the 21st episode of season one of Hawaii Five-0 as criminal tycoon Jimmy Cannon. In 2012, he appeared in the horror film Smiley and the science-fiction drama Cloud Atlas. In 2013, David appeared in the controversial drama Boiling Pot which is based on true events of racism. In 2014, David portrayed Command Sergeant Major Donald Cody in the Fox comedy series Enlisted. Later in 2014, David was cast as Elroy Patashnik in the sixth season of the sitcom Community.

In 2015, David was cast in the leading role alongside Lynn Whitfield in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, Greenleaf.

In 1992, David received a Tony Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance in Jelly’s Last Jam. David received raves for his Shakespeare work on stage in Central Park, New York City. In 1995, he played the lead as Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton in August Wilson’s Seven Guitars on Broadway.

In May 2006, he appeared in the musical Hot Feet on Broadway in New York. David appeared in the 2013 revival of August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Theater in Los Angeles. Directed by Phylicia Rashad, he played the part of innkeeper Seth Holly.

His performance in Ebony Repertory Theatre’s 2014 Paul Robeson by Phillip Hayes Dean previewed Wednesday, March 12, 2014, and opened on Friday, March 21, 2014.

From April 21, 2015, to May 10, 2015, Keith David starred as “Dolomite“ in the Off-Broadway play ToasT. The play (produced by Lemon Andersen and co-starred Hill Harper) was set in the Attica Prison around the time of its 1971 prison riot and told of the lives of its prisoners using poetic prose.

He has married twice. He has one son from his first marriage and two daughters from his second marriage.

David revealed that he is a Christian, and when asked in an interview on his narration work of The Bible if he was a religious man, he quoted: “I’m not a religious man. I’m a man of spirit. Religion can get political. I believe in God and spirit. I believe in church. I’ve been baptized. I’ve gone to Catholic, Baptist, Episcopal and God of Church and Christ.”

Written by Dianne Washington

Deniece Williams

Deniece Williams (born June Deniece Chandler; June 3, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter and producer. She has been described her as “one of the great soul voices” by the BBC. Williams has won four Grammys with twelve nominations altogether.

Born in Gary, Indiana, Williams attended Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, in the hopes of becoming a registered nurse and an anesthetist, but dropped out after a year and a half. Of the experience she went on to say “You have to be a good student to be in college, and I wasn’t.” Williams went on to start up performing at the time. She later exclaimed “I got a part-time job singing at a club, Casino Royal, and I liked it. It was a lot of fun.” During those years Williams also worked in a telephone company and as a ward clerk at the Chicago Mercy Hospital. As Deniece Chandler, she recorded for The Toddlin’ Town group of labels. One of those early records, “I’m Walking Away”, released on Toddlin’s subsidiary Lock Records in the late 1960s, is a favorite on England’s Northern Soul scene. In the early 1970s she became a backup vocalist for Stevie Wonder as part of “Wonderlove”.

She left Wonder in 1975 and after signing to Columbia Records, she teamed up with two famed producers: Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, and his frequent collaborator, Charles Stepney. Her 1976 debut album entitled This Is Niecy was released. The single “Free” reached No. 2 on the Black Singles chart, No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 1 on the British Singles chart. The album also featured “Cause You Love Me Baby” (which charted separately on the R&B chart as the flip side of “Free”) and “That’s What Friends Are For”. She also shared a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with pop singer Johnny Mathis in 1978 with the duet “Too Much, Too Little, Too Late”. The duet also topped the Black Singles and Adult Contemporary charts. Williams also topped the dance charts with her disco single “I’ve Got the Next Dance”. Mathis and Williams also recorded the popular theme to the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, “Without Us”. Williams moved on to the American Recording Company (ARC) in the early 1980s where she scored the top twenty R&B smash hit “Silly” in 1981. The following year, yet another famed producer, Thom Bell, helped Williams score another number-one R&B chart-topper with her remake of The Royalettes’ “It’s Gonna Take a Miracle”, which became a Top 10 pop hit as well, reaching No. 10. Williams released the album Let’s Hear It for the Boy in 1984. The title track reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured on the soundtrack to Footloose. The song would prove to be the biggest pop hit of her career – and the last. She also contributed vocals, along with Maurice White, to the song “And Then” from Weather Report’s album Mr. Gone released in 1978. Williams continued releasing albums during the 1980s such as Hot On The Trail (1986), Water Under The Bridge (1987), and As Good As It Gets (1988), which featured her last Top Ten hit to date, “I Can’t Wait”, written by Skylark. However, in part due to a lack of promotion from her record label, her mainstream popularity faded. During this time, she hit a low point in her career and decided to reinvent herself.

