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Chico DeBarge is no stranger to any stage. He’s the youngest brother of Motown’s popular DeBarge family and is preparing to release his sixth solo CD. But on a recent morning he stood at the center of the basketball court at the Emerson School for Visual Performing Arts in Gary. Student David Johnson, 12, asked DeBarge why he went to jail.
Freeze frame
Thi was only the second time DeBarge, 42, had spoken to kids. He was in prison between 1988 and 1994 on drug trafficking charges. He’s now a board member for the new Chicago-based non-profit organization People Reclaiming Ourselves, or PRO, which provides former convicts with resources to re-enter society. DeBarge has lived in Chicago for the last year and a half.
“I went to prison because I had a friend that I introduced to another friend and they made a drug transaction,” DeBarge told Johnson. “I was an [interstate] conspirator of a drug transaction. I knew what they were doing. I didn’t want to say ‘no’ because I wouldn’t look cool. One of them was a cousin of mine.”
In an interview after his appearance, Jonathan Arthur “Chico” DeBarge said it took a long time to acquire the confidence to confront his past.
“I wasn’t honest with myself about a lot of mistakes I made,” he said. “I wanted to blame society. I wanted to blame my upbringing. You want to blame your girl for leaving you. A man becomes a man when they accept their responsibilities. And then you can be an example for someone.
“I wouldn’t say a leader — but an example.”
PRO president Jamie Sevier said DeBarge is an entertainer “who has actually been through the process. People are more likely to want to hear his story and his involvement with the organization. I also co-manage a jazz band, Zzaje, which is how we met. He picked up our PRO brochure and wanted to be 100 percent involved.”
DeBarge addresses some of his missteps in “Addiction” (Kedar Entertainment), a gripping neo-soul album due out July 14. The record was made at VMR Studios in west suburban Brookfield, at Tyrus Lamb Recordings in south suburban Robbins and in New Jersey. A tour brings DeBarge to Chicago’s House of Blues on June 25.
“Addiction is the affliction,” DeBarge explained. “There’s also songs that reflect not just my issue with addiction but my issue with people who have addiction. I had a relationship with someone who had a substance abuse problem with alcohol. It was reckless. It is not telling a sad story. It is hopeful as well.”
DeBarge did time in Leavenworth, Kan., and at a low-security federal prison in Milan, Mich. (former residence of the wife of George “Machine Gun” Kelly).
“Once I had my freedom taken from me, I treasured it,” he said. “I treasured the music business and who I was. I wanted to be that again. I didn’t need to come out and be successful in terms of obtaining fame. I just wanted to come out and be significant to someone. I wrote and honed my craft.”
While he was down, DeBarge saw movements like New Jack swing and neo-soul come and go. “Real soul music comes from the soul,” he said. “It is not a sound. A rock ‘n’ roll artist can sing soul music because he is coming from a deep, soulful moment.”
The roots of the DeBarge singing group date back to their 1982 breakthrough album “All This Love,” which delivered the hit title track single. Their biggest hit was the 1985 disco single “Rhythm of the Night.” The original group consisted of brothers El, Mark, James, Randy and sister Bunny. They auditioned for Jermaine Jackson, who recommended them to Berry Gordy. Chico was signed to Motown as a solo artist in 1987. He never appeared with the family but wrote songs for the group.
James briefly eloped with Janet Jackson, and Chico dated Nona Gaye, the only daughter of Motown singer Marvin Gaye).
In 2003, Chico was stabbed outside a South Philadelphia nightclub by mob associate John “Johnny Gongs” Casasanto. He was given OxyContin for the pain.
“I got addicted and it progressed to the street,” he said. “Every street of every city I was in. It progressed to heroin. It’s like you get caught in a hurricane and you can’t change the wind. I isolated myself. I didn’t want to be a letdown to everyone, especially my mother.”
Etterlene “Mama D.” DeBarge, 74, is a devout Christian matriarch who lives in Grand Rapids, Mich. She ministers through her MySpace page.
On the jazzy song “I’m OK” from the new record, DeBarge walks the bridge between the despair and redemption of addiction. He pleads, “I need you to love me/not to judge me.”
DeBarge wrote the song for his mother.
“I was pretty much the last man standing,” he said. “My mom looked at me as her sober son and one that got it together. And here I had fallen. It hurt me. I’m glad that now I’m able to shine and call her. My voice is not raspy and draggy anymore. She knows my voice.”
  WHO:   DONALD J. TRUMP, Chairman and CEO of The Trump Organization
           MARK CUBAN, Owner of the Dallas Mavericks & Chairman of HDNet
           FEDOR EMELIANENKO, Current WAMMA Heavyweight Champion of the World
           JOSH BARNETT, Former UFC(R) Heavyweight Champ
           TOM ATENCIO, Vice President of Affliction Entertainment
           VADIM FINKELSTEIN, President, M-1 Global
   WHAT:  New York City press conference to officially announce Affliction
           M-1 Global “Trilogy” Emelianenko vs. Barnett.
           *To attend press conference, please RSVP via email to
           lmilner@swansonpr.com
           Mark Cuban will be on hand to share details about HDNet’s
           involvement with this explosive event.
           Cuban’s HDNet Fights announced a long-term partnership with
           Affliction Entertainment late last year. The agreement allows
           HDNet, “Your Home for MMA”, to broadcast the first five fights of
           Affliction M-1 Global Trilogy LIVE exclusively in North America
           on HDNet
   WHEN:  Wednesday, June 3
           10:30am ET–Press Sign-In
           11:00am ET–Press Conference Start
   WHERE: TRUMP TOWER ATRIUM
           725 Fifth Avenue (btwn: 56th and 57th; Fifth Avenue Entrance;
           Media members should proceed to Sign-In Table by Escalators for
           Check-In)
           New York, NY 10022
   FACTS: Brought to you by Affliction M-1 Global in association with
           Donald J. Trump. Affliction M-1 Global’s “Trilogy” is scheduled
           for August 1 at Honda Center in Anaheim, CA and live on Pay-Per-
           View. The highly anticipated main event will feature Fedor
           Emelianenko vs. Josh Barnett.