've only shed tears two other times in my life when someone important in the music world passed away. The first was back in 1978 when "Chicago" guitarist , Terry Kath died. The second was just over a year ago when my "little brother", Stephen "Static Major" Garrett passed. Third, right now. I've been in car accidents that should've killed me. I was an innocent bystander during a double murder, but with Jackson's death, I have realized my own mortality for the first time. Perhaps because he was only a couple of years older than me.
I can honestly say that I've grown up with Micheal Jackson. I remember as a kid, a couple of years younger than he was when the Jackson 5 ruled the world, singing just about every song they put out on the radio. Little did I know way back then that being able to sing a Jackson 5 song could get you a lot of girls. Hell at that age, I didn't really care. All I knew was that if there was a song I like, I was going to learn it.
It seems like for a lot of us "soon - to - be- 50 - somethings", Micheal has always been there. Several projects during his teen years. The Jackson 5 becoming The Jacksons and the subsequent musical growth that came with it. A lot of people still think that Micheal didn't do anything solo until "Off The Wall", but I remember an album called "Music & Me" that was a personal milestone. I tolerated "Ben" (lol). C'mon, a song about a rat ? Give me a break !
I didn't realize until just this second how much of an emotional connection I've had with this man's music. Thinking back, I guess I was always a cheerleader of sorts whenever he showed growth, so you can imagine how I felt when he dropped "Off The Wall".
I was an young adult by then and just as I imagine Jackson contemplating his next move, I contemplated a career as a musician. You see, by that time, I'd been fronting a ten piece rock band with horns and of course, Micheal Jackson music was a part of my playlist. In fact, it was the Jacksons "Shake Your Body" that brought my mother one of her proudest moments as a parent. The band I was in, "Cargo", performed it as part of a set during a battle of the bands competition. It was the first time my mom had ever seen me perform on stage. Thank you Mike !
We both got older and more growth ensued. My career in radio started almost 31 years ago. I never imagined that I would go from listening to Micheal Jackson on the radio to playing Micheal Jackson on the radio. I remember driving home one afternoon in 1984. I was about to pull into my driveway when I heard the opening chords to what I still think is one of the best Micheal Jackson songs ever, "Beat It". I couldn't move and I couldn't turn off the radio either !! Micheal had officially reached "bad ass" status in my eyes. "Thriller" is still the largest selling album in history !! And yes I had one of those silly red zipper jackets LOL !!
I guess the one thing that I loved and hated about Micheal as time went on was his unwillingness or inability to reinvent himself. Through subsequent projects, the music sounded somewhat dated, but I rooted for Mike just the same. I always felt like there was THE seminal M.J. album for THIS period in time, just like "Thriller" was for the 80's. I thought he came close with "Invincible". When "You Rock My World" first came across my desk as a Program Director, I played it IMMEDIATELY ! When "Butterfly" was released as a single, I played that too ! I wasn't too thrilled with the label when they didn't push anything else from it.
Despite all of Micheal's problems, and he had quite a few of them, it was the music I always held on to and it's the music that I always will hold on to.
Blessed Be Micheal Joseph Jackson ! May the Lord and Lady keep you and make you whole again.
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[SIZE=5]Bonnie Sweeten is the latest trailer park trash to falsely accuse a Black Man for HER crimes. She was the ditz that thought it would be a good idea to jack a local charity for a bunch of cash and run off to Disney World with her daughter.
She places a 911 call and says that she and her kid were abducted by "two Black men" and stuffed in the trunk of a Caddy. Luckily police caught up with her monkey ass and arrested her. She's facing several serious charges. I wished one of them was a Defamation Of Character lawsuit. More on that in a minute.
I thought it might be worth a look back at other major "The Black Guy Did It" incidents:
October 23, 1989 - In Boston, MA, Charles Stuart blames "a black gunman with a raspy voice" for carjacking, robbing and shooting Stuart and his pregnant wife Carol. After his wife and baby son died -- she on the night of the incident and the infant 17 days later -- Stuart continued his lie that there was an unknown black assailant. Stuart concocted a description of the alleged assailant and on December 28, he picked Willie Bennett out of a lineup. Bennett had nothing to do with the crime. Stuart's brother Matthew confessed to being part of Stuart's insurance fraud scheme a few days after Bennett's arrest and implicated Stuart in the murders. Charles Stuart jumped to his death off the Tobin Bridge on January 4, 1990.
