| The Behrend Beacon
Ja Rule lives to fight
By Jim Farber
New York Daily News
Don't cry for Ja Rule. Yes, the rapper has experi- bum, "R.U.L.E.," which hits stores Nov. 9.
enced the kind of year that could make Bill On the CD, Rule, 28, deals with all his struggles.
O Reilly s look enviable. But he insists, "I wasn't Rule issued "Blood" one day after giving a
out somewhere whining and crying. I just had to highly publicized interview with Minister Louis
make sense of it all. I really didn t understand what Farrakhan that was meant to deflate the escalat
came at me. ing beef between him and 50. Fans heard only
Especially since it came from so many different encouraging words from Rule in the interview, but
directions. the rapper says he did vent during it.
In 2003, this one-time hip-hop giant who racked "They spliced it up," he explains. "In the
up four multiplatinum albums between 1999 and minister's defense, they did that because he thought
2002 found himself embroiled in the biggest beef it was better for hip hop to show no negativity."
this side of Peter Luger. In interviews, mix tapes 50 Cent didn't show up for his half of the pow
and official releases, he battled it out with 50 Cent, wow, which Rule says "was disrespectful to the
then the top new rapper around. minister, and to hip hop."
And he was losing badly. But many hip-hop fans wound up blaming Rule
In February 2003,50 humiliated Rule on the fast- for participating in a peace talk one day, then put
est selling CD of the year, Get Rich or Die Try in'." ting out a war-mongering album the next. They
It labeled Rule a fake gangsta who had imitated called the whole Farrakhan talk a PR stunt.
Tupac Shakur, and who sold out rap by turning it As for his label's troubles, Rule says its work
into pop. Powerful associates of 50, including ers have had a hard time dealing with them. Last
Eminem, Dr. Dre and his G-Unit posse, also ripped year, the company changed its name from Murder
into Rule. Inc. to The Inc.
At the same time federal agents began an ongo- Rule claims the switch was not a reaction to the
ing investigation into Murder Inc., the record com- investigation.
pany that launched Rule. It accused the label of Though The Inc. remained firmly on Rule's side
being funded by drug money. behind the scenes, in public he toughed out his
Then rumors began to swirl that Rule was split- problems alone. Some loyal fans wondered why
ting with his wife. The two, who married four years no other rappers came to his defense. Rule claims
ago, have known each other since high school in some wanted to, but he told them, "I'm going to
Hollis, Queens, when Rule was known as Jeffrey do this as a lone soldier, to make an even stronger
Atkins. They have three children, ages 1, 3 and 9. statement about myself."
He asserts it all came about because the fans
Lay the Smack Down with
‘WWE Smack Down vs. Raw’
By Nick Hammond
staff writer
THQ’s wrestling games are always evolving
and changing as it straddles the line between try
ing to satisfy die-hard wrestling fans and just
trying to be a good fighting game. This year’s
PS2 game is a pretty big step in the right direc
tion as a lot of the big features fans have been
clamoring for are finally in the game.
The “Smack Down” series has always been
known for its surprisingly fun, deep story mode
- a pseudo-RPG with a WWE theme. This year’s
big change is honest-to-goodness voice work
from pretty much every wrestler in the game,
even Vince McMahon which adds a ton to the
authenticity.
You’re also able to more clearly define your
role as a face, a good guy or heel a bad guy, and
actively use your managers to your advantage
during a match; for instance, having her grab a
chair for you and distract the ref so you can prop
erly use it. The game also lets you create cus
tom championship belts, which can be trans
ferred from memory card to memory card if you
manage to beat the current holder in a match.
Nearly all of the gameplay changes made to
this year’s game are assorted ways to try to cap
ture the proper flow of a real match. Nowhere is
this more exemplified than in the little in-match
minigames.
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STUDINT Lin
"were misled. They were told lies and they be
lieved them."
