web analytics

Pop Rock Nation

Tag: El DeBarge

  • A review of The Kept Ones by Bunny DeBarge…

    A review of The Kept Ones by Bunny DeBarge…

    Todays’ post is a review of The Kept Ones, a book by Bunny DeBarge…

    For years, I wanted to purchase a copy of The Kept Ones, a book written by Etterline “Bunny” DeBarge of the 1980s family band DeBarge. Having been a child of the 1970s and 80s, I had been exposed to the music Bunny DeBarge made with her brothers, including Eldra “El” DeBarge, who had enjoyed a decent solo career for awhile, and James DeBarge, who was once married to Janet Jackson. I actually put this book on my Amazon.com wish list in 2008, but it was only recently that I bought it. That’s because until recently, it was only available from third party sellers, who wanted an exorbitant amount of money for the book.

    Having finished The Kept Ones last week, I can say that I’m glad I resisted the urge to pay a lot for this book. In fact, the $17 I did pay for it was too much. Yes, I was very curious about the DeBarge family, but The Kept Ones didn’t really satisfy my curiosity. Bunny DeBarge does write a bit about how she and her siblings got into the music business, but the main gist of the book is about Bunny’s faith in God, her dabbling in recreational drugs, and her abusive father. Moreover, it’s not at all a well-written book.

    Bunny DeBarge writes that she was the firstborn child of a white father and black mother. Robert and Etterline “Mama” DeBarge married in 1953, at a time when interracial relationships were still very taboo. Bunny DeBarge was born in Detroit, Michigan on March 15, 1955 and was soon followed by eight brothers and a sister. Aside from siring all those children with his wife, Robert DeBarge also had affairs. Bunny writes that she has two more siblings from another relationship her father had while he was still married to her mother. The DeBarge family originated in Detroit, but moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan when Bunny was a teenager.

    While the DeBarge children were blessed with musical talent and a loving mother who had a strong belief in God, they had a father who was constantly in trouble. Being biracial was difficult for the DeBarge children. Bunny says they felt like “mixed race freaks” with their French, black, and Cherokee heritage. Nevertheless, the children did attend their mother’s church and that is where Bunny first started singing. She later developed a talent for songwriting.

    In 1978, oldest son Robert “Bobby” DeBarge and a friend, Gregory Williams, left DeBarge to start a funk band called Switch. Switch had a hit song called “There’ll Never Be”, which started the DeBarge family on its musical journey. Tommy DeBarge later joined Switch, but the following year, both Bobby and Tommy DeBarge left Switch to mentor their siblings as they started their own band.


    Switch performs “There’ll Never Be” on Soul Train.


    DeBarge performs “I Like It” on Soul Train.

    If you were around in the early 80s, you know that DeBarge was successful. They had a string of hits, including “All This Love”…

    and “Rhythm Of The Night”…

    DeBarge enjoyed immense popularity, but the family was not without its personal problems. As a teenager, Bunny DeBarge was sexually molested and physically abused by her father. Her brothers abused drugs, as did Bunny, who got pregnant by a boyfriend and also dropped out of school in 1972 to marry her first husband. Bobby DeBarge later contracted AIDS from intravenous drug use and eventually succumbed to the disease. He also told Bunny that he was gay, which was a huge bombshell to this very religious family.

    I thought Bunny DeBarge’s story was mostly interesting, though despite her songwriting talent, I wasn’t at all impressed by the writing in The Kept Ones. There are a lot of typos, misspelled words, and awkward sentence constructions in this book. Bunny mixes up words like “cost” and “caused” and writes in a slang style that isn’t quite correct. She also writes of having the chance to attend Interlochen, a very prestigious music school and camp in Michigan. Because she was abusing drugs at the time, she didn’t end up going to Interlochen, which she spells more than once as “Interlockin”. I was sad for her that she didn’t get to go to Interlochen, though if she was spelling it repeatedly as “Interlockin”, she probably didn’t want to go anyway.

