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    My Journey Through The Years With New Edition

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    Gospel great Dottie Peoples once sang it best, “He might not come when you want Him but He’s an on-time God.” After 33 years in show business, members of the R & B group New Edition (NE) will finally receive a star on the fabled Hollywood Walk of Fame. The boys from Boston, who grew into men before our very eyes, will receive the 2,600th star at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard on Monday, January 23, at 11:30 a.m. PST, with the event being live streamed exclusively on www.walkoffame.com

    Devoted fans, known as NE4Lifers, can attest to how they tirelessly petitioned for decades to have the group lauded with the prestigious honor. It should come as no surprise how many NE4Lifers made the long trek to be on hand at the ceremony, a prelude to the three-night BET miniseries, beginning January 24 through January 26. Social media has been buzzing with everyone from celebs to common folk eager to witness NE’s tumultuous and triumphant journey from kid stars to seasoned vets.

    I’ve had a few NE4Lifers to wonder if I will be in attendance to celebrate the festivities in Los Angeles. While I won’t be there in body, I have always been with these guys through the written word. Throughout the years I was on the battlefield, a foot soldier, in helping to be instrumental in sharing their story on the pages of Jet and EBONY magazines. If I was still there, I would have fought for them to be on the cover, to be honored during the Power 100 and to headline the evening! It would have been a win-win for everyone.

    But everything happens for a reason and, truth be told, it wasn’t always easy going to battle for NE. Their delivery as performers was never questioned once they hit the stage. The problem came when making the editorial pitches because I could never quite explain what kept them from getting to the stage and staying there with consistency. During some cover stories, though they appeared picture perfect, things proved otherwise because everyone didn’t always agree to being interviewed.

    Thankfully, there’s no more wondering. Our questions will soon be answered, regarding any hills and valleys we never knew about. When I last interviewed them for a 2013 Retrospective piece in EBONY, it was the first time that all six members agreed to speak. The movie deal was still being worked out because Bobby had some trepidations about agreeing to the project. I’ll never forget him telling me how he didn’t feel like the New Edition story was complete because they weren’t on the top. Bobby said, “We’re still working on being able to end on top. We’re giving a hell of a good run of it. We’re looking forward to writing the ending of our legacy instead of it having a tragic ending.”

    Tomorrow isn't promised to anyone and with so many high-profile people suddenly dying, it is nice to see that New Edition realizes the value and beauty in cherishing this moment while each member is above ground to share and celebrate the story. This year some of the fellas will be pushing 50 years old and no matter what any one of them has been through, they remain firmly rooted in an industry where it isn’t unusual for child stars to be toppled to the ground, chewed up, spit out and forgotten about. Aside from the Jacksons, no other group has made the transition from boys to men, creating a stylistic blueprint with some considerable measures of success emulated by others. NE has paid their dues for paving the way, because like most pioneers, they weren't always given the proper credit they deserved.

    Yes, I'm more than certain that the miniseries will show how badly New Edition has been bruised, but it will also show how they were never broken beyond repair no matter how painful the path. Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph and Johnny, with every little step, with every NE heartbreak, you have shown true power. That's staying power and that's how true legends continue to write history. God's timing is always perfect. Congrats!

    DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward


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    [Above] The fellas conducted the 2004 cover story interview immediately following their performance as headliners at the Taste of Chicago where Mayor Richard M. Daley acknowledged the group's stellar career by proclaiming June 29 as New Edition Day. They were tired because they just returned from out of the country after filming the video for Hot 2 Nite and had to hit the ground running with a major outdoor concert. Like always, they left the audience begging for more because New Edition never lets anyone see them sweat.
    Following the interview, Ralph, Ricky and Ronnie stayed in the lobby and talked with me. Ralph and Ricky were clearly excited about their upcoming double wedding. Then an Associate Editor for Jet, I told them how I also handled the Love & Happiness marriage announcements. "When you get married, be sure to send me the picture so that I can put it in the magazine," I told them. The fellas agreed and made good on their promise. [Below] Not only did the wedding photo end up in the November 29, 2004 issue of Jet, but it was also selected by EBONY, the sister publication, for one of the Top Weddings of 2005 in the annual February love edition.

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    [Below] When Michael Bivins became an NBA correspondent for TNT, I wrote a profile for the June 9, 2008 issue. And long before Unsung and Oprah's Where Are They Now?, Jet was the place to go and find out Where Are They Now? Bivins' popular kid group Another Bad Creation (ABC) was featured in the same edition. Be sure to check out the picture on page 56. Let's just say that Mike Biv put a hurting on basketball legend Michael Jordan during a winning game of pool. Look at that face!

