Unwrapping Rap

What would this time of year be like without Christmas rapping? Last year, Def Jam apparently started a new holiday tradition by defying industry convention and releasing DMX’s “Flesh of My Flesh Blood of My Blood” just three days before Christmas. It was an unusual move--most labels have feared that late-arriving albums would get lost in the holiday shuffle. But it was a big success as DMX sold more than 670,000 copies in a week. Will the Def Jam strategy work again? We’ll find out this week, as DMX’s third album, “ . . . And Then There Was X,” debuts on the charts Wednesday and a hotly awaited new disc from fellow Def Jam artist Jay-Z, “The Life and Times of S. Carter,” hits store shelves on Tuesday. Retailers have pointed for months to these albums as potential blockbusters. “Those two are big, big, big releases, with a lot of fan interest,” was the appraisal recently from Violet Brown, urban music buyer for Wherehouse. There is even talk within the label’s headquarters that each album might surpass 1 million in sales in a week, a feat accomplished by only Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston and, most recently, the Backstreet Boys. Can it happen? Count Geoff Mayfield, the charts director of Billboard magazine, among the skeptics. “It’s a very ambitious goal, really,” Mayfield said. “Jay-Z’s last album did very well 1/84.6 million in total U.S. sales 3/8 and was much more consistent than a lot of rap albums, but it also only sold 352,000 in its best week.” And what about Jay-Z’s recent arrest in connection with a New York nightclub stabbing? Will that deter parents from buying the Brooklyn rhymer’s album for the key market of younger fans? It may not matter, Mayfield says. “The week after Christmas has now proven to be a big week for rap sales, and I think it’s because a lot of kids are bringing in the CDs their parents got them and returning them for the ones they really want.”

A Box Office to Remember

There’s less than a week to go until New Year’s, but for moviegoers, 1999 is already a banner year. As of Dec. 19, Americans had paid $7.02 billion to go to the movies, topping last year’s record total of $6.95 billion in box-office revenue. Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations Co., predicts total ticket revenue for 1999 to hit about $7.5 billion (which translates to more than 1.5 billion admissions)--a whopping total that has been driven in part by a record number of films whose box-office take has topped $100 million. As of late last week, 17 movies released in 1999 had passed the $100-million mark (as compared to just 11 at the same time last year), and Dergarabedian says two or three more may do so before the calendar says 2000. “This year is just kicking butt, with one box-office record after the next,” he said, adding that a combination of unexpected hits such as “The Sixth Sense,” kid-friendly fare (“Toy Story 2”) and films that took audiences places they’d never been before (“The Matrix”) created a snowball effect that lured even infrequent moviegoers to theaters. From mainstream hits such as “Double Jeopardy,” with Ashley Judd, to breakout indie films (“The Blair Witch Project”), $100-million-plus movies came from across the spectrum. Since May, Dergarabedian noted, every month has brought record box-office revenues. “ ‘Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace’ got a lot of people in theaters and exposed them to trailers and posters for other movies,” he said. “Audiences are very fickle and very demanding. But if they keep coming back and are satisfied, it creates a momentum.” Dergarabedian also credited improved theaters--for example, those with stadium seating and digital sound--with giving audiences more reason to head to the cineplexes. “If the entire experience is a positive one for moviegoers, they keep coming back,” he said.

Making Wise Again

In the ‘80s, the gritty, critically acclaimed CBS crime drama “Wiseguy” was a sometime home to actors who would themselves go on to be critically acclaimed in both television and film.

With that in mind, Court TV is bringing back the series, starting with a 14-hour marathon on Jan. 2. An 11-episode “arc” titled “International Drug Ring,” which begins airing at 10 a.m., features Academy Award-winning Kevin Spacey, who is expected to be an Oscar contender again this year for his performance in the film “American Beauty.”

Built around the life of Federal Organized Crime Bureau undercover agent Vinnie Terranova, played by the brooding Ken Wahl, the Stephen J. Cannell-created series was constructed in “arcs” with a central story tying together eight to 10 episodes.

In addition to Spacey, Stanley Tucci also distinguished himself on “Wiseguy” in an arc that featured Jerry Lewis and Ron Silver as well. Another arc took Vinnie into the recording industry and featured real-life rockers Deborah Harry, Glenn Frey and Mick Fleetwood.

Veteran producer Cannell, who also created “The Rockford Files” and “The A-Team,” will co-host the marathon along with Court TV anchor Catherine Crier.

Following the marathon kick-off, the cable channel, which is increasingly relying on crime-driven dramas to fill its prime-time hours, will air back-to-back “Wiseguy” episodes each Saturday and Sunday at 8 p.m. starting Jan. 8.

Compiled by Times Staff Writers