Musicians, writers, DJs and others in the entertainment industry have begun submitting their thoughts to brokencool.com on the death of Michael Jackson.
-- JUELZ SANTANA --
"Some people say that Michael Jackson was just a Pop Icon. Don't get it twisted. He was THE POP ICON and his music didn't just inspire me. His music moved and inspired MILLIONS. He is a legend to be remembered"
-- MC SERCH --
"It is a tragic loss for music and music culture. He changed the face of music for this and other lifetimes to come."
-- CORMEGA --
"“A part of all of us died when Michael died he was the most influential artist ever and I'm hurt like I lost a family member.”
-- ELLIOTT WILSON - RAPRADAR.COM --
"Michael Jackson is the Greatest of All Time. There will never be another. He's our Elvis. He's our Beatles. And he's bigger than all of that. I feel like I lost a family member. I'm so sad."
-- SHAWTY LO --
"The music and entertainment world has lost yet another great legend. To have a career in this industry for over four decades is incredible. His music will always represent how talented he really was. Rest In Peace Michael Jackson."
-- MELA MACHINKO - SINGER --
"I am heartbroken. Michael Jackson has been a part of my life for its entirety... What he gave to us will never be matched. There is a hole in the world."
-- BILLY JOHNSON JR. - YAHOO! MUSIC --
"It is hard to believe. It is so strange because in a lot of ways this last year was a great one for Michael. He turned 50 last August, celebrated the 25th anniversary of "Thriller," the best-selling album of all time, and was set to start the London dates next month. I'm at least glad that he passed with such great positive things in the air. He earned that."
-- BRIAN "B.DOT" MILLER - RAPRADAR.COM --
"This is just another sad reality of life. Michael Jackson was one of God's gifts to music."
-- DIONY C. - MIXTAPEKINGS.COM --
"I wanted to emulate Michael Jackson dancing when i was a kid, I'm still trying. I would ask my mom to get me the jacket from the "Beat It" video. So my mom would one day surprise me with an imitation version cause we were struggling at the time. She wanted to at least see a smile on my face in the hard times, she knew music brought me joy and knew Michael Jackson was and will continue to be an inspiration to me."
-- OSEI "THE DARK SECRET" - V103 ON AIR TALENT --
"One of the saddest days I've experienced in entertainment. I never have dealt w/ death well, but it is one of lifes most tangible realities. MJ always seemed larger than life to me as a child fan. I was introduced to MTV b/c of him. "Billy Jean" to be exact. In fact he inspired me to get into entertainment, and I daydreamed about one day having that type of success. I was captivated by any news "Michael". I imagined what a "grand" life he must have lead, but changed that view as I grew. The constant bombardment, lack of privacy,etc made me re-evaluate the "grand" life I thought he led. Its so humbling. It really makes you wonder what type of legacy or impact we that are still living will leave on the rest of the world. His was ENORMOUS!!! I've always been told that its not the dates that are placed on your tombstone that matter, but that little dash, we all will have in the middle. Used to seem insignificant, in fact was kind inconspicuous, but the older I've become the more that defines our lives. RIP MJ."
-- DAN-E-O - CANADIAN RAP ARTIST/RADIO HOST --
"There is no one who comes near to Michael Jackson in terms of the influence he has had on me as an artist. He is the reason I wanted to become a musician. As a child, I refused to allow anyone around me to utter a bad word about Michael Jackson as my stockpile of his albums grew in my collection. Vinyl, cassette and CDs. I own several copies of Michael's work in all formats...especially Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad which I can't live without. We're talking "what you'd take with you to a deserted island" type shit.
MJ is the single "most deserving of all his praise" artist of all time. Easily number one in the categories of singing, performing, dancing, music videos and the world-affecting magic he created by combining all of the above. He was and is the planet's most well-known human not because of the oddities that were his physical appearance and curious nature but because of his unmitigated, insane wealth of sheer, raw, awe-inspiring talent.
The world has lost its most remarkable individual of all time. The man has moved more people with his art than anyone ever has and ever will. The news of every celebrity death from this point on will be mundane by comparison. My musical hero, biggest influence and favourite artist of all time is gone. As many words as I've expressed here, there are still none that really describe this loss. Will all due respect to Biggie, Pac and all of the other artists who have passed on, the REAL greatest of all time has now died. I still can't believe it. Rest in peace Michael, God Bless you."