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    [Below] The group was celebrating yet another milestone year in 2008 and was being recognized for its accomplishments with the ASCAP Golden Note Award in Los Angeles. They agreed to a cover story and even a photo shoot with Valerie Goodloe on the day of receiving the prestigious honor. Though it was the first time all six members were on the cover, Ralph and Bobby did not interview for the story. Johnny and Bell Biv DeVoe (BBD), ever the anchors, forever holding things down, spoke on behalf of the group.

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    Six Degrees of Separation in St. Louis:
    Video director Dana Christian (r) goes over a scene with Johnny Gill for a music video from his 2011 Still Winning CD. St. Louis singer Sineta Roker, a former “American Idol” contestant, appeared as Gill’s leading lady in the trilogy of videos, directed by my brother. Roker is the cousin of Today Show co-anchor Al Roker and award-winning rocker/actor Lenny Kravitz. Dana said, "I ended up directing three Johnny Gill music videos, which were part of a trilogy: Just The Way You Are, It Would Be You and Second Place. It was two sample songs and one full-length. I decided to tell a story and connect all three.”     

    [Below] The last time that I wrote a major story about New Edition was four years ago for the February 2013 EBONY Retrospective. This also marked a first because all six members agreed to be interviewed. There was still some uncertainties about the movie being made but a few willingly discussed it anyway, including Bobby, who admitted to having had concerns because he wanted their careers to be on top before he signed on to do the project. Before our interview ended, he also told me, "We've been through some things where we were really trying to hurt each other physically. Times were rough in any one of our lives, but we have all been able to come together and stand up for each other. When you lose the ego and put it in your back pocket, when you walk in the door so the group can be the best, that's what is going to happen. This is a business. I'm in business with five of my greatest friends, and we know how to work it."

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    Enjoying time before New Edition's June 2016 taping on the Steve Harvey Show in Chicago. Some NE4Lifers include Dr. Renee Matthews  (Ask Dr. Renee) and the twins, Kamita and Katrina Terrell of TwinKonnections. That's me at the bottom, wearing my hair like Xernona Clayton.
    [Below] I am now a college professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) where one of the city's top entertainment venues is the UIC Pavilion. The fellas had a sold-out concert planned but it was canceled due to a terrible flooding in the facility. Fans left pissed off and hurt! We suffered an NE heartbreak that night, because we COULD NOT STAND THE RAIN and we can't wait for their return. 
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    Greeting members on Sept. 14 at Wintrust Arena in the green room for media interview. Ron just told everyone he earned 2,000 followers after realizing the power of posting pictures on Instagram.
    RBRM (Ricky Bobby Ronnie Mike) performed to a sold-out arena at Chicago's Arie Crown Theater on Sept. 14, 2018.
    Greeting Bobby Brown on Sept. 14 at Wintrust Arena in the green room for media interview. I interviewed him for EBONY's September issue about his movie, The Bobby Brown Story.
  • Published on

    Big Man, Big Heart: Remembering Bill Nunn  (1952-2016)

     Best Known As Radio Raheem in Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing,' Nunn Once Revealed Role As Jazz Musician In Lee's 'Mo Better Blues' Made His Heart Sing Most

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    The 1990 film Mo Better Blues also co-starred filmmaker Spike Lee along with Denzel Washington, Giancarlo Esposito, Wesley Snipes and Jeff "Tain" Watts.

    When I learned about Bill Nunn's death from an Instagram post by filmmaker Spike Lee, I was hurt. Then I immediately thought about the conversation I had with Nunn and Lee six years earlier. It was the 20th anniversary of Lee's jazz film Mo Better Blues where Nunn played Bottom Hammer, a bass player.

    Everyone agrees that Nunn's portrayal of Radio Raheem was easy to remember in Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing. The role won him notoriety as the young man whose death caused by a police chokehold sets off a riot. Strolling through his neighborhood, carrying a boombox that blasted Public Enemy's song Fight The Power, Radio Raheem wore gold rings on both hands, one bearing the word love and the other hate.

    On the day of that interview, I couldn't help but recall how Nunn was quietly, away from the spotlight, fighting the power in a different way. He mentioned his battle with cancer and asked that I not reveal it in the Mo Better Blues piece that I was writing. The Morehouse College grad wanted to talk, to laugh and to simply look back at that moment in 1990. Nunn spoke with pride as he discussed Lee, the kid at Morehouse who told him he wanted to become a filmmaker, succeeded against the odds to do so and became the keeper of his Morehouse brothers in an industry where Hollywood wasn't checking for Black folks.