    In any case, The Kept Ones is worth reading if you are interested in learning about the DeBarge family. However, it’s not a well-written book and likely would have been much better had Bunny DeBarge hired an editor or a ghost writer. She and her brothers are without a doubt very talented musicians, though, and I hope there will be more music from them and their children in the years to come.

    So ends a review of The Kept Ones by Bunny DeBarge.

  • GG’s Look Back At 2010

    I can’t let Paul do all the work right? If you haven’t been following, Paul has put together an exhausting list of his top 100 songs of 2010. You can read his latest, which is Part Nine.

    My lists aren’t going to be exhaustive at all. In fact, they’ll be at most, five long.

    I loved looking back through my iTunes collection and remember all the stuff that I (and my kids) bought in 2010.

    Most Fun Album Of 2010

    3. Big Boi: Sir Lucious Left Foot… The Son Of Chico Dusty
    You know where artists are really killing it these days? Video games. Big Boi’s Shutterbug is all over the new NBA 2K video game and whenever it comes on, my kids and I start nodding our heads while getting ready to play some cyber hoops. Most of the new album is that fun. It’s video game fun.

    2. Bruno Mars: Doo-Wops & Hooligans
    I had this one on my radar from day one, but I was a bit apprehensive at listening to an entire album of his work. While it’s not going to grab you and make you think, it’s very charming and engaging. The dude just gets how to write music that people enjoy listening to. That’s the entire game right there.

    1. B.o.B.: B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray
    I asked at least two people what they thought about this one before hitting that purchase button on iTunes. It became the most played record in my collection for 2010. Airplanes, part 2 with Eminem, Nothin’ On You, Magic, Past My Shades, and Don’t Let Me Fall would’ve all been on any kind of favorite songs of the year list had I considered to make one.

    Most Disappointing Album Of The Year

    3. Maroon 5: Hands All Over
    I’ve wondered if these guys would turn into a modern version of Huey Lewis & The News. I’d be totally fine with that. But there’s something missing. Like a wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Huey seemed to be in on the joke, while Adam Levine seems to take this stuff way too seriously. There are some fun songs on this album, but not enough.

    2. Christina Aguilera: Bionic
    I’m not quite sure what she was trying to do here. It’s kind of messy and all over the place. But I’ll give her a mulligan. She’s recently had a child and then divorced her husband, all while trying to do the music and movies thing. She’s quite ambitious, but not entirely bionic enough to succeed thus far based on this album and Burlesque feedback.

    1. Usher: Raymond Vs. Raymond
    Just when you thought this dude was growing up, he took a bad left turn somewhere at “Bieber Avenue”. Some of his little buddy Justin’s songs were more mature than the filth that sludges around this album. The guy is in his 30s now, has babies, and is whoring himself out all over this album. I guess that’s what happens to artists who panic when they start to lose the teeny bopper audience.

    Most Overrated Album Of The Year

    1. Eminem: Recovery
    There’s really only one album that fits the bill for me. Kanye’s new album is overrated to an extent and I’ll explain that in a bit, and I never fully got into Drake’s album even though it was well received, but this is the only album I bought all year long where I felt that the praise wasn’t all deserved. To be fair, this is Eminem’s best work in years. But in no way should he get free passes at this point in his career. For all the folks who say he’s back, I say that he’s still the same dude, but just with better direction this time.

    Favorite Songs Of The Year

    3. Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour): Jay-Z, Bono, The Edge, & Rihanna
    This song fell under the radar because of how early it came out in 2010, but also because it’s basically a song for charity. But it’s excellent. I’m not sure there was more star power on any song in 2010. But with that star power came an understanding about how to make it about the song and the purpose, which is why I think it works so well. Never before (at least to my ears) have Jay-Z and Bono been so understated.

    2. The Other Side: Bruno Mars, Cee Lo Green, and B.o.B.
    It’s the very last track on Mars’ debut album, and it also very well might be the best track on the album. Shame on me for not having purchased Cee Lo’s new album, but I was put off by his gimmicky single. But here you have three artists who brought it in 2010, working together to create a jam and a half.

