Michael and the Truth: Random Thoughts Part 9

This is the ninth edition of Random Thoughts and there is so much to discuss. The theme for this edition is respect and honor. You will read what I think about Timbaland working on music for an upcoming Michael Jackson project, Teddy Riley finally wakes up, why I feel that Randy's concerns for Paris is credible and Justin Timberlake does deserve the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award. The tabloid media will always belittle Michael and the birthday love that Michael received on August 29th. Enjoy.

Michael in 1991.

Timbaland Producing Music for Upcoming MJ Album

Rapper and Producer Timbaland.

When I heard that Timbaland was asked by L.A. Reid to work on the Estate and Sony's next Michael Jackson album, I was not impressed. In fact, I was very disappointed. You can read the information by clicking on this link:

http://thatgrapejuice.net/2013/08/timbaland-announces-major-michael-jackson-project/

Timbaland will always be Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Ginuwine and Justin Timberlake's producer and working on a Michael album will make Michael sound like something he was not. Do not get me wrong, I love the work that Timbaland did for those iconic artists that I mentioned above, but to me, Michael's work should be done by producers who actually worked with Michael and respected him as well. I have to admit, at one point, I wanted Michael to work with Timbaland based on the great work he did with Missy, Ginuwine and the late Aaliyah. However, after Timbaland was interviewed some years back about working with Michael, he stated something of the effect that he would work with Michael if Michael was in the studio and in person. Just based on his complete ignorance on how Michael works in the studio, I do not want this man touching anything Michael ever did.

I remembered when there were rumors that rapper Drake wanted to do a posthumous album on Aaliyah and Timbaland was highly against it. This is what he stated about that -

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/18/missy-elliott-timbaland-drake-aaliyah-obsession-album_n_1893298.html

"When asked about Drake's Aaliyah album, Timbaland said, "I don’t even know if it’s an album, I don’t think that’s in the works. I don’t know, I think it’s blown out of proportion. I haven’t spoken to Drake yet. I have a hard time just hearing her music."

I would think that maybe Timbaland might feel the same way about Michael's music that has probably been uncompleted, in a demo version or he did not want anything to happen to the music. If Timbaland can respect the wishes of Aaliyah and her family when it comes to her music, why can he do the same for Michael? Even though we all do not know what Timbaland might be doing with Michael's songs, knowing that Sony and the executors of the Estate will be all over this project, I am concern that this project will become a mess. I feel that the people who worked with Michael in the studio over the years and the lucky ones like Ne-Yo, Pharrell, Rodney Jerkins and Will.i.am who had a chance to be in the studio with Michael, should be working on the upcoming music projects. They knew what Michael wanted and they had a better understanding of his work.

Teddy Riley Wakes Up

Teddy Riley.

I have to be honest, when people screw Michael over, I do not expect them to come to their senses and do the right thing. The fact that these people did what they did to Michael shows that they have no respect for him. However, Teddy Riley is probably a manipulator or a good guy underneath whatever persona he is showing to the public. As always, I found out about Teddy "coming clean" for the wrongness that he did to Michael on twitter. Let me post the tweets that he stated -

Teddy's tweets of guilt.

I have to be honest, I think Teddy is sincere with what he stated. I think that people have to understand what kind of world the entertainment business truly is. People will backstabbed their own blood just to get what they want. I will never fully respect Teddy because of what he did to Michael but I cannot dwell about it if the man was willing to apologize and is trying to make the wrongs that he did right. That is the whole purpose of giving people a break and in some way forgiving that person. Teddy is going to write a book and in it he will (hopefully) give a detail account into what happened with that whole Michael album/fake vocals fiasco. The true MJ fans, like myself, will never forget the nonsense Teddy did and it is well documented on this great blog post done by another true fan -

http://www.damienshields.com/producer-teddy-riley-says-he-was-set-up-apologises-for-involvement-in-controversial-2010-mj-album/

I want to know how Teddy is going to explain how he was "set up" and even while being "set up" how he can continue to promote songs that did not have Michael's vocals. Let's be real here, Teddy's credibility is not strong and if he wants to convince the fans that he was indeed "set up" he has to tell the whole story in his new book and make it believable. We will see and you know I will keep you all posted on that.

Randy's Concern for Paris

Michael and Randy in 2004.

