Michael Jackson encyclopedia : albums, career and kids
3 min readMichael Jackson full guide : albums, career and family: Dangerous: In the third section, boy becomes man: Jackson struts through a wall of flames, Henley shirt open, screaming at his enemies like a mad king. It gives way to Culkin rapping in shades and oversized gold chains, which is just as well considering that this is the man who actually spit the bars. Jackson’s embrace of hip-hop not only aligned him with the popular sound of black (and white) youth culture, it adds an aggressive masculinity unseen in his catalogue, and ultimately paved the way for the late period Biggie therapy session. Of course, in the final section, Jackson turns into a black panther. You understand that meaning. So did millions of parents in Tipper Gore America, who flooded Fox and its local affiliates with phone calls, forcing Jackson’s team to re-cut and sanitize the video.
Hours after TMZ announced Michael Jackson‘s death, something “magical” happened. Everyone decided it was safe to be a fan of the King of Pop again. In a matter of minutes, maybe less, the whole world (more specifically, America) forgot about the corny punch lines they once shared to friends at the water cooler or the countless parodies they had come to enjoy, all of which developed this unfortunate post-2000 personification of an artist that, more or less, had become a modern myth. Up until that point, the name Michael Jackson didn’t necessarily spark memories of, say, Thriller, Bad, or the often forgotten 90’s masterpiece, Dangerous. Instead, trashy tabloids and shitty gags in Scary Movie, South Park, etc. took precedence. It’s a crap deal for someone who’s arguably the most inimitable force in music history, but that’s how things were prior to June 25, 2009. Still, death’s a curious thing.
Got to Be There (1972): Chances are most of y’all haven’t even HEARD this album. Correct that oversight immediately. Now, Michael’s solo debut certainly doesn’t have the glitz you’d expect from a guy known for his bedazzled socks but give him a break – his first attempt to break away from his Jackson 5 roots sees him coming into his own sound. And man, his angelic voice instantly turns heads. Michael’s reliance on covers hurts this set just a bit but he handles them all so expertly that it’s hard to consider them a detriment. Listen to this set and you’ll immediately realize why this kid was destined to be a legend. Forgotten Favorites: “Rockin’ Robin,” “Ain’t No Sunshine,” “Girl Don’t Take Your Love From Me”.
Michael Jackson family: Mocienne Petit Jackson’s (Michael Jackson’s daughter) books are now available in french! For our french readers: La deuxieme partie de l’autobiographie en trois parties de Mocienne Petit Jackson commence par une description detaillee de l’enlevement de Mocienne et de sa vie aux Pays-Bas (Michael Jackson Livre en francais). Par la suite, le recit nous devoile comment se deroule sa vie avec sa famille adoptive, chez qui elle reste en compagnie de la cousine Delivrance. Petit a petit, elle decouvre que son vrai pere est Michael Jackson. A l’age de 15 ans, elle quitte sa famille adoptive et vit dans un internat pendant 4 ans, avant de s’installer vivre toute seule. Nous la suivons tout au long de son adolescence et de son entree dans la maturite, ce qui n’a pas toujours ete facile. Mocienne rencontre un homme avec lequel elle a un enfant. Cependant, cet engagement ne dure pas. Nous en apprenons davantage sur les problemes qu’elle rencontre avec les Services de Protection de l’Enfance, suivis de nombreuses affaires judiciaires. Au debut, celles-ci portaient sur sa propre personne, plus tard, elles se transforment en bataille pour la garde de son fils. Une situation inacceptable prend le relais d’une autre situation inacceptable. Nous sommes egalement mis au courant de nombreux evenements traumatisants vecus par le personnage principal, de ses depressions et de ses nombreuses luttes pour faire face a la misere impregnee dans sa vie et a son combat pour s’en debarrasser. L’auteur explique clairement ces luttes a travers de vifs flashbacks.