October 25, 1994 - Susan Smith tells the police in Union, SC that an unknown black man carjacked her and sped away with her two young sons, Michael and Alexander, still strapped in their car seats. After appearing tearfully begging for her children to be returned to her on every morning news show, notably saying, "your mama loves you..." and keeping the story going for nine days, she finally confessed that there was no black man, no carjacking at gunpoint, that she had actually rolled her car into a local lake. The apparent motive was to facilitate a relationship with wealthy local businessman who didn't want her children from a previous marriage.
April 23, 1994 -- Six Yonkers, NY police officers got into a fight over which of the officers would have to do the paperwork necessary to report a burning car. The fight spilled over from teh scene of the burning car to the precinct house. One of the officers was beaten so badly he had to go to the hospital for treatment of his injuries. To cover their tracks, the officers claimed that a tall black man in a blue jacket had assaulted the white officer. There was no black man in a blue jacket.
May 29, 2005 -- While on an unofficial school graduation trip to Aruba with 124 other seniors from her high school in Birmingham, Alabama in Natalee Holloway disappeared after a night of partying. She was last seen with Joran van der Sloot and brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe. As the investigation unfolded, van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers blamed, "a dark man in a dark shirt" similar to the uniforms worn by hotel security guards. The police arrested two dark-skinned Arubans former security guards apparently on the basis of an identification by van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers. The men were released and all charges dropped. Holloway has never been found. Van der Sloot remains the primary person of interest in the case.
April 26, 2005 - Jennifer Carol Wilbanks ran away from her fiance, looming nuptials and her home and family in Duluth, GA. A nationwide search for the 'runaway bride" ensued with tearful family and finace pleading for the safe return of Jennifer, who turned up days later in Albuquerque, NM claiming she had been kidnapped and sexually assaulted by a Hispanic man and his white woman accomplice. No such persons existed. One supposes had she been in a community with a larger black population she wouldn't have strayed from the script.
October 22, 2008 -- Ashley Todd, a campaign volunteer for Republican presidential candidate John McCain, told Pittsburgh, PA police investigators that a 6 foot 4 inch black man assaulted her as she was withdrawing money from an ATM. Todd claimed that when the man saw her McCain bumpersticker he knocked her to the ground, punching her and then carving a "B" for Barack into her cheek. Two days later, Todd admitted she carved the "B" into her own face, and that there was no black assailant.
May 29, 2009 - Bonnie Sweeten dials 911 to report she and her 9 year old daughter were carjacked and stuffed into the trunk of a black Cadillac driven by two black men. Several days later, she turns up in Disneyland. She was never carjacked or kidnapped or held against her will. There were no mystery black men who tried to boost her vehicle. She went to Disneyland. On someone else's dime. To the tune of between $300,000 and $700,000. Of money she had allegedly embezzled from a local Bucks County, PA charity.
There are many more examples that date even further back in this country's history. One of my favorite books, "To Kill A Mockingbird"m deals with this very subject. One of the most fucked up things is that there are INNOCENT Black Men in prison because of false accusations.
There are Whites who'll justify these accusations by saying that "so many blacks commit crimes in the first place" and a wolf cry like this is SURE to garner sympathy for the lying bitch in question.
In my fantasy world, I wished there was a way that every sane, law - abiding Black Man in this country could file a class action lawsuit against Sweeten and the other "The Black Guy Did It" liars. It wouldn't be for monetary gain, but it would be a strong symbolic message to those who continually want to make us scapegoats.
On the other hand, these assholes will keep this shit up and the one time when the Black actually DID do it would be dismissed as another White lie !
Last week, my girlfriend Tracey, daughter Jessica and I spent Christmas in my hometown of Columbus Georgia. It was a surprise for my mom because she had no idea that we were coming. It seems that my sisters, Monique and Tonya, can indeed keep a secret !!
I was really excited because this was the first Christmas that all of us have been home at the same time in over 10 years !! I was also a little nervous because they were meeting Tracey and Jessica for the first time.I knew everything would be just fine from the second my mom answered the door !! She hugged Tracey and Jessica as if they'd been with me for a lifetime.
We got inside and it was a couple of hours before I even unpacked the car because we were talking so much.It has to be noted here that my family is very protective of me especially when it concerns who I share my life with. According to mom and my sisters, my ex - wife is still going to be on the receiving end of a long overdue ass - kicking. That thought, however wrong, still causes me to chuckle a bit. My sisters and retired Navy and even I don't test them... much.
This has to be the best Christmas I ever had, not because of the stuff under the tree, but because of the gift of love my family continues to share with me and the love they extended to Tracey and Jessica. If you could've seen the way Tracey interacted with everyone, you'd know one of the reasons why I love her so much. She is who she is and that scored major points with my mom. The fact that they're both veterans of the medical field doesn't hurt either. They started talking about coding and I had no clue what they were saying. I just reveled in being there to see the two most important women in my life talking and laughing together.