    1. Enrique Iglesias featuring Pit Bull: I Like It
    Ok, I was just seeing who was paying attention. Here’s the real number 1.

    1. One In A Million: Ne-Yo
    The biggest heap of praise I can give this song is that it’s the best Michael Jackson-like song that I’ve heard from the recent batch of artists who owe their entire careers to MJ. It’s just too bad that Ne-Yo’s current album couldn’t bring the same fire as this.

    Favorite Albums Of The Year

    5. El DeBarge: Second Chance
    This came out late in the year, but if you want to hear straight up R&B the way they used to do it in the old days, this is where you go. There are a couple of guest rappers on it, including 50 Cent who is also featured on Michael Jackson’s posthumous work, but they don’t ruin it. El’s album is the R&B album of the year.

    (By the way, what does that say about 50’s career that two of his most memorable 2010 moments are bad verses on albums of artists who were hot like fire in the 80s?)

    4. The Black Keys: Brothers
    My man Big Money Mike hipped me to these guys, but it wasn’t until I read an article about Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney and their semi-dysfunctional relationship in Rolling Stone, did I decide to dig in. And I’m glad I did. Their music isn’t poppy enough for me to throw on for a long drive with the kids, but if you throw on your headphones and get lost in it, they’ll take you on quite the journey.

    3. B.o.B.: B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures Of Bobby Ray
    I think I’ve already said enough about this dude. Maybe I should run his PR.

    2. Kanye West: My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
    Here’s where I’m going to get flack. I’m a Kanye fan. I’ve been with him from day one. His new album is pretty darn brilliant. But I think people are overlooking what he says because of how fantastic it sounds. The guy’s rhyme game is definitely improving. And when you hang out with Jay-Z, it should improve simply by osmosis right? What I don’t get about this album is that he’s talking about slapping and hurting women consciously and we’re giving him the ok to do it. I think dude definitely has major issues and needs to grow up.

    I get that it’s an act and that he’s playing a character, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it.

    All of that being said, it’s now my second favorite album of his, even with the issues I have with it. Late Registration will still get more play time on my iPod, but this will definitely have a long life. I get amped up every time I hear So Appalled.

    1. The Roots: How I Got Over
    The Roots are the most consistently good act in music. They were able to juggle their new gig of being Jimmy Fallon’s house band with creating new music that stayed true to their roots, which I think is the point. Maybe their new album should’ve been titled Bionic.

    Thanks for reading and have a happy, and safe start to 2011.

  • First Listen: Kristinia DeBarge “Goodbye”

    debarge

    That last name looks familiar, doesn’t it?

    Well, it should. Newcomer Kristinia DeBarge is the daughter of James DeBarge, who was 1/5 of the act containing his three brothers and sister back in the early Eighties. For those who can’t pick the members apart, he was the one who was briefly married to Janet Jackson.

    Anyway, Kristinia’s debut single is called “Goodbye”, and it’s pretty interesting insofar as that her record label sounds like they’re trying hard to pitch her as the next Rihanna. First, there’s the look. Same skin tone, similar facial structure. Then there’s the song itself. Using the well-known “nananana…hey hey hey” refrain from the Steam song “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye”, it’s bound to appeal to kids who’ve heard the original song at a sporting event or something of that nature. Musically, it bears distinct similarities to Rihanna’s “S.O.S.”, from the song’s tempo to the bed of icy synthesizers that dominates the arrangement.

    Folks, because I’m a good guy and it’s Friday, you will have three videos to feast your eyes on.

    First up, here’s a YouTube vid playing Kristinia’s song while the lyrics flash on a screen. Guess they haven’t shot an actual video clip yet…

    Here’s Rihanna’s “S.O.S.” video. Check out the similarities, huh?

    That song’s still a banger. Finally, here’s Kristinia’s dad in action as a member of DeBarge. Look for them in an upcoming installment of Respect Due.

    James is fourth from the left, right before lead singer El.