    A teacher at heart, the Pittsburgh native explained how his health challenge allowed him to be still enough to bless aspiring actors through the Bill Nunn Theatre Outreach Project (BNTOP), which provides a platform for underserved Pittsburgh public school students to gain access to theatre arts and work with seasoned veterans within the field. One of the core components of the BNTOP is presenting the Annual August Wilson Monologue Competition where high school students perform monologues from Wilson's 10-play Century Cycle.

    Radio Raheem used music to fight the power; Bottom Hammer showed it was all about that bass. Bill Nunn brought the noise--a resounding melody--to both characters by doing the right thing. Here's that full interview.

    Margena A. Christian: It has been 20 years since the making of Mo’ Better Blues. What are your thoughts?
     
    Bill Nunn: Oh, God, is that scary!
     
    Christian: Can you believe it's been that long?
     
    Nunn: No, I can't. I really can't. I thought I was old then.
     
    Christian: This movie was nearly fresh off the heels of your performance as Radio Raheem in 1989's Do the Right Thing and then you played Bottom Hammer, a bass player, in Mo Better Blues. How did you prepare for your musician character?
     
    Nunn: It was really one of the greatest experiences of my career, because Spike didn't want us to be looking bogus, so we all had teachers. Spike set me up with a good friend of his dad’s, who is also a bass player. He's one of the well-known cats in New York named Michael Fleming was also in the all bass orchestra. He’s a great bass player from New York. Spike got me together with Michael. We started maybe a month or two before shooting the film and then he stayed with me during the whole shoot. So, I was actually learning how to play the bass at the same time that we were making the movie, and it was incredible, because we also had like a small budget where we could go almost nightly and hear some of the best music in the city. It was an incredible. Really for me, it was one of the most incredible experiences of my career. It was just awesome.
     
    Christian: During your scenes, were you actually playing?
     
    Nunn: No, but I was in the area.
     
    Christian: You were improvising? You knew how to do the movements, but the sound was actually somebody else?
     
    Nunn: If you were a bass player, and you were looking at my hands and listening to the music, you would say, ‘Well, he could be playing. He's in the right area.’ But, actually, I wasn’t playing the bass for that film. No way. That was Branford Marsalis’ bass player, and I can't think of his name right now. He used to play off a lot because he was so good. It was hard to try to keep up with him.
     
    Christian: I found old production notes. They revealed that you learned to play so well, or tried so hard, that you callused your hands. Is this true?
     
    Nunn: I blistered my hands. They were bleeding, so I disappeared from Michael for a couple days and he told on me. Spike was like, ‘What's going on?’ I said, ‘Man, my hands are bleeding. I've got to take a break.’ He said, ‘Yeah, you take a break. You know, November so and so.’ That was like the day after we’re done shooting. Yeah, that was quite a lot on the fingers. Until you develop that callus, you develop blisters, sometimes if you have to go through a lot. There was a lot of playing involved. So that’s a true story. Not calluses on my hands, but I had blisters. Calluses, some, after the blisters. You’ve got to work through the blisters to get to the calluses. I got through them and I got something. You know I was able to just keep playing. I was in an incredible amount of pain. That gave me a break from Michael Fleming. He was really tough.  Michael thought the movie was called Bill Nunn: A Man and His Bass.
     
    Christian: You said you guys were given a small budget to hit the jazz clubs. I understand that from a couple people, you all thought you were a real jazz trio at one point and tried to go up and play?
     
    Nunn: Well, we could jam a little bit. We would go on stage and stuff, fumbling around. As long as we had Jeff “Tain” Watts, we could really play. It would start sounding half way right. Yeah, it got really serious.
     
    Christian: You thought you guys sounded halfway decent?
     
    Nunn: Well, in a kind of garage way. You’ve got Jeff “Tain” watching and playing with you. You can make it sound good. As long as we had Jeff, we were in the ballpark.
     
    Christian: Whose idea was it to go up and actually play at the clubs?
     
    Nunn: We didn't. We didn't go out to any clubs and do that. We’d be filming the scenes in the clubs. Just between takes we’d be standing up there and we’d just start jamming around. All the audience would be there. It was all the extras from the films, and they would just be watching us. We’d be going for it. We were trippin! We were all well dressed, and we looked the part.
     