At some point, we got around to opening gifts, which was a real adventure in and of itself. My mom played Santa and all of the kids (adults and children LOL) ripped and tore into boxes like a pack of wolves that hadn't eaten in weeks !! There were plenty of sweaters, shoes, ipods, iphones and a couple of really nice Italian sports jackets. There was even a couple of laptops. The Gunn Clan made out like fat rats. LOL.
It was time to present mom with her gift. The kids and I gave her a digital photo album and it was already loaded with pictures that I had my siblings send to me. Mom started crying when she started looking at the photos and then I presented the last gifts to my sisters and brother. I had matching bracelets made with the inscription "YOU ARE A LINK IN THE WORLD'S STRONGEST CHAIN...OUR FAMILY". It was pretty much over for my mom at that point. I wanted to do something that would be a physical reminder of the bond we have as brothers and sisters.
Later that night, we went to see my dad and our baby sister, Olivia. I was never so glad to see anyone as I was to see them. My dad, by far, has been the biggest influence on my life and the irony of it all is that we don't really talk all that much. He and I both agree that we really don't have to. You see, the man in this photo is not my biological father but we have a bond that is stronger than a lot of fathers and sons. That's another story for another time.
It was wonderful to see how much Olivia has grown and to see where she's headed in life. It's a comfort to know that she shares the Gunn trait of over achievement !! She'll do well in this life.
Another trait my family shares is that THEY'RE ALL NUTZ !!! I haven't laughed so hard and so much in I don't know how long and it's something that I miss. Over the years, my family has become more deranged !!
My stepdad "Papa Rich", who's usually very laid back and someone quiet, had this thing about sending women to "obedience school". Normally, I'd laugh at something like that except we (men) were wayyyyy outnumbered by the women in the house !!! I just hope mom didn't beat him to within an inch of his life after we left. LOL
My brother, Derrell, works with kids in the Norfolk School district as a security officer and has often had to counsel kids that were acting up and headed down the wrong path. A lot of parents credit him with helping to keep their kids on the straight and narrow.
Derrell is very quick - witted, and will hit you with a joke or 10 before you knew what happened. The end result is always you laughing your face off. He had a moment with Jessica that was priceless in the "I know what you're talking about even if your parents don't" mode. I'm still trying to figure out exactly what happened. LOL.
Tonya has the biggest personality out of all of us. It's like she's taken a page out of my mom's playbook in that "I'm going to enjoy my life and the devil be damned". Tonya also has a very wicked sense of humor. On the flip side, she's very spiritual and wears her faith on her sleeve. Although she doesn't go around quoting chapter and verse, you know exactly where she stands. That was something that was a huge comfort to me during my divorce.
Monique is probably the most pragmatic of all of us. She's somewhat low key and tends to be a no nonsense kind of person. She also has one of the most giving hearts of anyone I've ever known. I think she and Tracey established the deepest bond. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone while sitting at the "butt can" LOL. I knew a bond was established when Tracey told me that "Nee - Nee" got on her about something she'd said to Jessica. That's something you normally wouldn't so with someone you've basically just met.
I'd like to think that I'm somewhat a combination of all three of them and that they share some of my traits as well. Over achievement being one of them and we're all the sum of what our parents made us. I think they've done an incredible job.
I told Tracey on the way home that despite all of the laughter, great food and family bonding, that was being sized up. My baby was able to jump into the craziness feet first and made quite a few connections, especially with my mom. Monique pointed out to her that she must've made a positive impression because mom was repeating what she'd said about her cooking. Mom asked Tracey if she enjoyed the food and Tracey replied "it was terrible and I'm never eating at this dump again." Mom howled !!!
All in all, I felt like "George Bailey" in "It's A Wonderful Life". The scene at the end of the movie when all of his friends come to house to help him with $ 8000 that he needed. Then his little brother toasts "to my big brother George, the richest man in town" !
The greatest gift I've received this Christmas is in knowing just how rich I am. I have an absolutely incredible family and the two most important women in my life, my mom and my Tracey, loving me unconditionally.Your text goes here
To paraphrase "Tiny Tim" from "A Christmas Carol", "God Blessed Us.. .Everyone".Your text goes here
Now that I have your attention, here's a question. Who do you think would be more likely to make such an ignorant statement ? Would it be some White redneck racist or some ignorant Black person who blindly thinks that the word "nigger" is a term of endearment ?
The sad reality is that it would be both, which brings me to the actual point of this blog. Tracey and I attended an "Obama Victory Celebration" last night at the home of a married couple we're very close to.
