Sunday, June 28, 2009

Nothing is ever black and white...


Michael Jackson is dead. He was the king of pop, a child prodigy, probably the most talented entertainer the world has ever seen, a global superstar who broke down barriers of age, of color, of race, and yet, there is the controversial side to him too...the plastic surgery wacko jacko who bleached his skin and was accused of being a pedophile, a man who drank so much and took prescription painkillers to numb whatever strange life he had as a paparazzi-hunted adult, and as a world famous sheltered and abused kid star...I am glad his pain is over, but I am sad he never made his comeback...His legacy is his music and that will outlive all the other stuff that went along with him, I believe...In my neighborhood of Prospect Heights Brooklyn, the street is constant with his music just as I am sure it is in all the rest of the world...My friends North and Stem both texted me immediately once Jackson's death was announced...The Apollo has been constant with tributes to him...It is like a mecca for those who want to share their grief...I don't think any one person could have this effect on the whole world or that any one person will ever achieve this superstardom ever again...God bless Michael Jackson...May he find peace in his afterlife...

Saturday, June 20, 2009

RIP Mike Martin AKA Iz the Wiz...



I am so sad, but I know Mike's health wasn't the greatest for many years and he had suffered a great deal...Mike was the first person to ever ask me to paint and he treated me like a king when I did paint with him...I have never forgotten the privilege and have always thought dearly of him...I got the flu the night of the BX show at Tuff City on Friday and missed my last chance to see him. I was bummed especially because he died Wednesday of heart failure...Anyways, the world is truly better having known him...He will always be a living legend...And a king...the king of kings...RIP Iz...

Thursday, June 04, 2009

RIP David Carradine...



As a child, Grasshopper walking on rice paper and holding burning cauldrons was magical. Thanks for being a part of my childhood, David...