The hot generation: what do Usher, Tiger, Kobe, Venus, Maxwell & Brandy have in common?

Ebony, Jan, 1998 by Joy Bennett Kinnon

They're young, hot, and more often than not they are at the top of their games, their careers, their finances by the age of 22--with most of their lives ahead of them.

While their peers are concerned with the prom, college, finding a job or paying off student loans, these superhot stars are consulting with business managers, financial planners and attorneys.

Born in the shadow of the Vietnam War and disco music, these young stars share common bonds of strong families and stronger work ethics. They've got drive, they've got game, they've got skills and most importantly--they've got a plan.

By the time most of their peers were in Little League and Scouts, these stars were already on the court, on the stage, in front of a mike or on the greens.

Tiger Woods had a golf club in his hand when he was little more than a toddler. Actor Jaleel White, although he recently turned 21, made his first appearance in a television commercial for Goodyear Tires at age 3. He has been working steadily in the business ever since, and is currently in his ninth season playing his popular character, the nerdy Steve Urkel, on Family Matters.

Teenage bombshell Brandy Norwood first stepped into a recording studio at the tender age of 14 and at the ripe old age of 18 is already a consummate professional, as an actress and as a singer.

Teen sensation Usher is making scores of adolescent girls want to have a new relationship with him. His sophomore album is burning up the charts with its No. 1 single, "You Make Me Wanna." He burst on the scene two years ago with his self-titled debut album at 16.

The hot generation is making news and setting trends not only in sports and entertainment but also in politics and policy. Harold Ford Jr., at 26, is the second-youngest member of Congress in history. Oriana Bolden was executive director of the Center for Young Women's Development in San Francisco--at age 19. Not all members of the "hot" generation are superstars, but there are increasing indicators that there may superstar, but there are increasing indicators that there may be something special about the entire generation. Their clothes, their music, their heroes and sheroes, their toys and television shows are changing the color and shape of pop culture. Whatever they like turns to gold.

On the negative side, many members of the generation seem to lack a sense of history and a sense of connectedness to the major figures of the past. In a recent Ebony survey, for example, none of the respondents cited Martin Luther King Jr. as an influence or an idol.

Born in the late '70s and early '80s the hot generation also seems freer to experience new vibes and electronic impulses. This can be a source of strength and weakness, and it remains to be seen how the member of this generation will handle the mixed blessing of electronic and technological saturation and dramatic success.

Appraising the generation, and balancing its spectacular talent and the generational turbulence linked to poverty, drugs, unemployment and the proliferation of gangs, one social critic said: "This generation is proof positive of the continuing vitality of the Black tradition. But it needs the help and support of the older generations as it grapples with perhaps the biggest opportunity and the biggest threat in our history."

The foundation for success at an early age can be found literally in the roots. Most of these young people were born in small towns in the South or the Southwest and were raised by parents who were and are intensely involved in their lives. Many of their parents are their managers. Many of this talented group are only children, or are part of small families that consist of only two or three children.

Venus Williams, the 17-year-old, 6-foot-2 tennis wonder with the 100-plus miles per hour serve, is just such an example. She and her sister, Serena, who is also a tennis star, were raised by their parents Richard and Oracene Williams in Compton, Calif. Her father is her manager and he always believed in her.

"I knew from the first time I took her out on the tennis court that she was a champion," Williams said. "A champion has four qualities," he said, "they're rough, they're tough, they're strong and they're mentally sound--she is all that."

Venus is all that and more and, she, like most members of the hot generation, is relatively unfazed by her success. Williams said her main goal is to win a Grand Slam, but she wants to have more than tennis in her life. She plays the guitar and the bass and she likes to shop--mainly for jewelry. "I plan what I buy though, so I don't go crazy." Responding to criticism that she is "too close" to her family and doesn't "mix" well, she defended her family. "I don't see why anyone should be upset that I'm close to my family, because a lot of people don't even have that."

Nineteen-year-old Kobe Bryant has that. When he jumped from high school to the pros in 1996, he became the youngest Los Angeles Laker player in league history. But he prefers spending time with family and friends to the frantic nightlife of an NBA star.