There were people we haven't seen in a long time and so there were hugs and kisses all around. We were there barely 5 minutes when I was greeted by a friend of mine , a White woman in her 40's, who hugged me and said "where's my nigger ?".
Now it has to be understood that this woman spends a lot of time around Blacks and somehow, misguidedly so, feels comfortable enough to use "nigger" in her ever day language and seems to have a very distorted view of what Black culture is and isn't. My reply to her was "I don't where he is, but I'm here.", meaning that I am not, nor have I ever been anyone's "nigger". I was highly offended, but didn't want to let that spoil the rest of what turned out to be a fun evening.
My point is this. There are those of us who've always had a very strong sense of pride in who we are and have never tolerated anything in the way of disrespect. We've been just as hard on Blacks and Whites who would try to refer to us by anything less than who we are. I would also imagine that our Prresident, Barack Obama, has the same mindset. He would have to or he wouldn't have been able to achieve what he has.
Obama's presidency has already had a profound effect on the lives of some young Black men. They've chosen to leave behind a juvenile lifestyle (pseudo thuggery, pants sagging, bitch assery nonsense) and to clean up their act. They now feel that America is finally making an investment in them and they see that by working hard, they can reap the rewards.
I have the distinct feeling that you'll see a lot of that coming out of Black America and it's up to those of us that have already gained a measure of success to encourage these changes and to offer any kind of guidance we can. It is also up to all of us to keep our achievements and gains in self respect from being reduced or negated altogether by those that don't agree with our desire to be better than we are or those that've been brainwashed in distorted cultural ignorance. Really now, what self - respecting Black man or woman would allow themselves to be referred to as "nigger" ? You may as well get down on all fours and start barking like some dog.
Bottom line: Just as you would never call the President Of The United States a "nigger", you won't call me or mine "nigger" either. How can you respect his milestone achievement on one hand and then ignorantly use a word that embodies the worst in the very country he's been chosen to lead ?Your text goes hereYour text goes hereYour text goes here
I wanted to know what our schools were teaching our kids about this Presidential election because of it's historic nature. The following is audio from a conversation I had with a 19 year old college student yesterday afternoon on my show. Check it out and let me know what you thnk.
One of the running themes you continue to read about is the state of Hip - Hop and rap music. A lot of people, from the casual observer to the music insider have been saying that Hip - Hop is dead.
Here's my observation.
Hip - Hop is not dead to be sure, but she seems to be in a comatose state right now. With the exception of a few shining lights (Nas, Kanye, Lupe Fiasco) the direction it's headed will surely bring about it's death if we don't turn things around.
In addition to being a radio and television personality with over 30 years in the game, I also run a talent consultancy. Part of the problem with quite a few of today's artists is that the music has become disposible. We have a bunch of sheep who spit about the same things in pretty much the same way to the point where a lot of product is a very bad cliche' and makes a mockery of itself. It's everything from what they wear (all variations of the same thing) to how they present themselves in public (rediculous cartoon coons).
I get no less than 75 to 100 pieces of new music every week and a majority of it ends up file 13'd because it IS so bad. The discipline it takes to be a SUCCESSFUL artist isn't there in a LOT of cases and it shows in the music and the lack of business sense.
I get approached on the street daily by someone wanting to give me their product and I WON'T TAKE IT. Here's why. A lot of these kids want to have a career but have absolutely no business sense. They mistakenly think that all they have to do is record something and they'll get on when nothing could be further from the truth. I tell them that if they want me to listen, it has to be presented in a professional manner. This weeds out the pretenders from the possible contenders.
None of the music has been packaged in a professional way and I've stated on many occasions that I won't take anything that's nothing more than a CD with information written with a Sharpie. The way you present your material let's me know if you're serious or not.
Out of that 75 to 100 pieces I get every week, there are MAYBE 5 worth giving a second listen to and out of those 5, I'm lucky if I get 2 that could seriously be considered for airplay. You say that rap is subjective and that there is no good or bad hip - hop. I have to disagree there as well or radio stations and record companies wouldn't be so selective about what gets picked.
Have you noticed that there haven't been any REAL Hip - Hop classics sinse the mid to late 90's ? Good music and artists stand the test of time and everyone else becomes an afterthought or a never thought of at all.
The biggest problem with Hip - Hop is that WE NO LONGER CONTROL THE CULTURE. It's been co - opted to Corporate America and record companies that have a dumb it down agenda and a majority of us gladly drink the kool - aid. We're at a critical crossroads in Black America where Hip - Hop could be VERY USEFUL in saving some of our kids if only those in the rap community would collectively decide to quit trying to live up images they KNOW are self - destructive and use their 16 bars for a better, more positive purpose
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