    Christian: Tell me about your character. I know Spike gave you guys a creative license to kind of do what you wanted. What did you bring to your role?
     
    Nunn: Well, I kind of always had that bottom. You know, the rhythm section of the music. So, I was really, really happy and flattered to be the bass player. I used to play percussion when I was younger and I would always play the bottom section because I was pretty consistent. I could get a good strong beat and keep it. I felt like I was that guy who probably could have been a good bass player if I had gone in that direction. Michael Fleming told me that I was able. I probably could have played a gig by the time we were done shooting the movie, but I was just so burned out. I never really picked up…well, actually, I do sometimes pick up the bass around Christmas time. I might do a party or whatever. I’ll go pull out the bass, because I still have it.
     
    Christian: Wow! You play for the holidays?
     
    Nunn: Yeah, get a little jazz going.
     
    Christian: Now what was going on in your life at the time that the film was being made? I know Spike was on an aggressive schedule where he was doing a movie a year. Like I said, if I'm correct, this was fresh off the heels of your powerful performance in Do the Right Thing. What was happening in your life at the time when you were making Mo Better Blues?
     
    Nunn: I was still a young father. I mean, my daughter was maybe around 6 years old. We had finished doing Do The Right Thing. It opened that summer, and I was in New York for the opening of it. At that time, I used to stay up in Harlem, in Sam Jackson and LaTanya’s basement apartment, because I still lived in Atlanta. When I came to New York, I would stay with them. So right after Do The Right Thing opened, I pretty much stayed in New York and started bass lessons. That was like just a really great time for me. I was lucky to be able to go from film to film like that.
     
    Christian: There’s that Morehouse College connection. You guys are brothers until the end. There’s you, Samuel L. Jackson and Spike, but you guys were a little older than Spike, right?
     
    Nunn: Yeah, but it really blurs because they're – I mean, when you're in the art department, the drama department, you find yourself still hanging around after you're done and you're working with the kids that are coming up. Like, Kenny Leon came up behind us and so we all did theatre together. Spike was a big fan of the theatre scene back then in Atlanta. All of the theater seen came out of the Atlanta University (AU) center. And, Spike would hang around back then and come to a lot of shows and plays we did. I got to know him at that time. He would say he's going to become a filmmaker, and I was saying to myself, ‘Yeah, right,’ but out loud, I would be really encouraging to him. I'm glad I was because he really pulled it off, didn't he?
     
    Christian: Spike certainly did in a major way! What made you think ‘Yeah, right’ when he said, ‘I'm going to be a filmmaker’?
     
    Nunn: Back in those days, it was so different than it is now. I mean Spike was really a pioneer. There weren't any Black filmmakers around. So, do you really think you're going to be the guy? I was at a loss. I didn't know the guy Spike really was. I didn't know the kind of persistence he had. I didn't really know about Spike until I read his book, Gotta Have It: Inside Guerilla Filmmaking. Reading that really showed me the determination it took him to get his first film, She’s Gotta Have It, done. I recommend that to any young filmmaker who wants to know what it takes, it’s a really, really rough process and for him it had to be triple rough because he was Black. It wasn’t like it was 20 years ago. It is a different time now.
     
    Christian: What did you remember during the making of this film? Comedian/actor Robin Harris died. Do you recall doing scenes and seeing him on the set?
     
    Nunn: Absolutely. Yes.
     
    Christian: What are your memories about Robin?
     
    Nunn: I met Robin doing the film Do the Right Thing. We were pretty good buddies then, and I say Robin was kind of like…I thought he was a great guy. He was incredibly funny, and he never really talked about me, luckily. He was like Matt Dillon, and he would have a lot of these young comics come up and challenge him. He was just knocking them down like a gunslinger! It was incredible. He was the undisputed king. I used to love to just sit back and watch. I liked when he would do his little bits of “Being Butterbean” up on stage. Spike would basically turn on the camera and Robin would be Robin. One day me and Denzel were standing in the back, and I'm kind of like standing back where I can't be seen. Denzel steps out and I'm like, ‘Man, you better not step out there or Robin is going to see you.’ Know what I mean? Denzel said, ‘I don't care,’ and he stepped out there. Robin did about 15 minutes on his ass. I was behind the post. He was like, ‘Look at you, man! Your head looks like a question mark.’ Yeah, he just did about 15 on him.
     