Now Rule is trying to set the record straight and
revive his badly wounded career with a new al-
At the beginning of a match, you’ll frequently
find yourself faced with a stare-down contest,
a test of strength, or a shoving match. These
are all controlled by specifically timed button
presses that ap
wn, you simply have to press
X at the right time and you’ll get the alway
important first strike. The meter swings upwari
to signify power for your shove, and then i
swings back downward, challenging you to hi
the X button at just the right time for maxi
mum effectiveness.
There’s also an exact copy of this meter fo
the ever-popular chop battles you tend to se>
during real matches, which have been translate!
here very nicely. You’ll encounter a new spank
ing contest (strictly for the divas, of course).
These little games can be turned on or off ii
the game’s options menu, but we didn’t fim
them to be intrusive, and instead thought the;
added a little more flair to the matches. That’
flair meaning “style,” not flair meaning Rb
Flair. If you want to add a little more Ric Flai
to your matches, yes, he is a notable charactei
The next big thing is, of course, head-to-heai
online play, though you can’t bring the belt
online (yet). The fighting engine handles a lo
like that of the last game with some tweaks t<
the grappling system, but the presentation am
feature set is the best THQ has yet to offer.
Celani to perform in Brunofe
Rising pop sensation lets you hear 'them apples ?'
By Teresa Nicolia
staff writer
Up and coming musician, Scott Celani, is sched
uled to perform at Behrend this Saturday at 8:00
p.m.in the Reed building as part of his tour. His
music is a smooth rock-pop mix that will guide lis
teners to a state of happiness and rhythm.
According to Celani’s official website, all of his
performances offer “a powerhouse of guitar, rhythm
and melody” over which his listener’s can melt. His
show is likely to be presented in one of two ways:
acoustic or with a full band.
Although Celani’s musical career officially kicked
off in 2002, he has been performing in the United
States and Canada for quite some time. His music
has earned air time on radio America and received
a great deal of praise.
Celani has produced two albums so far in his ca
reer, however they are generally considered to be
EP’s. (An EP is a record that is either too long to be
considered a single release or too short to be called
an album.)
Celani’s website recalls the release of his first solo
debut, in conjunction with Toronto record producer,
Brent Bodrug, of the B-Group Music, titled “Them
Apples.” The event, held in September of 2002 in
Buffalo, brought in close to 600 people and con
vinced Celani to spend 2003 touring the Eastern
United States to promote his record.
“Them Apples” was a starting point for Celani
and his fame. That year, the song, “Where Did you
Come From?” was played on some radio stations
up to 40 times a week. His hard work and success
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Friday, November 5, 2004
even landed him with the Award for Best Solo Acous
tic Artist at the 2003 Western New York People’s
Choice Awards.
Those who heard his first EP have been anxiously
waiting for more of Celani’s fresh, smooth and pleas
ant-sounding vocals. Luckily, the artist has come
through with his new record, “Saturday.” Buzzle.com
comments on the album’s maturity in comparison with
his first release. Dougless R. Esper of
DomainCleveland.com tells fans that the themes of
the songs circle around seasons, times, nature and
other emotional ideas.
Still, Celani dazzles his audience with his classy,
generally acoustic vocals. Buzzle compliments Celani
saying, “He sings strongly with warmth, assurance,
and a melodic pop sensibility that so many artists are
lacking today.”
The new album highlights Celani on lead and back
ground vocals as well as guitar. His band includes six
other musicians individually concentrating the areas
of lead guitar, keyboards and programming, bass,
drums and percussion. The mix of sounds gives the
EP an “energetic burst” and is almost guaranteed to
leave you wanting more.
The seven track CD clocks in at a mere 23 minutes
and 35 seconds of listening pleasure.
DomainCleveland.com reviewers suggest that those
who enjoy the sounds of pop-rock bands such as Ver
tical Horizon, Our Lady Peace, Guster and Jump Little
Children are likely to enjoy the glossy, story-telling
songs of “Saturday.”
Those interested in finding out where Scott Celani
will perform next or obtaining other information about
him can visit his website at www.scottcelani.com.
C* T
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