Though Gerald had the inside track to success in the music industry because of his father, Eddie Levert of the O’Jays, Gerald immediately established himself as a legitimate Soul singer in his own rite from the moment he, his brother Sean, and Marc Gordon formed the group Levert in 1984.

Most impressively, Gerald's distinct voice and genuine soulfulness enabled him to pull of the hat trick of not only appealing to his contemporaries, but also to older and younger generations. Unlike the one-hit wonders of today, Gerald’s work will stand the test of time and will be played for generations alongside other deceased legends like Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, and Luther Vandross.

Most disturbing is the fact that Gerald passed away at such an early age. Remember back in the day when we thought that our forty year old parents were damn near senior citizens?  We at Urban Archives, as well as the vast majority of you all reading this article, are over thirty years old and are now well aware that we can succumb to heart disease during what we consider to be the prime years of our lives.  All things being equal, we could conceivably live well into our eighties if we treat our bodies with a healthy diet and a regular schedule of exercise. Unfortunately, half of us haven’t exercised since earning our Presidential Physical Fitness patch back in grade school.  Many others are still bragging about their high school years when they dropped thirty points on Kenny Anderson or beat Vanessa Williams in a beauty pageant, but are now so out of shape that no one would believe them unless they had actually been there to witness the feats.

Heart disease is one of the number one killers of Americans.  African Americans are particularly at risk because of our high fat/ high cholesterol diets. We know that many of you are saying that your grandparents are still rippin’ and runnin’ after a strict diet of pork and other fried foods over the past eighty or so years. However, most of their eating habits were adopted because they had no alternatives.  Fried and fatty foods clog up our arteries and puts more stress on our hearts. Couple that with the fact that many of us are nearly two times the size we were back in our twenties, our hearts are working overtime.

Lets face it fellas, for many of us, that six-pack of abs is a distant memory, and that chiseled chest has turned into man breasts. Ladies, that booty that every guy could not help but take a second look at back in the day now looks like a waterbed mattress. Those of you who are constantly fatigued, sleep well over eight hours a day if you could, snore excessively, constantly drink Mylanta, Pepto, and energy drinks, and are huffing and puffing after walking up a few flights of stairs may be at risk to developing heart problems if your eating habits and exercise regimen are not adjusted.

Aside from reducing our fat intake, there is a very simple and old solution to our weight problems: R-U-N.  We are not talking about our boy DJ/ Reverend RUN, we are talking about all of us getting on that treadmill or track and burning off that extra weight. For some of us, the results may take a while, but it took ten to twenty years to put on all of that extra fat, so a bit of patience may be necessary. If you can read a book, talk to your girlfriend in detail about the last episode of “Girlfriends,” or barely break a sweat, then you are not working hard enough. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour three days a week for intense exercise, then all of that dozing off and energy drinking will soon be a thing of the past.

Without knowing his medical history, we wonder if Gerald would be with us today if he had followed a diet and exercise program. We still have his music, but we missed out on string on classic songs and concerts that could have entertained us for decades to come. Gerald Levert’s music will live on through us, but let’s just make sure that we are around to pass his music on to our children and grandchildren.

This fact had us thinking about a time when we settled our disputes by putting up our “dukes” and having a good, old- fashioned, fistfight?  We by no means condone violence, but sometimes- especially in urban neighborhoods- you just gotta fight.

Before the “Boyz in the Hood”/ “Menace II Society” era, it was all about fighting. A few words were exchanged and a crowd formed, but no one really wanted to fight. We would go through our typical act of toughness by saying, “Say it again. You say it again,” “Step over this line,” “Don’t put your hand in my face,” and really front like we wanted to fight when someone attempted to break up the argument.

This act of street bravado would go on forever if not for the Hood’s version of Don King, the instigator. This dude took matters into his own hands and personally ensured that the crowd would see a fight. Two of his favorite tricks were repeating an insult that may or may have not been said (“He said something about yo mama. What you gone do?”), and pushing someone into the other to get things started. From there, a few punches were thrown, girls tore off each others clothes and pulled out handfuls of hair, everyone got tangled in headlocks, and then it was over in no more than a few minutes. Afterwards, everyone went back to playing basketball, jumping rope, or whatever they were doing.

We can even make a compelling argument that a little tussle here and there was good for building character and thickening the skin. Regardless, back in the day, we would leave a fight with a few bumps and bruises, and an injured ego, but we lived to laugh about our senseless fights.

Please put down the guns people.

Though Gerald had the inside track to success in the music industry because of his father, Eddie Levert of the O’Jays, Gerald immediately established himself as a legitimate Soul singer in his own rite from the moment he, his brother Sean, and Marc Gordon formed the group Levert in 1984.

Most impressively, Gerald's distinct voice and genuine soulfulness enabled him to pull of the hat trick of not only appealing to his contemporaries, but also to older and younger generations. Unlike the one-hit wonders of today, Gerald’s work will stand the test of time and will be played for generations alongside other deceased legends like Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway, and Luther Vandross.

Most disturbing is the fact that Gerald passed away at such an early age. Remember back in the day when we thought that our forty year old parents were damn near senior citizens?  We at Urban Archives, as well as the vast majority of you all reading this article, are over thirty years old and are now well aware that we can succumb to heart disease during what we consider to be the prime years of our lives.  All things being equal, we could conceivably live well into our eighties if we treat our bodies with a healthy diet and a regular schedule of exercise. Unfortunately, half of us haven’t exercised since earning our Presidential Physical Fitness patch back in grade school.  Many others are still bragging about their high school years when they dropped thirty points on Kenny Anderson or beat Vanessa Williams in a beauty pageant, but are now so out of shape that no one would believe them unless they had actually been there to witness the feats.

