Miami booms
with teen artists

Dark Boyz Productions to feature three groups on Miami label

By CHERYL YOUNG
Miami Carol City High School

Don't let the adult voices and looks of the latest musicians fool you. Artists like Aaliyah, Dru Hill, Hanson, Ray-J and even country songstress Leann Rimes are all just teenagers performing professionally, with their own personal '90s style.

Keeping up with these national artists are Miami's own teenage performers. These groups are trying their best to get discovered and become successful.

Browny Bienaimi, chief executive officer of Dark Boyz Productions, features three teen artists under his Miami label. Blocka-D and Mixa make up the male reggae group II Rude. The other artists are Fabbiene, an R&B female soloist, and a male rap group, which Browny (as he prefers) wishes to keep quiet.

Browny spotted II Rude at a radio station performing a freestyle (musical improvisation) and offered them a record deal. He has been working with them for seven months. Browny has been recording with Fabbiene for about five months and heard about her through a friend.

Practicing and working in the studio almost every day, Fabbiene and II Rude have performed at Club Amnesia on Miami Beach, and at the Orange Bowl, which hosted Black Power Day.

"The image I look for is being real," Browny said. "I sense them out before I give a response. I try to look into the person's mind to see if they're hungry enough for this entertainment business.

"Sometimes teenagers would come into the business with an attitude," he said. "They should know the difference between being an artist, which is an act, and reality which is how they are."

Right now, Browny's management is looking into featuring his young artists with major groups, such as reggae artist Lady Saw and rapper Redman. But for now, Fabbiene will perform at Tangerines, a North Miami restaurant and jazz club, on July 10. II Rude has a summer sampler CD that's already out.

A student at Miami Carol City High, 17-year-old Moses Washington says his group/band, Da Realiz, is trying hard to get a break in the music industry. Four of the group's five male members; one is 21.

"It's a lot of work and dedication. It's also a lot of hard practice," said Washington. "Our image is not to be ashamed of what you do. Teens don't really know what they want out of life in the music industry, which is why a lot of producers dislike dealing with people our age. But adults who are artists usually know what they want."

Da Realiz performs music from rap to R&B and gospel. It started out performing in local talent shows and is now performing in churches. The members practice every Wednesday at the R&R Production studio.

"It's not hard for young groups to get started in the business. It's more of a question of talent," said Michael Sterling, president of the Miami-based studio Darkside Entertainment.

But things are not so easy for some.

Rocking the alternative sounds from Miami Palmetto High is 16-year-old Matt Friedlander. While performing with his first group, Shadow of Amkats, Friedlander recorded in a studio, performed in the club Cheers in South Miami and at Spec's in Coconut Grove. Now working with a different band, No Vacancy, Friedlander said he has drawn great attention from friends and others.

"It's very hard to catch a break, especially in Miami. Producers may not be interested because when contracts are signed, things are followed by that, such as touring. They may feel teens aren't reliable," said Friedlander.

"It's really difficult to get started in this business," said Phil Michals, of radio station WHQT-Hot 105. "Unfortunately, it's who you know that would help you get a record deal.

There's a circle of people who help you get to where you have to go. Most groups don't make it.

Producers don't like dealing with teens because of immaturity or big egos."

Michals hosts a show called Hot 105 Homegrown. This show features aspiring local artists. The groups that have been featured on his show include Absoloot, Hush Brothers, Edwin Miller, Nikki, Strawberri and Til' Dawn.

The show airs every Sunday at 6:15 p.m.

By KRISTIN VILLASUSO
Lourdes Academy

The following article is chillin', down, phat, awesome, and fly. If this is difficult to understand, read on.

Slang, says Webster's, is informal use of words in a more playful and vivid way, often figuratively.

Through the years, teen slang has changed frequently. For example, a bummer used to mean a lazy man. Kids today use it to mean boring.

"The cool thing about slang is that your friends always understand you and your parents don't," said Jenny Hornik, a sophomore at Ransom Everglades. "It's like we have our own language apart from our parents."

The following is an alphabet of slang used by teens in the '90s:

Awesome. Something that is great.

Bomb and bad. Da' bomb means something is really good or awesome. Bad is used in many ways. "My bad" means "my mistake." Something that is "bad" is also good or da' bomb. Still confused? Keep reading. "It's funny," said Jerry Prieto, a junior at Belen Jesuit. "Today kids use the word bad when something is good and bad nowadays. Sometimes it can get confusing."

Chill and cheesy. If someone is chillin', they are relaxing and chill means "calm down." Cheesy is pathetic, or corny.

Dip, down, and drag. When one dips, he or she leaves somewhere. If people dip, they are drags, or people who are boring. On the other hand, if one is down, he or she a is not a drag because if a person is down, he is cool.

Fly. That describes a person who is cool and popular or who always knows the most in-style things.

Ghetto style. This is a fashion statement consisting of baggy clothes, cars with hydraulics, and listening to music with heavy bass.

