Dr. Dre, 2Pac, Ice Cube, Public Enemy and Digable Planets are just a few of the rap/hip hop acts featured on Straight From The Streets, a compilation album released last month on Priority Records. Proceeds from the album will be donated to the Knowledge Is Power Fund, an organization raising money to build the Los Angeles Performing Arts Center and Training Complex. Some of the hits included on the LP are “Let Me Ride,” “I Get Around,” “Can’t Truss It,” and “Rebirth of Slick.” A never-before-released live version of Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under A Groove” and George Clinton’s “Atomic Dog” are also on the album. The center and training complex will give underprivileged youth the opportunity to develop skills in the arts. Los Angeles radio station Power 106 is leading the fundraising drive and planning a benefit concert in the spring.

MCA Records teamed up with The National Basketball Association for the February 1 release of NBA Jam Session. The album targets young music and basketball fans. It was produced by Andre Fischer and features Bell Biv DeVoe, Heavy D., Wreckx-N-Effect and others.

Gregory D’s long-awaited follow-up to The Real Deal CD is due this month. Niggaz In Da Boot will be released on Midwest Records. A special 12″ release for DJs will also be released; it includes cuts “54321,” “Niggaz In Da Boot” and “If It Ain’t Black.”  “You can expect the same as usual,” says Gregory. “In the last four years we’ve laid four number one songs in the Louisiana area, so what makes you think number five won’t arrive?”

The New 2 Live Crew will be in New Orleans February 9 promoting a new CD, Back At Your Ass For The Nine-4, and the single “Yeah, Yeah.” They’ll do a live interview on Q93 with Mic Fox and Wild Wayne and visit retail.

Since the last “Street” column ran in November ’93, we have some catching up to do…MCA, Priority, and EastWest Records set the stage for ’94 with new record deals and album releases from major artists.

MCA released Jodeci’s album Diary Of A Mad Band. It’s the follow-up to the band’s debut double platinum LP, Forever My Lady. All of the songs from the album were written by members of Jodeci except for the first single, “Cry For You,” which was written by DeVante Swing.

Bobby Brown is back with a remix of his double platinum album Bobby on MCA Records. L.A. Reid and Jermaine Dupri are just a few of a long list of producers featured on this project. New songs on the album are “I Want You, I Need You” and “She’s My Lady.”

Priority Records released Ice Cube’s Lethal Injection album. The album includes an eleven minute remake of “One Nation Under A Groove” entitled “Bop Gun (One Nation)” featuring Cube and George Clinton. Lethal Injection is the follow-up to The Predator, which made history when it debuted in 1992 at No.1 on Billboard’s Pop and R&B album charts.

EastWest Records released Das EFX’s Straight Up Sewaside, the follow-up to their platinum-plus Dead Serious album.

Jamaican dance hall artist Terror Fabulous signed with EastWest Records and will release his debut album next month.

Correction from November’s issue…”Shake That Booty,” the first single from M.C. Swift’s Do You Know Where I’m Coming From CD was released on Kokomo Records (not Kokoko). Swift kicks off a promotional tour February 5 in Mobile. After Mardi Gras the tour will continue in Mississippi and Louisiana.