-- ECHO HATTIX - ECHOING SOUNDZ PR --
"I met Michael Jackson around 1am at Universal City Walk. All of the stores were mostly closed except for two or three. I walked out in the courtyard and there was Michael without security with 5 or 6 of his cousins. At first I thought it was a Michael Jackson look-a-like for many reasons including his height, I didn’t realize how tall Michael was, thought he was shorter for whatever reason. He casually said Hi and asked my best friend and I what we were still doing there and we looked at each other and back at Mike and said, No! what are you doing here? He shrugged his shoulders, laughed and said going to the Sam Goody record store (no longer in Universal City Walk). Then he asked if we wanted to roll and put his hand out, of course I grabbed his hand and we walked all the way from the very back of UCW up to the record store holding hands and swinging them in the air like brother and sister. He asked all the questions like, where are you girls from, what are doing in LA, and how he just left our of The Nature Store (next door to where we were) and how it’s one of his favorite stores on earth. Then I asked him what was he doing without security he laughed and said he really didn’t need it since the entire place was secured and they are all watching him anyway.
We finally get to Sam Goody and it was closed. My friend and I said we told you it was closed and again he laughed and said, not for long. About 30 seconds later all the lights came on in the store and the door opened. He asked if we wanted to come in with him and his cousins and we said no. Although he made us feel like we knew him for 10 years, we were still stunned. We stood outside the store in a trance and watched him take home about twelve huge bags of CD’s out the store. The entire time he kept watching us and pointing, saying look at all this music and look at this wild one’s in here. I will never forget it. All I could think was, I just held Michael Jackson’s hand for 5 minutes, I’m good for life!"-- TIFFANY J - WILLY NORTHPOLE'S MANAGER --
"Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer of our genertation......there will never be another like him."
QWOTE - SLIP-N-SLIDE RECORDING ARTIST
"I know that I'm a fairly new artist in the music industry and most people may not know who I am but I wanted to send my condolences to the jackson family anyways. I grew up listening to him and was very much influenced by him. It saddens me to hear that the king of pop has left us. I feel as if I've lost a relative. The world has lost an icon that will never be replaced. Michael Jackson will be very much missed.
Sincerely and respectfully
A forever fan"
-- HOLLYWOOD HENRY - A&R and Product Manager At Slip-N-Slide Records --
"The death of a king, a true king. A career that spanned 4 decades, he crossed language and cultural barriers. This wont be seen again in a long time, this is a world event, impacting everybody. I suppose people don't realize an artist true genius until he is no longer around to hear the praises. He will be missed, we needed Michael Jackson, he was hope."
-- GOTTY - THE SMOKING SECTION --
"People will discuss the negative, as that's the nature of man. Yes, the idiosyncrasies did overshadow his contributions during the latter portion of his life. Yes, the allegations were a dark cloud that eventually led his withdrawal from the public scrutiny.
Posthumously, it's more important to focus on the positive. MJ was an artist who's music spanned generations & genres, cultural & ethical boundaries. He was the global star of our time, an icon. At the pinnacle of his fame, there weren't many anywhere who didn't know his name. 13 number one hits & many more songs that are left etched in our collective memories.
I like to think that my dad's generation had James Brown to transcend all conceivable barriers through music & dance. Our generation had Michael Joseph Jackson."
-- RIZOH - THE RAP UP --
"In a way, Michael Jackson left us a long time ago. Yet, I never saw this coming. He's a cultural icon, and I always thought we'd see him get old before our eyes and probably die in old age. It's both sad and shocking."
-- JOVI ROCKWELL - MUSICIAN --
"A beautiful soul passed away. I still can't believe it! I have never felt this way about someone I've never met. We will miss U Michael."
-- BROTHER EL - HIP-HOP ARTIST --
"Michael Jackson is the music business - in all its glory, glamour, glitter, savagery, profusion and intensity. His creative genius will be missed as well as adorned by those who choose to look inside themselves “and make a change” for the better of course."
-- ZENOBIA SIMMONS - DIR. OF URBAN PROMOTIONS (!K7 LABEL GROUP) --
"I am so sad Michael was one of the most talented writers, producers ever! I have so many memories about how his music affected me and was such a soundtrack to my life."
-- CHRISTIAN RICH - HIP-HOP ARTIST --
"Michael gave his life to his career so we could be entertained, he's always and will be the greatest!!!"
-- VERBS - HIP-HOP ARTIST --
"I'm sure my sentiments are echoed by many others after learning of Michael Jackson's passing, it is surreal in a way, but at the same time you get the sense that he probably hasn't really lived for quite sometime. But to sum it all up...WOW. Shoot, I think when I was 7 or 8 the only reason I wanted a Curl is because Mike had one, but Moms wasn't havin' it. I don't think the generation of late 70's and 80's babies have experienced the loss of a talent of this proportion that has undoubtedly influenced almost every other talent since then, and across the globe at that. Even with such an impact and mega-stardom, many celebs still find that it was still lonely at the top, but you can really never come back down if that is all you have ever known and adjusted your life to. May we all examine what we build our lives on. His creativity and contribution to entertainment will be impossible to forget. Prayers of peace and comfort to the Jackson family."
-- SOULSTICE - HIP-HOP ARTIST --
"Can't believe Michael is gone. What an awesome legacy he leaves behind - the greatest entertainer of our time. His music has meant a lot to my own growth as an artist and to my appreciation for music in general.
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