Hottie and hoochie. Hottie is the latest term for a cute guy, while a hoochie is someone who dresses provocatively.

It's all good. This meaning is literal. When something is turning out well, it's all good.

Jock. Jocking a person is thinking that he is a hottie. Lusting over someone is another way of explaining the jocking process.

Like and laters. Like is used for no reason. It can be plugged in anywhere in a sentence. "She was, like... I was, like...and we were all, like." Laters is one way of saying good-bye when exiting a room. "Just saying good-bye can get so boring," said Lisa Plummer, a senior at Sunset High.

Mac Daddy. A person is considered the Mac or Mac Daddy when he or she is cool and has accomplished something special like finding the address for the most awesome party of the year.

NOT! By adding this word to the end of any sentence, the total opposite meaning is conveyed. "I remember towards the beginning of the '90s everyone ended their sentences with 'not'," said Jackie Tobon, a junior at Lourdes Academy. "That is a really cool outfit. NOT!"

Outtie. This is a term used in the 1995 movie "Clueless," as in "I'm outtie," which is said when a person is dipping. It can also be said, "I'm outta here." Outtie is also the name for a protruding belly button.

Phat. It is pronounced like fat but the two are not related. Phat means something is chill.

Spaz. This is a person who is not considered normal and might have a nervous tick or a compulsion. Michael Glassman, a sophomore at Sunset High, said, "I said that my little brother was acting like a spaz and my parents started yelling at me for making fun of him, but they had no idea what I meant."

WHATever and whatever. This word can be said whenever a teen is straining for something to say and nothing comes to mind. It can also be used as a pause in between words. For example: "She was like at a party and her outfit was like WHATever. Then she left and went home and like whatever"'

Teens in the '90s have also taken a new approach to slang by using numbers through beeper codes.

The following are some examples of commonly used beeper codes: 143 (I love you), 45 (good night), 47 (good morning), 808 (best of buds), 123 (I miss you), 4236 (call me now please), 823 (thinking of you), 44 (good luck), 25 (I'm sorry).

Well, like, laters because this article is outtie. WHATever!

Artist Jeff Sorrientino (below) of South Miami's Tattoos
by Lou.





Scott Clark / Montage Staff
Tattoos and body piercing are popular among teens. The
art dates back to 3000 B.C.

Ancient art comes
from Pacific islands

By RICHARD VEGA
Homestead High School

A modern-day tattoo shop facing loud, traffic-jammed South Dixie Highway is a long way from a small hut in an island during 5000 B.C., where tattoos were said to originate.

Though tattooing today might raise a few eyebrows, it was common in the Pacific islands of Marquesas, Tahiti and Tupi. Picture the ancient tribes of natives, hunting and cultivating the land. The small villages with huts made out of bamboo and palm branches. The tattoos.

The word tattoo comes from the word "tupi," meaning a wounding of the skin.

"I never realized that tattooing had so much history, I just thought it was grungy thing that started a few years ago," said Roberto Ruiz, 17.

Egyptians and many African tribes performed this art of self-expression as well. There are traces of red dies and pigments found in vases dating back to 3000 B.C. that might have been used in the body marking and designs which reflected their culture, beliefs and traditions.

Today's teenagers give many reasons for having their bodies tattooed.

"Just the fact that I could rebel against someone who tells me not to do it is why I got my tattoo," said Johan Cabral, 18, who has a tattoo of a snake wrapped around a writing quill on the back of his right shoulder.

Tattooing is can be an art form, in addition to a way of self expression.

"I like my tattoo of the rose with the thorns, because I feel as if it makes a statement about myself and makes me be different from everyone else," said Diana Davis, 19.

Tattooing had many different meanings to the cultures and tribes that began it. Some ancient tribes believed that body marking would ward off evil spirits and that it would help them acquire fertility. Tattooing also helped camouflage unclothed body parts when hunting. Many images used in early times, such as crosses, Japanese writing and patterns imitating animals' skin, are still popular.

Later, kings, queens and other royalty turned tattooing into a symbol of elegance and prestige. Some of the Grand Dukes of Russia had images of a dagger symbolizing power on the backs of their left shoulders. Khedive Abbas II of Egypt had a tattoo. Prince George of Greece had a flying dragon on his right arm. Queen Olga and Princess Anne of Bourbon had small family markings on their backs.

"I didn't realize when I got my tattoo of a Chinese dragon that some king in the Middle Ages could have worn the same one," said Christopher Ladwig, 21.

Today, reasons for and attitudes toward tattoos have changed. The images in tattoos are more negative, with snakes and skull heads very popular. People began to look at the body art through different eyes.

"I feel bad because people tend to segregate you and stereotype you and sort of place you on the side, but lately people have been accepting it more and more," said tattoo artist Jeff Sorrientino, who works at Tattoos by Lou, 9300 S. Dixie Highway.

But many still choose the images made popular centuries ago -- Japanese writing, suns, moons, dragons -- making the tattoo a window to the past.