    Christian: I'd heard Spike mention that Mo Better Blues was his answer to Clint Eastwood’s Bird. It was a modern version of jazz and showing how people should live or should play, and just showing the reality for a jazz musician. What would you say this movie did for this particular genre?
     
    Nunn: Most of the guys that we hung out with were teachers and kind of old school. We learned about the kind of code among jazz musicians. We learned how they carried themselves, how they dressed, how they played and how they lived their lives. We were, I think, the kind of jazz musicians, at least our characters were, that more or less represented the old school. We were kind of proud to display that for the audience. And, once again, it seems to be one of those films that is a love story, too. There's a lot of other things going on, apart from just music. It's another one of those films that seems to really just hold up. Twenty years later, you can look at the film, and almost other than the haircuts, it's pretty much, it could be today. It just holds up very well.
     
    Christian: Do you keep in touch with any of the people who were in the movie?
     
    Nunn: Yes, I sure do.
     
    Christian: Who are some you keep in touch with?
     
    Nunn: Spike, Sam and Giancarlo [Esposito]. I talk to Denzel [Washington] once in a while. Wesley [Snipes], I haven't seen in a while, but I mean, we’re all really cool. I'd like to see them more but I don't. It’s one of those things that we really became pretty close on that film. When we see each other, we kind of pick it up where we left it off. Most of those guys are pretty busy which is a good thing.
     
    Christian: Anything else you'd like to add that you want people to know about the making of Mo’ Better Blues? Any trivia or tidbits that people would get a kick out of learning?
     
    Nunn: People often ask me, ‘What is your favorite film?’ That’s a hard question to say what is my favorite film that I worked on. But, the most fun I ever had was probably this film. I mean, it was an incredible experience to me to kind of get to live the life of a jazz man for a few months. I thought it was just an incredible experience and I really had a ball on that film. Above all, and I usually enjoy all the films that I do, but I put that one really up there. It was an experience of an actor, getting to live a different lifestyle. They’ve got some beautiful photography from that movie, too. Spike really did some fashion takes in that one.
     
    Christian: What are you working on now?
     
    Nunn: Well, right now I'm in my home town, Pittsburgh. Three years ago I started up the Bill Nunn Theatre Outreach Project. I'm here working with young people. The first semester I worked with young elementary kids and the next semester I worked with high school kids. That’s the big thing I've been working on. I try to do at least a film a year, but I also, I'm kind of dealing with some health issues right now, which kind of have me stuck, for like medical reasons. I'm in treatment right now for cancer. I kind of have to sit tight while I'm dealing with that. But, the beauty of it is, it really gave me the chance to start this project and it kind of just has taken off and has a life of its own. It’s been wonderful working with these young people and I hope that I can do that from now on. That kind of project, I want to continue it. It's like my hobby. It's really been a great experience.

    Christian: Wonderful. Thank you so much and take care.
     
    Nunn: Thank you. Nice talking to you.
     
    Christian: Likewise.
     
    Nunn: Alrighty, bye.

    DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward

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    EBONY Packs Potent Punch With August Ali Tribute Issue

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    Be sure to check out the latest issue of EBONY magazine. The Special Collectors Edition includes tribute stories by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, and actors Don Cheadle and Nate Parker. Ali's daughter, Laila, who followed in her dad's famous footsteps as a boxer, also shares her favorite memories in the August issue. I contributed two articles in this commemorative package as well, while Dr. Marc Lamont Hill served as guest editor.

    DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward
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    Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali Talked The Talk And Walked The Walk  (1942-2016)

    “It’s lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges and I believe in myself.”

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    They called him the G.O.A.T. for good reason. His epic boxing bouts are etched in history, yet one must never forget how many of Ali’s greatest fights seemed to inevitably take place outside of the ring. A devout Muslim, his world heavyweight title was taken away in 1967 and he was suspended from boxing for three and a half years for refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army because of his religious beliefs. When Ali returned to the ring in 1974, the odds seemed stacked against the 32-year-old, deemed too old then, as he prepared to battle the 25-year-old reigning champ George Foreman for what would become the Rumble in the Jungle. Most believed Ali was ill prepared to face Foreman, a fellow Olympic gold medalist like himself and man who had 40 wins with 37 knockouts! But Ali believed in himself and that’s where it counted most. In fact, after his win, he once said, “Some were asking, ‘Can Allah save Ali?’ What do you mean can Allah save Ali? Allah can save nations. They were putting God on the spot. It would have been terrible if I had got myself beat.” And in 2014, when I wrote a story in honor of the 40th anniversary of the historic match in Africa, Foreman reminded me about the measure of a man that Ali truly was. His diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 1984 placed a spotlight on the neurodegenerative disorder, showcasing that he might have been down physically but he was never out spiritually. Each day of his life was a new battle but his faith carried him until the very end of his 74 years of life. What more could one ask of the Greatest Of All Time.

