MAN! Didn’t I just see you in the movie “Tower Heist” this past weekend? I hate when things like this happen.. In the midst of a serious career resurgence, Heavy D suddenly died at the age of 44. We were just reminded a mere month ago of who the FK heavy D really was, with a surprise closeout performance at the BET Music Awards, and now he’s gone. I wasn’t going to write today, but in my opinion every Hip-Hop/Reggae blog is required to do some sort of Heavy D tribute. He was just that talented.

I kept Heavy D’s early work (late 80s) on constant rewind. By the 90′s Heavy D was virtually ubiquitous. He wasn’t my favorite artist then, but he had a knack for appearing with everyone’s favorites, namely Michael Jackson (while Michael was still at his peak). Heav only got 8 bars in the song “JAM”, but it was the one with Michael JORDAN trying to dance in the video. For the day that would generate MEGA impressions. The theme for “In Living Color”, pretty much the top TV show of the era, was a song written exclusively by none other than “Waterbed Heav”.

JAM With Michael Jackson

Of all Heavy D projects, the one that stuck with me the most is when he revealed his Jamaican-born heritage (I didn’t know back then) and collaborated with my favorite Reggae artist, Supercat. That helped bring Dancehall to the MTV audience in a way that was ultimately more approachable than other Hip-Hop / Reggae collaborations. KRS and Shabba, or the Wu-Tang and Bounty connections were great, but they lacked the fun and lightheartedness. Heavy was not afraid to let Supercat outshine him in the Reggae arena, and used his mainstream connections to push the project over the top.

Heavy D & Supercat. Star Studded MTV Interview

Heavy D’s overall image was approachable, so much so that you didn’t realize he was a superstar, even as he collaborated with Michael and Janet. Not worried about being the brunt of overweight jokes from the first day he made his mark as “The Overweight Lover”; with my early favorites being that one and “Mr Big Stuff”. He never really used profanity in his raps, and directed his attention more to the ladies and the dance floor. He was also one of the best dancers of the day.  

Heavy’s popularity waned somewhat as Hip-Hop took a more Gangsta turn in the late 90s. Under pressure from record execs to make more Gangsta music, he instead chose to bow out gracefully; making successful cameo returns here and there as a producer, or actor.

Jay-Z And Lenny Kravitz – Guns & Roses – Produced By Heavy D “You Bastards!”

That one meant a lot to me because it was so wicked, and it seemed like a big Middle Finger to the industry that dared brand him passe’. Heavy D’s last albums would be independent releases “Vibes” a 2008 Reggae Album and “Love Opus”, which was just released a month ago.

This is not one of those celebrity worship blogs, before we get started…
I also reserve the “life story retrospectives” for those who have profoundly affected me on a professional level.

I missed writing about George Carlin, but people who know me can draw those obvious conclusions….

Anyway Michael Jackson gave us everything. Every hour, every minute, of every day of his life from the time he reached the age of 5, belonged to the PUBLIC.. As the worlds most famous megastar, it seems he was always ill prepared for the ravenous appetite of the intrusive public. Considering todays world of full-access reality television, such intrusion is now the norm, but back then who could know?

It is obvious Michael Jackson never had a real childhood, so he spent his entire life chasing it. He reacted to the intense media scrutiny by withdrawing. The media responded by filling in the blanks on their own. Every move he made was scrutinized down to the minute detail, and further, open to interpretation by anyone. This means not only did the public experience information overload regarding Michael Jackson; he was such a massive cult figure that even the MIS-information was headline worthy in the eyes of the press.

Even before the child molestation charges, his life had become a full fledged media circus. According to the press, Michael Jackson had married aliens, fathered illegitimate children (Billie Jean), and left everything to his pet monkey in his will. Yes Michael Jackson was wierd. Yes the situation with the boys makes me extremely uncomfortable, but this is how I will always remember him.

STILL HERE?
OK… Another Big Issue At Hand:
If you ever get FAMOUS don’t allow yourself to be separated from the people who keep you grounded.

Joe Jackson made stars of his children,…  Then Hollywood stepped in. Hollywood already decided who the real STAR would be. They needed to separate the STAR from his family tree, and cast the rest aside. The only thing standing in the way was JOE JACKSON…. Nothing a negative PR campaign can’t handle.

A strict disciplinarian by all accounts, and likely a stage parent in every extreme sense,  Joe was portrayed as a monster.. first to the children (“you’re a star, you don’t have to listen to him”).., then to the public (“he’s not letting Michael shine, and he brutalized the kids).

The BLAME for the resulting WIERDNESS, which arose from Michael being delivered from the evil of Joe Jackson, (into the hands of people such as Clifton Davis (industry talk) and Diana Ross) was placed back squarely on the shoulders of…. Joe Jackson.

Who knows for real? The above is nothing but a 2 dimensional THEORY.. but if Joe was so bad why wasn’t he hauled into court for abuse of the children? What explains his presence at all the press conferences with Michael and his other children?

Michael only went solo after he grew up, not before.. which indicates again, the hand of a a strict stage father insisting his kids stay together and make music… but not a Monster.

No doubt Michael Jackson was every bit the star he was cut out to be, from day one. His mega-star turn with Thriller changed my life forever (neighbors laughing at the idiot in the window practicing Michael Jackson moves) but I got pretty good at them.lol

Looking back now on his life, it seems like a case of “too much of a good thing”.. unchecked.. He stopped being a child at 5 and instead became a commodity. His adult life was filled with YES MEN, who would never dare question his decisions, for fear of loss of a job. More surgery? YES, Pet llama? YES, Pajama parties with children? YES, Renewed prescriptions? YES.

Michael Jackson lived until the age of 50, and died amidst rumors of hoaxes, substance abuse, and foul play among other things. His passing has left a void in the entertainment universe that can never be filled.  His brilliance made me, and countless others so happy… but the QUESTION is: Was HE ever truly happy?

If you have it all, with nobody there to tell you NO.. what do you have left to work for?

Keeping things in perspective, the day Michael Jackson died it was reported that a 9 year old girl (Chastity Turner) was shot down on her grandmother’s porch in Chicago. It is an equally great tragedy, and it goes back to what I see as a casual disregard for the sanctity of childhood.

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Just in case you were wondering…

Another person on YouTube, supposedly listed as MC Zulu. I know some of you get confused by the name similarities, but this dude is a WAY better dancer than I am.