I have a eh/dislike issue with Randy and at times, I just want to know what is wrong with him. I did a blog post about him some months back and I remember doing the post thinking, "who is really this man?" However, at the end of the day, Randy is not interested in the fame part of being a brother to the greatest entertainer that ever lived. He wants to focus on what he feels are important - his family and the legacy of his family. Paris is a child in crisis whether we all want to accept that fact or not. I have stated on this blog that Paris' "connection" with her mother, Debbie Rowe, will ruin her life. Instead of enjoying her summer with her family, she was at some impatient "treatment facility" that is notorious for doing uncalled for things to the troubled patients. That worried Randy a lot and he decided to issue a series of tweets of concern for his niece. Read below -

Randy's tweets of concern.

I feel that Randy has made some points here. I am not going to get into how I really think about Paris' situation because she is a minor but I do believe that psychologically, Paris is fine. It is clear that Randy is not 100% up to date on what is going on with his family but maybe if he sees them and speak to them more often, he would know. He has admitted in a video deposition that was played in the AEG trial that he does not spend a lot of time with his family. (~~I will get more into that when I do a four part series of the trial in the coming weeks.~~) This is typical Randy, making tweets in this fashion and then he does not tweet for months. He is very random when he comes to his tweets - no - he is random all of the time when he makes his tweets. Let's not forget the out of nowhere confirmation that legendary singer/entertainer Tina Turner shot him back in the 1980s when it had nothing to do with what he was stating on twitter at the time. That is why I was shocked when Randy decided to do an interview for Brian Oxman's radio show on 9/8. Here is the link to the radio show:

~~http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x14hfd7_randy-jackson-on-brian-oxman-show-9-8-13_people~~

Randy does state a lot of things like he does not get along with some of his siblings and when he was asked about Paris, he did state that she is doing good. At least we can all agree, we are glad to hear that Paris is fine.

Anthony Jackson- Sellout?

Michael with Anthony Jackson Sr. in the 1970s.

I have been debating for a while about doing a blog post on Michael's distant family members - his cousins. Compared to his parents, children, siblings, nieces and nephews, his cousins are not as important to really focus on. However, the one thing all fans of Michael need to know is that Michael was a family man and at one point, he raised his cousins as if they were his own children. Anthony Jackson Jr. (second cousin of Michael's from Joe's side of the his family) was one of the cousins that he raised and was like a father to Anthony when his own father, Anthony Sr. died. I can understand how protective Anthony is to Michael, his legacy and Michael's children. I do not know if Anthony truly knows the real pain that Michael had to go through with Debbie and when I saw these tweets weeks back, I was bothered. Here is what he stated -

Really, dude????

Does Anthony not know that Michael did not want anything to do with Debbie after 2003? If he knew that, let's say that he knew, then why would he want to team up with her for the sake of the children? What can he and Debbie do to help children who are probably not in harms way? Does he not realized that the whole incident with Paris happened while she was having a "connection" with Debbie? If he really cared about what Michael, why is he putting his family's business on twitter? This nonsense that he stated on the third tweet is laughable considering the fact that Anthony and his mother has no respect for Katherine and the children. By dealing with Debbie Rowe, Anthony's "loyalty" towards Michael is nothing more than talk. On top of that, Anthony would send tweets to Prince and Paris and neither of them responded back to his tweets. Anthony is not interested in what is happening with the family because he and his mother were shut out of the immediate Jackson family get togethers and the like. This is an attempt to make the family look bad because Anthony and his mother feel some type of way. If this is how Anthony rolls, I think it would be best to never have a connection with any of the family ever again. He and his mother need to take several seats and move on with their lives.

Roger Friedman Still Crapping on Michael

Michael in 2005.

