Why? (The King Of Pop Is Dead)

I don't really have any words yet and I am writing this about three hours after it happened. It is my sincerest wish that we focus our attention on Michael Jackson's contributions to the canon of Black Music...American music...and not on the more unfortunate details of his personal life.

I'll share a few MJ tales. I know all the choreography from "Beat It"! My BFFs and I learned it in high school in my homegirl's basement, watching the "HIStory" DVD! And waaaaay back on my 4th birthday, I remember my favorite preschool teacher playing the "Bad" record so that we could dance. Yes, it was on vynyl! It was the 80's! I thought Michael was the cutest boy ever, but my mother made a point to always talk about how cute he was as a kid before his looks...changed.

Well, we can't avoid that all together, can we? Over these next few weeks, we will be inundated with photo montages and video clips. And it will be hard to ignore the change in our brother's appearance. Yes, it happened and no, he wasn't our beautiful little brown boy at the time of his passing. But he was still the Michael we loved so, flaws and all. Here's something people never really mention: for all the effort put in to changing the racial appearance of his features (yes, I said it, I'm sorry!), Michael did not lack appreciation for the beauty of Africa.


The world STOPPED when the "Remember The Time" video debuted. This video, which depicted the lovely Iman as an Egyptian queen, was the product of a man who hung out with Elizabeth Taylor...who played Cleopatra and messed with the global perception of the Egyptian race! Chew on that for a second.

And hello, "Liberian Girl" anyone?


Michael's influence over R&B and Pop music is undeniable, to say the absolute least. Groups like New Edition and their descendants (New Kids On The Block on down to Backstreet) were heavily molded by the work of the Jackson 5. Bobby Brown, Usher, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake and many, many others owe the King of Pop their eternal gratitude. For while they were not all cut from the same cloth (actually, none of them were), they were definitely created in his image.

Michael's life may have been turbulent and he may have made some choices we don't agree with or done somethings that made us scratch our collective heads. However, we will never forget what Michael was really about: THE MUSIC! The beautiful and timeless and grooving and special and incomparable music he made for the majority of his years on this planet. I am so glad for who he was and who he will always be. The King of Pop.

Most of MJ's official videos are banned from being embedded, but I have to share a few faves nonetheless:







Let the musicians of today reflect on the legacy of this man and STEP THEIR GAME UP! As it stands, no performer has come close to topping MJ's legacy and no one is poised to either. Let's see a return to real music, y'all. Let's make Michael proud! Let's build legacies, not just take from them.


We are mournful, but we celebrate. Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim! With the glory of the creator, Michael, you lived and breathed beautiful music. And so we will love you forever and always.