“It’s a little embarrassing,” said the young Indian woman interviewed by CNN. “I tried to hide it from my mom. I didn’t want her to know that I was crying over a man that I had never met.”
It had become hard to be a fan of the greatest entertainer to ever walk the face of the Earth. We had allowed everything else to get in the way of what truly mattered. The Music. But when I heard this woman’s voice solo out from the chorus of television commentators and “close friends” on the various news stations, I completely understood.
And if you were born in the early 80’s, you understand. You understand even more than your parents could ever hope to understand. Michael Jackson was ours, the way Sammy and Stevie had been theirs. The way Frankie Lymon belonged to the teenagers of the 1950’s. We had a personal relationship with the man who effectively changed popular music, video, fashion, and performance across the globe. We performed his songs in front of our families way before we knew what “Mama-say-mama-sah-ma-ma-coo-sah” meant. His were the songs that were beyond okay to play at the cookouts, they were mandatory. Our families demanded that we danced and that we not stop until they got enough.
It was May 16, 1983 and I had been born exactly 22 months before the unforgettable evening that was Motown 25. This would be the very first thing that I would remember seeing on television. We lived in Sicklerville, a quiet suburb of New Jersey, and as much as the comfort of my home and its conveniences may have influenced that moment, I believe that I could have been any kid in America or around the globe for that matter and I would have felt the same way. I was awestruck. I was in love. And I was sure that I was more excited about seeing this Black man moonwalk than my parents were to see a White man walk on the actual moon.
...liken it to the moment when Neo died in the Matrix. You are stuck between (dis)belief and (mis)understanding. You think, “He’s not really dead.” But he is. The King of Pop is dead.
What if someone told you that [arguably] the most time honored and perhaps the most recognizable superhero (which makes him a perfect comparison) ….Superman was dead? How are you to react to the reported death of one that has…had…seemed larger than life?
I didn’t. I didn’t react at all. I went into my hotel room and went to sleep.
I was on a “tour bus” with the rest of the Wondaland Arts Society, a fellowship of musicians, writers, actors, thinkers, and artists who are probably best known for our support of the burgeoning career of one Ms. Janelle Monáe. Monáe, who has been compared to a young Michael and an old James Brown as often as she has been lauded for having the range of Jessye Norman and vocal agility of Lauryn Hill (we’ll get back to her later) had been invited to be the opening act for the No Doubt tour. We were riding through New Jersey on June 25, 2009 when my phone buzzed. It was a friend who asked rhetorically, “Michael Jackson is dead?”
I decided to confirm it with my sources…my twitter friends.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. But it was true. Michael Jackson had passed. For a moment, I think I was okay with it, not just because I handle death well, but because I knew he was finally at peace. There would be no more bullying or tabloid sightings, there would be no more “Jacko” or punchlines at his expense. But with that, there would also be no more new music. There would be no more concerts. There would be no more magic.
Everyone on the tour bus took it in their own way. Some of us cried, but most of us were silent. I believe it was because we didn’t know what it meant for him to be dead. We couldn’t decide. We couldn’t understand.
We stopped at the first shopping district we could find. Nobody
wanted to be in the van any longer. I couldn’t move. I sat there for a
little while, thinking that if I didn’t get out it wouldn’t be real.
As I gazed out the window I could hear “Smooth Criminal” playing across
the parking lot and I saw this kid impersonating Michael. This black
kid was standing with his white friends grossly mocking Michael,
gyrating and grabbing himself to the amusement of his audience. I
jumped out of the van and I ran over there to say something, but I just
couldn’t get the words out. How was I to explain to this kid that the
black artists he now covets would never have been on MTV if it weren’t
for the trailblazing of Michael Jackson? How would I convey to him how
influential Michael Jackson had been to EVERY single artist to produce
a record after the record selling album “Thriller”? (101 million records sold) Did he even realize that Michael, not Diddy, was the reason he wore sunglasses in the club??
It was in that very instant that I knew just how devastating the loss truly was. I understood.
In 1997 “Blood is on the Dance Floor” was released and admittedly I had already decided to let Michael go. For me that meant separating the tabloid scapegoat that he’d become from who he was to me, personally. I wasn’t at all interested in all of the stories on him. I was proudly unfamiliar with them. I didn’t really care for this character that had been created. It was a divorce that I hoped I would never have to go through again. One that made me never want to marry myself to another artist. (But I did, years later. Her name was Lauryn Hill and we are still trying to get back together. It doesn’t look good.) So when Michael Jackson passed away, I felt the way I imagine ex-wives and ex-husbands would feel…devastated in a way that won’t allow you to look at pictures and hear stories about the person you knew better than anyone else; even if you had let them go long ago.
Everything he had for us he had already given us. His music could never be changed or misunderstood or confused for me, by anybody.
45 years in the music industry? How long is that? What I mean is: are those 45 regular people years? Or are they like dog years, where each year has a greater value? He gave his life to us. He literally gave his life to us, keeping only 4 of his almost 51 years to himself.
“We broke Michael Jackson’s heart, way before it gave away today.” –The Rev. Al Sharpton
Follow @TheChasemasters for up-to-date information on the Janelle Monae/Paramore/No Doubt tour!!!
I'm going shirtless for the month of July.
During the short break between this posting and the next one that is sure to follow. (If I am so inclined). Please enjoy an excerpt from Greg Tate's "Everything But the Burden" Eminem: The New Negro.
(Book) Mark my words,
2.0
We all knew he was in shape. But did you know that he was a Sensei?
Yes, our very own President Barack Obama was filmed swatting a pesky fly out of mid air during a White House interview with CNBC. Don't think that's so impressive?? TAKE A LOOK FOR YOURSELF
I was actually in LA when Jon shot this and couldn't make it to the shoot. This man had just purchased a new camera (red) and got busy right away. He called me and said they needed a new interior location after a location they'd already scouted fell through. So I hit up Cliff (back in Jersey) to have him call his Auntie (off of Crenshaw) to see if we could use the world famous Earle's Grille. You may have seen it in the NBC mini series "Heroes" when the black girl from Louisiana that could learn anything off of TV kicked a would-be robber through a glass door. Yeah that was LA.
Anyway, back to the relevant. I know you are getting tired of hearing that Jon is a Genius. "That's all 2.0 ever says on this blog."
So what, it's true...and he's getting better.
daveydanceblog.com
Here's another one. I feel like I may have posted this one before. But it is one of my favorites and this is my blog so I can do whatever I want.
