BY BILL VAUGHAN
Contributing Columist
Columbus Post

J. August Richards gained a starring role in the first season of Angel as Charles Gunn, a streetwise vampire hunter. His character quickly became one of the most popular in the Buffyverse as he overcame his own reservations of fighting alongside the vampire Angel, the one thing he detested. Upon seeing the heart of the operation, Gunn became a key player in the fight against evil. Richards is currently portraying attorney Marcus McGrath in the TNT series Raising the Bar.

Q. Did you like the way Angel ended?
A. “I loved it. Apparently a lot of other people
didn’t, but I did. I look at so many shows out there
right now. True Blood. Twilight. They’re just Buffy
The Vampire Slayer] and Angel. It’s the same
exact thing. It’s amazing but for some reason people
love that story which really ain’t nothing but
Romeo and Juliet told with the vampire and the
human girl. They could at least make it a
little different. [Our producer] Josh
[Whedon] should be collecting checks. I
found out some things that were going to
happen to my character now have happened
in the comic book. People tell me I
turn into a vampire and become a villian,
which would be hot. I would hope that my
character would turn into a vampire and
then I would kill myself. That would be
the perfect way to end that character.”

Q. Did you get flack about your interracial
relationship on Angel?
A. “You know what? Never. Let me tell
you about that. I knew my character was
going to be hooking up with the white girl
on the show for a few weeks before I did the
scene. So I did it and [thought I was] really
going to hear it from my black female
friends, but I was proud of it and I thought
it was right for the character. So the show
aired and I’m expecting my phone to ring
right away. Nothing. The next day. Nothing.
For a week. Nothing. I’m not hearing anything.
I’m talking to my friends and none of
the girls are bringing it up or anything.
Finally I asked my friend who I expected to
be the most outspoken about it. She said, ‘Oh Yeah,
I saw it.’ I said, ’What did you think about me and
old girl hooking up?’ She goes, ‘Hmmph, I’m happy
y’all did cause she chose you over Wesley. So I’m
glad she chose you!’ No one in my world or people
who watch Sci-Fi had a problem with it.”

Q. What bio would you like to star in?
A. “That is a great question and if you include
this answer you have to say this: The one that I’m
going to do I can’t say because I can’t afford to have
anyone steal it. It’s one I researched and found on
my own. So if I gave you one, I’d love to play a
young Nelson Mandela to Morgan Freeman’s
older Mandela.”

Q. I heard a comic say about politicians,
never trust somebody who goes by a first initial.
Have you heard that before? How do you react to
that?
A. “How can I react to that? (laughs) I mean the
difference with me is I’m very open about what my
first name is (Jaime) and I just go by a first initial
cause none of y’all can pronounce it right. I’m not
going to hear my name mangled everyday.”

Q. Read any good books lately?
A. “I’m reading The Way Through Doors by
Jesse Ball. I’m in the middle of that right now. Toni
Morrison is my favorite author. I’m waiting for her
to come out with another book. Her last book, A
Mercy, was the last book I read actually.”
Q. What music are you listening to?
A. “I’m fluxuating on Eminem’s new album. I
didn’t like it at first. It’s extemely dark, but it’s
growing on me now. And Maxwell.”

88-Keys following Kanye's path

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Producer lends beats to seminal hip-hop album, then tries the solo route.
Kanye West faced long odds when he did it five years ago, turning from Jay-Z’s “The Blueprint” to his own “The College Dropout.” Now longtime friend 88-Keys is trying to walk in West’s shoes - with a little boost from West himself.
The New York-based musician, whose real name is Charles Njapa, was in Los Angeles recently to meet with West. At the video shoot for their humorous single, “Stay Up (Viagra),” both men donned prosthetics makeup to make them appear in their 80s, then drove around the city in a limo with video vixens.
They looked ridiculous, but that’s the point. Keys says he’s trying to bring a sense of lighthearted fun to a genre that can get bogged down in negativity. And West seemed ready for something silly after the serious themes of his last album, “808s & Heartbreak.”
“What’s so dope about jokes in raps is like you can tell super-duper unfunny jokes, but if you put a rhyme with it, it’s like cool,” West noted as makeup artists began the aging process. “But it’s not a joke that works in real life.”
West executive produced 88-Keys’ album, “The Death of Adam,” released late last year on independent label Decon Records. It blends various genres to tell the story of a womanizing man who meets his demise.
Keys kept his voice mostly off the original version of the album, which also features Bilal, Redman and others. But West pushed his friend to place himself in the spotlight.
“I liked his raps, what he was busting was mad original,” West said of 88-Keys. “I was like wow, this is like really dope and is musical and has concepts and all that, so I wanted to be down with it.’’
Keys sees the album as a second chance of sorts. He worked with Mos Def on two seminal hip-hop albums from the late 1990s (and it was Mos that introduced Keys to West), but then found himself treading water in the music industry.
“To put it bluntly, and truthfully, I kind of fell off in the industry,” Keys said. “I felt like I was doing a lot of shucking and jiving, trying to chase other peoples’ coattails. I was like ‘You know what, I know one person who I can make beats for, or who I can submit beats to, and I won’t get turned down.’ 88-Keys! This guy, right here.”
He’s a bit of a throwback, a married father of two and writes about his latest industry exploits at a blog titled “I Heart My Polo Lifestyle,” a reference to the Ralph Lauren Polo gear that he’s worn daily for over 15 years.
The question is whether the critical and commercial success of another fashion fan, West, has opened the door for big-selling debut albums from alternative hip-hop artists like Keys and the likes of KiD CuDi, Wale, Charles Hamilton and Asher Roth.
Keys said that at the very least, they can learn from West’s legendary confidence.
“I’ve been to meetings where, when he used to shop his own demo and he would play people ‘Jesus Walks.’” Keys said. “Just like a lot of hits that he made on his first album, A&R reps were like ‘Oh man, we love that beat. I think that would sound good for DMX.’ And he was just like ‘Naw, this is my music, my album.’ He put his heart and soul into it. So I took a lot of cues from him as far as like knowing what I had, and my potential. ... And here I am today.”

October 8, 2009

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