It’s time to get ready for the hottest Labor Day event around—the 17th annual Black Enterprise Golf & Tennis Challenge, Sept. 2-6 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. But this year is going to be especially hot. Not because the West Coast will be experiencing a heatwave, but because it also happens to be Black Enterprise magazine’s 40th anniversary. So to celebrate, we invited a few friends to this year’s Challenge—friends like Ronald Isley & The Isley Brothers, El DeBarge, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, and MC Lyte. They’re all coming through to make this Labor Day weekend one you won’t forget. DeBarge, a pop and R&B group made up of talented siblings, got heavy airplay on the radio throughout the 80s. El DeBarge—big brother to Chico, who performed at last year’s Golf & Tennis Challenge—was the group’s lead singer. He made songs like “All This Love,†“Rhythm of the Night,†“You Wear it Well,†and “Who’s Johnny?†instantly recognizable hits.
It’s time to get ready for the hottest Labor Day event around—the 17th annual Black Enterprise Golf & Tennis Challenge, Sept. 2-6 at the La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, California. But this year is going to be especially hot. Not because the West Coast will be experiencing a heatwave, but because it also happens to be Black Enterprise magazine’s 40th anniversary. So to celebrate, we invited a few friends to this year’s Challenge—friends like Ronald Isley & The Isley Brothers, El DeBarge, Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, and MC Lyte. They’re all coming through to make this Labor Day weekend one you won’t forget. DeBarge, a pop and R&B group made up of talented siblings, got heavy airplay on the radio throughout the 80s. El DeBarge—big brother to Chico, who performed at last year’s Golf & Tennis Challenge—was the group’s lead singer. He made songs like “All This Love,†“Rhythm of the Night,†“You Wear it Well,†and “Who’s Johnny?†instantly recognizable hits.more
Big Daddy Kane's flat top and three-finger rings were synonymous with rap. One of the first Casanova’s in the rap game, his hits “Set it Off,†“Ain’t No Half Steppin’;†“Raw;†“Smooth Operator;†and “Warm it Up, Kane†spawned many imitators.more
MC Lyte was one of the great female MCs of the 80s. Though slight in stature, her raspy voice and grittier style set her apart from some of her female counterparts. And with hits like “Lyte as a Rock,†“I Cram to Understand You,†“Paper Thin,†“Poor Georgie,†and “Ruffneck,†she held her own—and rose above—many of her male peers.more
Ronald Isley’s mainstream musical career began at age 16 when he and two of his brothers formed a doo-wop group and moved to New York City from Ohio in the 1950s. Over the next 50 years, his unmistakable tenor would grace some of the most enduring, anthemic funk, soul, and R&B songs ever recorded, including "It's Your Thing," "Who’s That Lady?" "In Between the Sheets," "Footsteps in the Dark," and "Spend the Night." His musical collaborations with R&B singer R. Kelly in the past 10 years or so even earned him a new moniker—Mr. Biggs.more
Rap music took New York by storm about 30 years ago and it hasn’t let go yet. Well, in the mid to late 80s, the rappers holding the reins included Doug E. Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, and MC Lyte. Doug E. Fresh and the Get Fresh Crew rose to fame with “The Show,†and the single’s B-side, “La Di Da Di,†his collaboration with MC Ricky D, aka Slick Rick. Known as the Human Beat Box, Doug E. Fresh’s skills are incomparable. We’re expecting more special guests to come out and celebrate our 40th anniversary with us and we want you to be one of them. So if you haven’t already registered for the 2010 Golf & Tennis Challenge—what are you waiting for? Register today!more