    The Ultimate Test Of Faith
    Rumble in the Jungle

    That's What Friends Are For

    One might call Muhammad Ali the original rapper. His witty rhymes and humorous verbal jabs were just as powerful and memorable as his punches. So when Ali could no longer talk, his best friend, Howard Bingham, a man who speaks with a stutter, would become Ali's most beautiful voice. "I speak to him everyday and I understand him,"Bingham once told me in 2011. That's called the language of love.

    DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward
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    Holding Court: The Gift Prince's Mother Bestowed Upon Him

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    Anyone who worked at Johnson Publishing Company (JPC) before 2005 knew LaDoris Foster. With a career spanning nearly 50 years at JPC, she was vice president and director of human resources. Like me, she was born in St. Louis; however, by the age of 10, her family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. It was no secret to those who worked at 820 S. Michigan Ave. how much she loved basketball. Not only did Miss Foster--as everyone called her--have court side seats to every Chicago Bulls game, but she could also enjoy a seat in the company’s private suite if she so desired.


    Foster, who died April 21, 2005, is probably best remembered as a no-nonsense person with a tough exterior, though she had a softer side that few rarely saw. I can still see her face, glowing from sheer delight, as she once recalled to me her days as a teen in Minnesota. The conversation went something like this: “I used to play basketball with Prince’s mother, Mattie, and her twin sister, Edna. We played basketball for neighboring teams [from housing projects]. Mattie and Edna were known as ‘the Shaw twins.’ Everyone knew them because they were two of the best players.” She continued with a chuckle, “The girls did not like them because they were jealous. Not only could the Shaw twins play basketball well but they were very pretty with light skin and long hair. The girls gave them a hard time. But nobody could beat them on the court.”


    This story made me smile. Throughout the years, people heard how Prince played basketball in high school and often caught a glimpse of him sitting court side at various NBA games.  When Dave Chappelle did a comedy spoof in an episode of his “Chappelle Show” about an encounter with Prince during a basketball game, viewers loved it. The best part was that it was actually based on truth, involving Prince’s winning game between his crew and bodyguard-turned-comedian Charlie Murphy and his crew. But, if you thought Chappelle’s skit was funny, wait until you read what's below. Let’s just say Prince could hold ROYAL court with the best of them, especially the ballers in the hood! I guess one might say, "He got it from his momma."



    The following story was written by Harlan "Hucky" Austin, who served for seven years as Director of Security Services at Prince's Paisley Park Productions. The piece originated on his former site called TruePrinceStories.


    I used to play basketball with some of my boys from the hood. We’d get a few guys together to play every Wednesday night. These games were always a lot of fun, and could get pretty colorful in terms of smack-down talk. Prince caught wind of these games, and one day asked me, “How come you never invite me to play?” He asked if he could join in on a game. I was surprised, but I knew that Prince liked to play basketball, in fact his brother, Duane Nelson, was an All-State basketball player. Prince’s lyrics [in Lady Cab Driver], “I wish I were handsome and tall like my brother,” were truthful. Duane was a towering basketball star.


    Now, my crew and I were just “regular guys” so Prince’s request presented something of a dilemma. Because he’d become so famous, putting together a simple game of hoops was not just a matter of picking a court and playing. This task would require me to discover my inner “Julie McCoy”–you know, that girl from Love Boat–who was always putting together events and people? This gathering had to be on the down-low. No flash, no calling undue attention to the game. I made a private reservation after-hours so that Prince could play without any fans or bother. The Powder Horn Park Gym was happy to accommodate us. The next hurdle was choosing the right guys to make a full team; these had to be guys who wouldn’t blab to their friends or the media. I recruited my trusted buddy Gary Webster first off and asked him to help me find guys to play. Of course, there was Duane Nelson and Gilbert Davidson. The other guys we invited we’re Rob Johnson, Pat Adams, Scott Marsh and Marvin Bond. We needed just one more guy and Davie Lewis came to mind. Davie was a great athlete; I’d known him since 5th grade and he was a competitive dude. If you looked up the word “Testosterone” in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of him. It crossed my mind that he might be a bit of a problem, but we decided to go with him and set some specific “rules” for the game as a way of keeping him in check. Unbeknownst to me, this was like asking a bull not to charge when there’s a red cape flapping in the wind.