I get it: Roger Friedman is sickly obsessed with Michael and it is so bad that he probably needs some type of rehabilitation for it. If you do not like someone, why care what they do or say? Why care about them anyway? These are a couple and more questions that I have for Roger Friedman. I make it a duty not to read his articles on anything relating to Michael because he hated Michael's guts. Friedman might not state it as such but trust me, he hated the man and will always hate the man. His hatred for Michael is all over the articles that he constantly does on him. Nearly three weeks ago was Michael's 55th birthday and while many people wished him "Happy Birthday" and offered their cherished memories of of him, Friedman decides to trash the man. I am going to list some of the things that he stated and tell you all what I think.

http://www.showbiz411.com/2013/08/29/michael-jackson-happy-birthday-but-remember-the-time-without-nostalgia

"I just saw a Tweet saying Michael Jackson– remember what a good business man he was. Huh? The smartest thing Michael Jackson ever did was tell John Branca that the Beatles’ catalog was for sale. That was it. Michael lived on that catalog for 25 years, long after his own money had run out due to flagrant spending on stuff that was mostly crap: worthless expensive souvenirs from Las Vegas vendors, paintings of himself at the Last Supper. Jewelry for Elizabeth Taylor so she’d come to his 30th anniversary show. One million dollars cash to get Marlon Brando to appear on stage at the same concert."

Friedman is correct - Michael did a smart thing by purchasing the Beatles Catalogue (which is now Sony/ATV Music Publishing), among other things like owning his masters, giving over $450M to charity, changing the music industry and creating an image that made people actually believe he was really like what he being portrayed. Friedman initially forgot to state to the reader that Michael bought the catalogue with his own money and yes, he did live off that catalogue - who wouldn't? If you truly studied how the catalogue made money, would not blame Michael for living off the catalogue. You have to wonder why Friedman was so concerned about what a grown man did with his own money. If Michael wanted to spend his money on "mostly crap" what the hell was Friedman going to do about it? If he wanted to spend his money living the way a King lives, what the hell was Friedman going to do about that? I do not understand why Friedman did not tell the reader Michael spent many of his own money giving back to the community and the world. Then again, Friedman is a bastard who thinks he "knows" Michael because of his sources to his articles are that "second family" of Michael's the Casicos and Debbie Rowe.

"Michael didn’t want to work. It took years to get the mediocre “Invincible” album together. It had already been 6 or 7 years since he’d put out a new record when “Invincible” was released in 2001. The album, you don’t want to remember this, was not a hit. “You Rock My World” was a modest success compared to Jackson’s previous efforts.
He wouldn’t tour. By 2001, he’d been off the circuit for some time."

Michael did not want to work - says who? Frank Casico? John Branca? So Michael was supposed to sing and dance all day like a Bojangles???? What was Friedman trying to state? Was he trying to state that in order for Michael to be considered a working person, he would have to tour? Laughable. Michael was a businessman who not only sang and dance, he was in the studio working on music. He was working on his charity work, he was getting his business affairs in order. Isn't all of those things considered work? Michael worked his whole life and really did not need anyone to tell him what to do with his life and money. The nerve of Friedman to state that Michael did not want to work! As for Michael "flop" album Invincible, which was the best selling album of the 2000s and had two hit singles - "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies", Michael has always taken years to complete albums and I do not see how that has to do with his supposed lack of work. The album was a hit, it debuted at number one and went platinum in a month during the time of Napster and the Internet, albums were not selling the way it used to sell in the 1980s and 1990s. As for Michael not wanting to tour - who cares? Michael was not just a musician and performer, he was always a businessman and he toured his whole life. If he did not want to tour anymore, good for him.

"I say all this because, let’s get real. Michael Jackson has only made money post-death because he was not an obstacle to prudent moves. With Michael out the way, his executors were able to right the ship. If Michael Jackson hadn’t died: he would have played the London shows, cancelled some feigning illness, and spent whatever money was made as quickly as it came in. That’s the truth. So let’s get a grip."

I think that Friedman needs to get real. Michael is haunting Friedman from the tomb because if he was not, he would not be writing laughable articles on him. What is the point of making a big deal about these petty things that does not matter to anyone? Michael was a human being and he does not need to do the things that other artists/entertainers do to make money, have a living or to become relevant. Michael changed the game and was an innovator. He did what he had to do and maybe wanted to spend some time doing other things. We also have to remember that Michael had a very difficult time with Sony/BMG and it affected his plans for the Invincible album. Friedman knows all about what Sony/BMG did to Michael but if anyone remembers his articles from that time period (2001-2002) when Michael was fighting Sony/BMG, Friedman was the main one keeping the readers updated on Michael's issues and trashing him in the process. How would this fool know what Michael would have done in regards to the concerts if he were to live? This bastard is endorsed by the Estate executors so I am not shocked that Friedman believes that they were "able to right the ship". Friedman does not get it: the murder of Michael happened so that these greedy executors have total control of everything that is connected to Michael and so they can make all of the money off of his likeness. I believe that one of the executors, John Branca, put Michael in a financial mess which lead to various problems for him. I guess Friedman did not want to notify the reader of the horrible things Branca did to Michael and that is the issue with Friedman as a whole. He does not want the world to view Michael as a victim of the music business rather a man that did not know what he was doing. Dwelling on Michael's supposed issues is not a way to remember someone. To remember Michael, one has to tell what Michael really did with his time when he was with us. Dr. S.J. Martin wrote a great article on how one must remember Michael. Here is the link to the article that I think we all need to take the time to read and Thank God for Michael's existence.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/From-Asia-To-Africa-The-K-by-Sylvia-Martin-130611-529.html