In 2003 Williams appeared in the holiday movie Christmas Child. In December 2005 she appeared on the reality-dating show Elimidate as part of their “Celebrity Week”. Other participants included fellow 1970s icons Leif Garrett and Jimmie Walker. After more than a decade Williams’ new R&B album, entitled Love, Niecy Style, was released on April 24, 2007, on Shanachie Records. The disc was produced by veteran “Sound of Philly” man Bobby Eli. It has received positive review from Starpulse, soultracks.com, the disc charted at No. 41 on Billboard R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. Williams returned to her hometown of Gary, Indiana for a performance to mark the re-opening of the historic Glen Theater on October 13, 2007. After the performance, Williams was recognized by Indiana State Representative Vernon G. Smith as an Outstanding Hoosier.

Williams returned to Gospel music, charting again in October 2007. The song, “Grateful-The Rededication”, recorded with Wanda Vaughn of The Emotions and Sherree Brown debuted at No. 40 debut on the Billboard Adult R&B Singles chart. This was Williams’ first entry on the singles chart since 1989. On April 29, 2008, Williams announced that she was preparing a proposal to establish a program called KOP—Kids of Promise—in her hometown of Gary, Indiana. Williams said the program would include a center with classes and programs dedicated to education and the performing arts.[8] On August 27, 2008, a new song/video entitled “One Kiss” was posted on YouTube. The song is produced by the Haven Media Group and the video directed by director Dabling Harward (Idlewild, When We Were Kings). Also posted on the same date was an inspirational anthem entitled “A Change We Can Believe In”. The song was written by Williams, percussionist Jerry Peters, and songwriter Harvey Mason. On June 27, 2010, Williams performed her song “Silly” at the BET Awards featuring Monica. In January 2011, she performed “Free” on Way Black When: Looking Back at the 1970s on TVOne. On June 6, 2011, Williams was featured on Unsung, TV One’s signature music biography series about forgotten R&B, soul and gospel artists from the last 30 years.

Written by Dianne Washington

Aaron McGruder

The birth of Aaron McGruder in 1974 is celebrated on this date. He is an African American cartoonist and social commentator through media.

Born in Chicago, McGruder and his family moved to Columbia, MD, when he was six. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Afro-American Studies, and a concentration in social and cultural analysis. As a journalistic artist, his comic strip, “The Boondocks,” made its debut in the campus newspaper, The Diamondback, in late 1996. The material is entertaining and also filled with social and political commentary, so much so that it was yanked from the public in the months following the 9/11 tragedy in New York City, Pennsylvania, and D.C.

In 2002, McGruder was awarded the “Chairman’s Award” at the NAACP Image Awards. Additionally, USA Today has called McGruder “the most dangerous black man” and compared his voice (message) to that of Langston Hughes. McGruder is creative, driven, and astute. A frequent public speaker on political and cultural issues, McGruder gave a keynote speech at H2K2 (a hacker’s conference) in 2002, where he railed against the Bush administration, corporate-controlled mass media, political corruption, financial scandal and U.S. foreign policy.

He now lives in Los Angeles, where he is working on projects that include animating Boondocks. He is also the co-author of a graphic novel, Birth of a Nation, published in 2004.

Rebbie Jackson

Maureen Reillette “Rebbie” Jackson Brown (born May 29, 1950) is an American singer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1974, before subsequently appearing in the television series The Jacksons. Her sister La Toya was born on Jackson’s 6th birthday. At age 34, Jackson released her debut album Centipede (1984). The album featured songs written by Smokey Robinson, Prince, and Jackson’s younger brother Michael, whose contribution (the title track “Centipede”) became Rebbie’s most successful single release. By the end of the 1980s, the singer had released two more albums in quick succession: Reaction (1986) and R U Tuff Enuff (1988).

Written by Dianne Washington