Reflections on Michael Jackson 9:12:25 4.24 PM

Story By: Gail Nobles
Photo: Public Domain Wikipedia

There's still a lot of talk about Michael Jackson, and I'm not here to gossip. I take what I hear with a grain of salt, but I do pay attention. Recently, I came across a video of Michael on stage with Jay-Z and others. I'm not sure what the full story was. All I saw was him greeting the fans, but he didn’t seem very happy as he walked away. Maybe he was just exhausted. This was at the Summer Jam in 2001, and I'm only just now seeing it. A lot was happening in my own life back then.

Watching the video, it struck me, and it was strange to me that Michael was on stage with rappers. Michael wasn’t someone who easily mingled with just anyone, and even famous people felt lucky if he acknowledged them. There are rumors that he even distanced himself from his own family. So, when I hear various things about him, I can’t say how many of them are true. I can’t claim to know everything he was dealing with. What might appear one way could very well be something else.

There must have been a lot going on in Michael’s life for him to be on stage with Jay-Z. It also surprised me to see him beatboxing while watching an interview with Oprah. Rap music had become really popular, and I guess he felt he had to adapt to the changing music scene. But seeing Michael Jackson with rappers and doing beatbox wasn’t the Michael I was used to knowing.

In the beginning, I wasn’t sure if Michael Jackson really liked rap music. Back in the 80s, during the making of his album *Bad*, there were rumors about him and Quincy Jones. I heard that Michael once said "rap is dead" when Quincy suggested working with the group Run-DMC for that album. This disagreement was one of the reasons they parted ways after the album *Bad*. Michael wanted more control over his music and felt that Quincy didn’t understand the newer trends, like hip hop.

I was also surprised that Quincy wanted to work with rap music, but then I learned he actually understood street life. And Quincy Jones made a rap record back in 1989 with his Grammy winning album Back on the Block.

Sometimes, what we read or watch on TV doesn’t show the whole picture. We often only hear part of the story, and what we know may not even be close to everything that's really going on.

I’m Gail Nobles. Thank you for listening to an all-time MJ podcast where MJ stands for Michael Jackson.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
To day's topic reflections on Michael Jackson. There's still a
lot of talk about Michael Jackson, and I'm not here
to gossip. I take what I hear with a grain
of salt, but I do pay attention. Recently, I came

(00:22):
across a video of Michael on stage with Jay Z
and others. I'm not sure what the full story was.
All I saw was him greeting the fans, but he
didn't seem very happy as he walked away. Maybe he
was just exhausted. This was at the Summer Jam in

(00:46):
two thousand one, and I'm only just now seeing it.
A lot was happening in my own life back then.
Watching the video, it struck me, and it was strange
to me that Michael was on stage with rappers. Michael

(01:07):
wasn't someone who easily mingled with just anyone, and even
famous people felt lucky if he acknowledged them. There are
rumors that he even distanced himself from his own family.

(01:27):
So when I hear various things about him, I can't
say how many of them are true. I can't claim
to know everything he was dealing with. What might appear
one way could very well be something else. There must

(01:49):
have been a lot going on in Michael's life for
him to be on stage with jay Z. It also
surprised me to see him beatboxing while watching an interview
with Oprah. Rap music had become really popular, and I

(02:10):
guess he felt he had to adapt to the changing
music scene. But seeing Michael Jackson with rappers and doing
beatbox wasn't the Michael I was used to knowing In
the beginning, I wasn't sure if Michael Jackson really liked

(02:31):
rap music. Back in the eighties, during the making of
his album Bad, there were rumors about him and Quincy Jones.
I heard that Michael once said rap is dead when
Quincy suggested working with the group run DMC for that album.

(02:55):
This disagreement was one of the reasons they parted way
after the album Bad. Michael wanted more control over his
music and felt that Quincy didn't understand the newer trends
like hip hop. I was also surprised that Quincy wanted

(03:21):
to work with rap music, but then I learned he
actually understood street life and Quincy Jones made a rap
record back in nineteen eighty nine with his Grammy winning
album Back on the Block. Sometimes what we read or

(03:45):
watch on TV doesn't show the whole picture. We often
only hear part of the story, and what we know
may not even be close to everything that's really going on.
I'm Gail Nobles. Thank you for listening to and All

(04:08):
Time MJ podcast, where MJ stands for Michael Jackson.