Monday, June 29, 2009

R.I.P MJ


I know its been a few days since his passing, and so many people have sung his praise and acknowledged his genius everyday since, but I felt that it was my turn to express my feelings on the King of Pop.

I am only 22 yrs old, not even old enough to remember the "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and even the "Bad" albums (the Jackson 5 era, forget it, my mother barely remembers), but being in a household full of older siblings, his music was passed on down to me. I was only about 7 years old when I memorized both the "Thriller and "Beat It" dance routine & proudly showcased MJ's smoove moves at family gatherings or just joshin' around the house. I remember years before that, watching the entire making of "Thriller" and the movie from which they made the "Smooth Criminal" video from. Whenever my four sisters and I sat around the tube watching award shows and performances, we ALWAYS asked one another "you think Michael Jackson is gonna come out?!"; even if it was one of those boring Oscar dance performances, we sat in anticipation of Michael Jackson busting through the curtains and commanding attention like the statue on the cover of his "HIStory" album. Everytime Usher performed, Chris Brown spun, Justin did a move or Ne-Yo sang, we always felt that they were just copying MJ, never "paying homage" as they always claimed. I remember when he had his anniversary special for his Thriller album and Usher had the nerve to try to battle him but Michael glided right across that stage leaving Usher and that goddamn spinning U-chain in his shadows.

I know all of his songs, most of his dance moves and I even grew to love his sister Janet. Their song & video for "Scream" still never gets the credit it should but I always thought it to be one of the greatest music moments I ever saw. The King of Pop and his sort of Queen of dance(?) sister, Janet, in one video, side by side.

When I heard the news of his passing, I automatically called my friend Fatima, probably one of the biggest MJ fans. If I know all the words to a song, she definitely knows the ad-libs, the riffs, the notes and the date in which MJ wrote it. If I know all the dances from his videos, she would be the choreographer of it all, right down to the snap of a finger. Ever since I met her 8 years ago, she has always expressed her undying love for MJ and his music. One funny moment was when were sitting around waiting for class to start and she broke out singing "Liberian Girl." I didn't know what the hell she was singing. I shot her the chopped and screwed face and she was so shocked that I did not know it was an MJ track. I guess you can call me a bandwagon fan since I mostly only know all his popular songs and probably a handful of ones that people never even heard of. But this girl Fatima, knew EVERYTHING. For Christmas a mutual friend of ours bought her a compilation special edition CD of MJ with almost every song he ever recorded, from his Jackson 5 days, right down to his last album "Invincible." I swear to you, I never saw so many tears flow from someone eyes from happiness in my life. Last year, when we first learned MJ was sick, we sat around in school and discussed the "what would you do if MJ ever died?" This question was also posed by my sisters and I almost everytime someone mentioned MJ or alluded to him. And every answer to this question some cataclysmic ending. Either the world would end, get devoured into a black hole, music would die, the human race would vanish into thin air, or everyone on Earth would commit suicide. Sadly, we never knew that that question would so quickly be answered.

I was never an MJ fanatic, yes I cried a few times watching him dance or screamed like a school-girl when I heard his young pre-pubescent voice over "Got To Be There" or "ABC" during his Jackson 5 period, BUT his death nonetheless took my breath away. As I write this post, I still do not believe he is gone but the stack of newspapers on my bed showing his face, with the 1958-2009 timeline beneathe it, tell me otherwise. I imagine that he is still alive, only faking his death to escape the stressful and detrimental aspects of the "industry." But my imagination continues to fail me as the news speaks about his funeral arrangements & shows the numerous memorials in his honor. Somewhere MJ is tugging on his white glove, shining up his loafers, positioning his hat just right as he finally gets a chance to truly walk the moon. . .

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Oh, I Think I Like Him....

So I was put onto another dope poet by my main man Kas and this young man definitely became an inspiration for another post and an idea to showcase or highlight some of my writing buddies. I don't know him personally YET, but from one creative person to the next, Sincerest Apologies, you got it man......


P.S his blog URL is www.itsnofacade.blogspot.com.... love him

A Little Bit in Love w. You

Yea, so I finally gave in and wrote a love poem....thanx to T.Mills, I think im beginning to know what this love stuff is all about....


