To his students at Cohen Sr. High School, Jerome Temple is a substitute teacher and football and basketball coach. But to local rap fans he’s DJ Jubilee, and his song “Jubilee All” on Take Fo’ Records is one of the biggest “bounce” records of the summer.

It started out as a joke. Temple was at a dance last summer when his friends starting calling his new dance “The Jubilee.” A year later, producers Earl Mackie and Henry Holden convinced Temple to record a bounce record. “It’s a song about dancin’ on a party tip,” says Temple. “Every time it plays you’re gonna move something.” Temple will release his debut LP in November. It includes a cut aimed at kids, “The Barney Bounce,” about dancing cartoon characters, including the Barney Dance, the Bugs Bunny Dance, the Kermit the frog Dance, etc.

Thanks to a little casino magic Sporty T. has a new release on Big Boy Records. When the label’s president, Charles Temple, won $20,000 on a slot machine at a Gulf Coast casino, he decided to invest in some young artists and get them off the streets. Temple teamed up with his business partner, Robert Shaw (they were part owners in Sinsations Nightclub before it burned down) and created Big Boy Records.

Sporty T. is the first artist on the label with his 12″ “Sporty Talkin’ Sporty.” When his ’91 release “U Need A Key to Get In” didn’t get the exposure he expected, Sporty changed his attitude (he admits he drank a lot of beer and was out of control in his earlier days).

“I had to give [the audience] what they wanted,” says Sporty T. “They want bounce, nothin’ but bounce.”

Howard Huntsberry, former lead singer of Klique, is working on a new solo project to be released on HDM Records later this year. The first single, “’Bout Us,” is a powerful ballad about love and infidelity. “It’s about a guy who’s desperately in trouble,” says Huntsberry. “He wants his cake and to eat it too.”

Huntsberry says he hasn’t changed his style much since his days with Klique. His upcoming LP, Howard Huntsberry Portraits, is a compilation of slow and mid-tempo love songs. “’Bout Us” and “Many Rivers” are currently being distributed to radio but won’t be officially released until the LP is almost finished.

Huntsberry wants to record music that appeals to 26-50 year-olds, a demo he says is not being satisfied with a lot of today’s “McDonald’s fast-food music” (music that satisfies younger listeners for the short term). “I’d like to see record companies forming groups, forming talents for the long haul,” says Huntsberry.

Originally from Pacoima, California, Huntsberry moved to New Orleans and bought a house with the money he made from Klique’s number one R&B record, “Stop Doggin’ Me Around.” He recorded a solo album on MCA Records and made it to the big screen playing Jackie Wilson in La Bamba.

Big Stars in the Big Easy…MC Lyte was in town last month promoting her single “Ruffneck” (her answer to Apache’s “Gangsta Bitch”) and LP Ain’t No Other. Lyte treated radio and retail to lunch at the Palace Cafe courtesy of Atlantic Records.

Lords of the Underground signed autographs at Camelot, Odyssey and Peaches Records last month while in town for Teen Summit ’93. The group performed “Funky Child” and “Chief Rocka” for a crowd of more than 2,000 enthusiastic teens at the State Palace Theater. Mia X, Joe Blakk and Lil Slim also turned it out with positive messages and raps that kept fans “bouncin'” in their seats.

Vesta Williams was the host of an album listening party at Dooky Chase in August. Radio and retail got a chance to check out Vesta’s LP Everything-N-More. According to Vesta, this is the most diverse project she’s ever done. She worked with Brian McKnight, Chuckii Booker, Michael M. Powell and Daddy-O and produced an album that is everything-n-more—ballads, funk, hip-hop and bebop.

Tales From the Darkside is the first LP from Baton Rouge group Tha Darkside on E.K.S. Records. “The album is not just another rap album,” says Kevin Evans, the group’s leader. “It’s got different flavors.” It’s rap, blues and go-go with serious messages. “Get Your Mind Right” is a song about people who let drugs destroy their lives. “When Will It Ever Stop” encourages unity to stop the violence. On the lighter side, “Move to This Groove” is a funky dance track reminiscent of DJ Kool’s style.

S.M.R. Records releases a remake of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” done R&B-style by Stephen Michaels (Stephen M. Rudison). Rudison, who originally sang with the local group Elevation, is working on his solo LP and producing jazz musician D. Greg. Rudison also owns a CD single pressing company. If you’re interested in having your material pressed, contact him at (504) 365-0961.