Heart disease is one of the number one killers of Americans.  African Americans are particularly at risk because of our high fat/ high cholesterol diets. We know that many of you are saying that your grandparents are still rippin’ and runnin’ after a strict diet of pork and other fried foods over the past eighty or so years. However, most of their eating habits were adopted because they had no alternatives.  Fried and fatty foods clog up our arteries and puts more stress on our hearts. Couple that with the fact that many of us are nearly two times the size we were back in our twenties, our hearts are working overtime.

Lets face it fellas, for many of us, that six-pack of abs is a distant memory, and that chiseled chest has turned into man breasts. Ladies, that booty that every guy could not help but take a second look at back in the day now looks like a waterbed mattress. Those of you who are constantly fatigued, sleep well over eight hours a day if you could, snore excessively, constantly drink Mylanta, Pepto, and energy drinks, and are huffing and puffing after walking up a few flights of stairs may be at risk to developing heart problems if your eating habits and exercise regimen are not adjusted.

Aside from reducing our fat intake, there is a very simple and old solution to our weight problems: R-U-N.  We are not talking about our boy DJ/ Reverend RUN, we are talking about all of us getting on that treadmill or track and burning off that extra weight. For some of us, the results may take a while, but it took ten to twenty years to put on all of that extra fat, so a bit of patience may be necessary. If you can read a book, talk to your girlfriend in detail about the last episode of “Girlfriends,” or barely break a sweat, then you are not working hard enough. Set aside 30 minutes to an hour three days a week for intense exercise, then all of that dozing off and energy drinking will soon be a thing of the past.

Without knowing his medical history, we wonder if Gerald would be with us today if he had followed a diet and exercise program. We still have his music, but we missed out on string on classic songs and concerts that could have entertained us for decades to come. Gerald Levert’s music will live on through us, but let’s just make sure that we are around to pass his music on to our children and grandchildren.

While the terms Hip Hop and Rap may have been  synonymous back  in the 70's, 80's and early 90's, the terms were separated at the hip at some point during the mid 90's.

To Old School listeners of the genre, Hip Hop was not only a musical mix of beats and rhymes, but it also included graffiti writing, break dancing, and deejaying.  New School rappers and Pop culture mistakenly use the term Hip Hop to describe the urban contemporary music that bares a slight resemblance to Hip Hop.  Confused?  Listed below are 30 examples that may help one distinguish between what is truly Hip Hop and what is indeed Rap:

1.  Hip Hop is MCs and DJs.  Rap is rappers and Pro Tools producers.

2.  Hip Hop is B-boys, B-girls, Scoob & Scrap Lover, and Big Lez.  Rap is booty dancers, strippers, and robotic routines taught in Fame-like dance studios.

3.  Hip Hop is music.  Rap is entertainment.

4.  Hip Hop is the love of urban culture. Rap is the love of money.

5.  Hip Hop is graffiti writers.   Rap is graphic designers.

6.  Hip Hop is speaking the unspoken.  Rap is speaking the spoken over and over again.

7.  Hip Hop music gracefully ages over the course of time.  Rap goes platinum and no one remembers it.

8.  Hip Hop is battling on the microphone.  Rap is cowardly battling in the streets.

9.  Hip Hop is Yo MTV Raps.   Rap is Sucker Free Sundays.

10.  Hip Hop is Andre of Outkast.  Rap is Andre 3000 of Outkast.

11.  Hip Hop is art conscious.  Rap is image conscious.

12.  Hip Hop is college radio and Saturday night mix shows.  Rap is your city’s V103 and Hot 97.

13.  Hip Hop is the Flavor Unit.   Rap is the G-Unit.

14.  Hip Hop is MTV refusing to play "street music" in the 80’s.  Rap is MTV playing more “street music" than rock.

15.  Hip Hop is variety.  Rap is monotony.

16.  Hip Hop is writing what you feel.  Rap is chanting what sells.

17.  Hip Hop is female MCs and DJs.  Rap is female strippers. 

18.  Hip Hop is Queen Latifah’s “Ladies First.”  Rap is Shawna’s “Getting’ Some Head.”

19.  Hip Hop is sweating out your perm from dancing so much.  Rap is sitting down the entire time because your Manolo Blahnik's are uncomfortable.

20.  Hip Hop is sweating through your rayon or silk shirt while dancing. Rap is holding up the wall, mean-mugging in your button-up.

21.  Hip Hop is a creative art. Rap is a formula.

22.  Hip Hop is scratching on records. Rap is scratching on CDs.

23.  Hip Hop is bragging about your skills on the Mic.  Rap is bragging about record sales, cars, and jewelry.

24.  Hip Hop tells the world about all that is wrong in the Hood.  Rap glorifies all that is wrong in the Hood.

25.  Hip Hop is Wild Style, Beat Street, Krush Groove, and Style Wars.  Rap is Get Rich or Die Tryin’. 

26.  Hip Hop is the first Hip Hop Grammy winner boycotting the ceremony due to the Grammy's disrespect of the genre.  Rap is throwing a temper tantrum because you didn't win "Album of the Year." 

27.  Hip Hop is establishing yourself by battle rapping and performing in front of anyone who will listen.  Rap is establishing yourself by "Making the Band." 

28.  Hip Hop is Kurtis Blow. Rap is Curtis Jackson. 

29.  Hip Hop is an MC storytelling.  Rap is a rapper telling a story.

30.  Hip Hop is Puff Daddy of Uptown Records. Rap is Diddy of Bad Boy Records.