Sometimes I wonder what love is
Is it when you meet someone who makes you laugh
Cry or smile?
When you wake up and only picture their face in your mind?
And in that same mind, you store memories of a first date,
A first kiss, or a first anything...
Is love when you argue, you don't even care whose right
You just love to hear his voice
When he leans in to tell you a secret
The heat from his breath sparks some internal flame
Engulfing every sensor in your body
'Til all feeling for anyone else is burned out
Is it love when you call that person, there's not enough 24/7's or 365's to finish a conversation
When time if only measured in memories, experiences or photographs
Does love grow? Or is it some instant blossom?
Do we get to pick who we love? How can we tell if they are a rose or weed?
Is love rather a want, then a need?
Do I need him, does he want her?
Like, love to me is when I hate you
But I still come back for more
When after you have cut me so deep
I return for you to lick my wounds clean
To me, love is when I can't tell if these tears are for happiness or because you made me unhappy
If I cry because we are a love story, or because our ending will be Romeo & Juliet
I love the kind of love where we talk through our eyes
And we listen through our hearts
And our stomachs make up our minds
When I tune out my friends
To become in tune with you
And when they say you aren't good enough
And I say, you're right...he's PERFECT
When they roll their eyes and talk from behind one anothers back
But those same eyes are full of some hope they find someone like him
And those same backs, I pat during hugs, as their head lays on my shoulder
Wetting my shirt with hopeless tears
To me love smells not like roses, or something sweet
But like sweat and spit
From the hardwork
It's not red or pink
But black and gold and brown and orange
The colors our skin make when become one
Like love to me can't be expressed in a song
It can't be put into words or melody to hum
Or some hallmark card you sign with the blue ink once a year
It can't be written or typed
. . . so I wasted all this time, when I could have just been in love.

Kasanova's Insight #39: Out Of Town Girl. . .

Once again, showing love to Kas. . .he's had alot to say these days :-)


Out Of Town Girl

Falling for your energy out of town girl
Titles are overrated you don't have to be my girl
Slice the earth in pieces, you have your own world
Overwhelmed by your energy out of town girl
With a gifted naked mind
Sphered contours
Statuesque silhouette
Couldn't reach the limits out of town girl
Enter into my studio
Fall asleep into the sounds
Melodies carry you around
Right to the top 'til you sleeping with the clouds
2 becomes 1, you don't have to come down
No air in the room
The places im trying to go
You don't need to breathe
Can't take you to the next
Take smaller steps
If you need a little bit, I'd let you catch your breath
I'm never taking you home out of town girl
Never you alone out of town girl
Falling for your energy out of town girl

Kas vs. Keenan

Here is another poem done by my pal Kas (Quintessential Kas is the blogname). He's really a dope writer. So here it goes. . .


Hand on my chest but I can't feel a pulse
If guilt was tranparent, I'd be looking ghost
Mostly I suppose
My feelings on the road
Driving slow on the interstate anywhere away from home
If butterflies fluttering represent nervousness
Then what I got inside of me must be a birds nest
Breaking all hearts no apologies
Saying I love you is just a pet peeve
I only tell lies, what were you expecting
Heart on my arm but I wear a thick sleeve
I'm not leading you on, I just entertain
I tell you what you want to hear no thing else to explain
Taking steps with me is like taking steps in flames
Somebody should've warned you its self-inflicted pain
If everything I wanted was right before my eyes
and lookes into the sky and god winked his eyes
No matter how hard I try
With you right by my side
I can't recognize forever when its wearing a disguise
I'm the author of every page but you can't read my book
Took a second to relax plus multiple second looks
All decisions made with precision
Live and let die
But I rather be living
This cliff is steep and my rivers run deep
I play the games yall playing but I play the shit for keeps
It's your court and ball bouncing off the walls
When it all comes around and that wall fall downs
You gone have to dig alot 'til the foundation found
That's why the base that we building has to be sound
If you lookin for perfection this my confession
Kas a heartbreaker hope you learned your lesson.