As the messy “who gets what” chapter of the Universe post King of Pop proceeds, reflection on the fabled career of MJ brings to mind three overlapping yet distinct phases in the life and times of the child star, turned enigma, turned entrepreneurial Houdini.
Depending on one’s age and location, the first glimpse of Michael may have been the uniquely talented stand out brother of the Jackson 5 on any number of high profile television appearances throughout the early to mid seventies. Carefully marketed by Barry Gordy Jr. & Co. and later Hal Davis to crossover to the widest possible audience, the Jackson 5 were the first black group to launch a cartoon series (1971), and their own prime time variety show, a dominant tv format of it’s time (1976). Here Maurice the robot enters the stage in the company of (almost) all brothers and sisters Jackson, in that comparatively innocent and funky era of “bubblegum’ …
but don’t just take our word on it, listen what the man said
Now I know that all you T-dot headz know the dilly on The Real Frequency…but for all you international cats needing the 411 know this, The Real Frequency and its hosts, Arcee, Musiklee Insane and dj P-Plus are basically the ground floor of Toronto Hip hop. Hit up their blog, if you think I’m lying and definitely stop by their new home, making FLOW 93.5 relevant (again?!)
Here’s a great interview with Black Milk, Elzhi and dj Houseshoes where they run the gamut from the problems with Detroit hiphop to the greatness of Dilla…
For all those forward thinking headz caught up in the past, here’s some straight black to the future type ish: SOUL! was an entertainment/variety/talkshow that promoted African-American artistry, community and culture broadcast locally on WNDT in New York. It aired from 1968-1973. Led by the openly gay Ellis Haizlip, it showcased classic live musical performances from funk, soul, jazz, and world musicians, and had in-depth, extraordinary interviews with political, sports, literary figures and more. Here’s the original show announcement as well as a quick article following its demise in JET magazine. Check this spectacular episode featuring the Latin side of soul featuring Tito Puente y su Orquestra and Willie Colon y su Orquestra. Infotainment point: The guest interviewer is none other than Felipe Luciano featured infamously reciting his poem ‘My Pretty Nigger’ on Eddie Palmieri Live at Sing Sing!So all you boogaloo lovers eat it up and feel that Tito Puente interview as he kicks it with the soul-fro!!
Plus make sure you linger over the rest of these classic videos taken during the peak of the 70’s soul movement.