"Fans in Beijing took Jackson's messages about the environment to the streets. On the first anniversary of Jackson's death, they organized a "green bike march" in the highly polluted city to raise awareness about toxins and encourage the reduction of car emissions. Wearing Jackson T-shirts and sequined gloves, fans biked around the city blasting Jackson's music from boomboxes and carried signs such as the one that proclaimed in Chinese and English, "Protecting the environment starts with yourself -- I Heart MJ".

Reading this part made me smile because not only is that proof that Michael changes people, but his fans actually learned from his life. The purpose of being a Michael Jackson fan - learning from his life and applying that in their own lives. Amazing.

Justin Timberlake Gets the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award

Justin Timberlake doing his Michael.

Anyone that knows me would know that not only do I love Michael but I am also a big fan of Justin Timberlake. I have been a fan since I first laid eyes on him back in 1998 when he was performing with *NSYNC at a Disney Channel special. (I happened to changed the channel and saw their performance mistaking them for the Backstreet Boys). Ever since then, I have been in love with Justin. When I read that Justin was going to be honored with the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award on the MTV Video Music Awards, I was very happy that he got the honor. Justin went from being a member of one of the biggest music acts of the past 13 years to one of the biggest singers/performers out there today. Based on the success of *NSYNC and his solo career, MTV felt that Justin deserved the award. I can go on and on about Justin's success but if it was not for Michael, there will not be a Justin Timberlake.

Justin performing at the VMAs on 8/25.

Justin is one of a few of Michael's musical heirs that has been honored for his musical achievements. When I watched Justin's 15 minute performance and him reuniting with *NSYNC, I was beaming and I was also thinking about other performers like Chris Brown and Justin Bieber. I was thinking about how both young men are huge fans of Michael but have yet to find their own musical identity. I feel that both of them can learn from Justin Timberlake and find out what makes them different from Michael and they can go from there. I will get into more detail when I do a blog post on Michael's Musical Heirs in the coming months. Michael has always respected Justin and I do believe he would be so proud to see Justin get the honor that he deserves. Congrats to Justin.

Michael's B-Day Love

Michael in 1999.

I believe that August 29th should be held "Michael Jackson Day" because that was the day that Michael was born and a day that people can come together and honor Michael. I did this last year on this blog and I will do it again this year - I will post the wonderful and loving comments of family, friends and fans of Michael's wishing him a birthday that he should be here to celebrate. August 29th is a day to celebrate his life and the wonderful things that he has done. The day is also a bittersweet because he is not here to celebrate another year of life.

Michael will always be loved.

There were more birthday love for Michael than what I have displayed but when reading the comments, it brings things into perspective: Michael should always be loved and respected. He was too precious and great to be treated like he was complete trash. Reading the defaming, ignorant and may I add, borderline racist article from Roger Friedman angered me because as a fan, I remember the horrible things that he stated about Michael and that I believe he and many of his media friends led Michael to his murder. Instead of Friedman telling his readers the great things that Michael did, he decided that spitting at his legacy was the best way to honor Michael. Reading that article, I sensed a man who is bitter that after all of the bashing and hatred that he threw towards Michael, that no matter what, the people still love him. Michael still has a huge fan base, Michael is still respected among his peers, his impact reaches to people all over the world and most importantly, Michael changed the world. That is what Friedman cannot seem to comprehend: Michael was and will always be a hero, a great a legend and legends never really die. They live on in their work, in their impact and through their heirs. Legends do not fade away, they are always here and around. Friedman and the various haters of Michael's cannot understand nor accept that fact and that is the true tragedy.