Sayin' Nothin'

Getting a national recording artist to appear on a local TV show usually took days of negotiation with record label, road managers and video promoters. Despite our honest attempts to do things the right way, sometimes we got left holding the mic. This is about some of those times.

The following artists never appeared on Wavelength. The majority of these rappers or their representatives neglected to fulfill prearranged agreements, for various reasons. At the D.B. Center, I have learned the relevance of forgiveness in a successful rehabilitation. So as soon as these people or their former representatives ask for it, they'll get it.

We never played with a Yo-Yo
Her road manager explained that the president of I.B.W. had laryngitis after putting on a lackluster show at Ivory's Uptown Lounge. I would have believed him is she hadn't been chatting it up with her girlfriend in the background. What up with that, Yo?

Ya Bad, Chubbs
The Chubbster put us off. After setting things up with his road manager, the rotound rapper kept me at bay with, "In a minute, G. In a minute," for about half an hour, as he chatted with a police officer. The vice-president of his record label apologized and sent a box of t-shirts. I'm still a fan ... of his music.

Apache really ain't sht
While I may not remember more than the title of his one hit, I'll never forget what went down with Apache. Mr. "Gangsta Bitch" hollered "No!" and left us standing on the curb as his van sped off. Other people may have forgotten Apache, but we won't.

Who missed the shoot? Grand Puba
Puba Maxwell was reportedly several hours late to shoot photographs for the cover of his album, so why should he show up for an interview or a concert on time? But this time, Puba wasn't late enough. As his van pulled in front of the nightclub where he was scheduled to perform several hours prior, gunfire erupted. Nobody got shot and nobody performed.

What What?
I cut out of my girlfriend's graduation party to go interview one half of the rap group CNN, Noreaga. His people never called back. Someone thoughtful at Tommy Boy apologized and sent me a jacket with their upside down dancer logo. It never fit quite right, but I still have it.