    The guidelines for the game were: no guests, no girls, no shit talking, and no getting overly physical. We were all big guys and our games could get pretty intense. We went over the rules again on the court before Prince arrived. They all agreed to them but as I found out later, Davie made the comment to Gary “I’m gonna block his shit as soon as we start playing.”


    The guys all arrived at the court in sweats and T-shirts, the usual basketball attire. We awaited Prince’s arrival at the appointed time. Well, a long blue limo pulls up (so much for keeping things on the down low) and Prince steps out with two friends. He was a vision in black. He wore a black shirt with long purple lace sleeves, black shorts with a belt around his waist that was 6 inches wide with a huge gold medal buckle the size of a dinner plate, long black tights under the shorts and what looked like Chuck Taylor shoes and socks. I turned to the guys, giving them all a significant evil eye that suggested they’d better not say a word.


    We start playing. Let me make this perfectly clear; Prince can hoop. What the guy might lack in height he makes up for in quickness and he has a nice jumper. Clearly, the guy’s got game. Davie is guarding him and Prince is schooling him. After awhile, the other guys on the team start talking smack and giving the big guy all kinds of grief about it. Prince is killing Davie and you can see he’s getting more and more frustrated. His nostrils were flaring; he’s stomping around clearly pissed off. The wisecracks continue until Davie can’t take it any longer. Toward the end of the game Prince goes up to shoot another jump shot and Davie charges. He hurls his 6 feet and 215 pounds of raging bull into the air to block it. He HAMMERS Prince and the basketball goes flying into the far wall as Prince falls into the bleachers and Davie hollers at the top of his voice, "THAT SHIT IS OUTTA HERE!"


    The silence that followed was deafening. Nobody moved; nobody said a word. All you could hear was Davie panting. Needless to say, he was ejected from the game. His departing words were, "I told you I was gonna block that fuckin’ shot." All-in-all, the game was a good time. I still laugh when I think about how “The Purple One” made Davie see red.


    LaDoris Foster played basketball as a teen with Prince’s mother and his aunt. She died in 2005 on April 21, the same day as Prince.
    Mattie Della Baker (Shaw) was Prince’s mother and had exceptional basketball skills as a teen. She died February 15, 2002.
    Prince is shown with his mother’s twin sister, his aunt Edna Mae “Renee” Collier (Shaw), who was also skillful on the court. She died seven months after her twin sister on September 14, 2002.
    Harlan “Hucky” Austin, Prince’s ex-bodyguard, learned the hard way that his boss was a beast in basketball.
    Austin once penned a story about how Prince schooled some guys playing street ball.
    I greet Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, who was Prince’s favorite basketball player. In 2013 I wrote an Ebony magazine cover story with Wade and, at that time, his two sons, Zaire and Zion.
    Tweets from Wade’s Twitter page, posted on May 2, 2016.
    Moral of the story: Never judge a book by its cover. Prince got his music skills from his dad but hoop skills rubbed off from his mom and aunt.

    True Love Never Dies

    Image description
    • During a 2002 Chicago concert shortly after the February 15 death of his mother, Mattie Della Baker (Shaw), Prince played Anna Stesia, his mom’s favorite song. The title is a play on words with anaesthesia, which is an induced temporary state of unconsciousness that produces numbness to relieve discomfort. Essentially, the song begins down a dark path into lust and sexuality with a man acknowledging how he’s using sex or drugs to numb pain.  Realizing that he is heading in the wrong direction, he turns to a woman named Anna, whom he wants to teach him about another kind of love that is more satisfying. He wants to learn about the love of God. The tune, featured on his tenth studio album, 1988’s Lovesexy, ultimately ends as a soul-stirring gospel melody.

    • Vanity (Denise Matthews), Prince’s ex-lover and protege who fronted the female trio Vanity 6, died at 57 on February 15, the same day that his mother succumbed 14 years earlier. I interviewed the singer formerly known as Vanity in Jet magazine’s November 26, 2007 issue. By this time calling herself Evangelist Denise Matthews, she told me he was the only man she ever truly loved. Denise, the birth name that she only answered to after turning her life over to Christ, read some of her writings to me and then said, “Prince loved to hear my stories. He likes the way that I write.” I could hear in her voice the love she still had for him. She even told me how she was struggling financially due to severe health challenges but turned down millions because she refused to do a tell-all book about their relationship. At the end of our conversation, Denise told me, “I look forward to hopefully seeing him in the future. I’m waiting for God to supernaturally hook us up. I would love to see his face. I’ve been praying for Prince a very long time and I believe he’s praying for me. God does supernatural things because He’s able.” During the opening night of Prince’s Piano and a Microphone solo tour in Australia on February 16, he paid tribute to her. He told the audience how her death was heavy on him; perhaps he also thought about his mother. One might not ever know for sure. Sadly, Prince died at 57 on April 21. Looks like Denise's words were prophetic, because she received her hook up and now sees his face. God does supernatural things indeed.

    DocM.A.C. signing off. Keep the faith and always trust the process. #OnwardUpward
  • Published on

    Writing For Digital And New Media Course Makes History At The University Of Illinois At Chicago

    Meet The Pioneers

    Dulce Jazmin Hernandez "Sweet Opinion"
    Hristo Bojilov "The Architect"
    Francisca Corona "The Publicity Powerhouse"
    Miguel Andrade "The Motivator"
    Alondra Cambray Pena "The Ambitionist"
    Hugo Novales "The Architect"
    Chatelaine Dunord "The Visualist"
    Christian Henmueller "Snicker"
    Olga Ziminska "Cosplay Enthusiast"
    Tikia Travis "The Editor"
    Teddy Wilson Gargiulo "The Loganite"
    H. Jullie Han "The Stargazer"
    Richard Gonzalez "The Perfectionist"
    Maria Canchola "The Practical Introvert"
    Bernadine Williams "The Perpetuator"
    Jacob Annett "Introspective Investigator"
    Jean Choi "The Bookworm"
    Rachel Knowles "The Creative"
    Writing for digital and new media is a sure bet for big bucks.
    What story are you looking to write next?
    The ladies got information and in formation when it came to gathering content.
    Get prepared to go toe-to-toe for a bit of friendly competition.
    They entered the course this spring hoping to learn innovative writing techniques to produce a multitude of content online. It is safe to say they got that and a whole lot more when 18 students landed a spot in history at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) by taking the first-ever English 383: Writing For Digital And New Media course. The class is taught by lecturer Dr. Margena A. Christian.

    Students explore aspects of media convergence and methods for backpack journalism. They also examine journalism ethics, standards and law along with being required to produce original content, including a final feature writing project that includes a story, images and video footage.

    “When I first signed up for the class with Dr. Christian, I thought it would be just that: just another class,” said Rachel Knowles, a student in the course, “but after we began writing, I became so inspired that I went ahead and started my own blog – PrettyCityLiving. It’s been so fun to just get creative and have a voice. I definitely encourage others to take the course.”

    The culminating project, a website that includes a blog component, is designed and created by each student. To view online portfolios of each student, click on his/her image above.

    Richard Gonzalez, another student in the groundbreaking class, said,
    "This course gave me hands-on experience that no writing course at UIC has given me before."

    The university describes the course as teaching "rhetorical, practical and ethical aspects of digital writing; digital literacy, and the use of digital platforms in professional environment." Jacob Annett, also a member of the inaugural class, said, "Most English classes focus on abstract analysis and theory, but 383 gives me real tools outside of the classroom environment."

    To view online portfolios of each student, click on his/her image above.

    Before one can take English 383, the person must first complete English 202: Media and Professional Writing, which provides "media analysis and writing, including interviews, news, features, and public relations communications." Dr. Christian teaches the Tuesday/Thursday section. Below, click on each image to view online portfolios for her students.

    The English 383 class, implemented as part of the Professional Writing concentration under the English major and minor, will be offered again in Spring 2017.  In the meantime, three additional new courses in the Professional Writing program include the following: Editing and Publishing (ENGL 382), Technical Writing (ENGL 384), and Advanced Professional Writing (ENGL 381), a course also taught by Dr. Christian.

    For more information about this UIC course or any others listed, contact Dr. Jennifer Rupert at (312) 413-2217 or e-mail at Jruper1@uic.edu.
    Picture
    We want you! Let's keep making history.
    English 202: Media and Professional Writing
    Bernadine Williams
    Jaime Santana
    Sarah Wotaszak
    Hala Darayyad
    H. Jullie Han
    Nicholas Pozo
    Nicole Prorok
    Spencer Schamun
    Wyatt Augustyniak
    Rebeca Jurado
    Alex Kim
    Antoinette Clough
    Brendon Kolodziej
    Anthony Tran