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Over the past week many of us have sat in seething anger as news show after news show and pundit after pundit have been granted large platforms and an abundance of air time to come and trash Michael Jackson. I’m not talking about raising a couple of controversial issues here and there, but some of the folks who have been dragged out the sewer with the express purpose of going all out not to just to smash on MJ, but to do so in such away that it would hurt us. It was like some diabolical mind sat in a room and said ‘Here’s how you can really totally demoralize Black folks-take their biggest icon and treat him like shit while the body is still warm’ Watching the coverage of Michael Jackson on many of these mainstream news outlets has me wondering if MJ did something personal to some of them. Simply put, OJ Simpson got and gets better treatment.
Now if it was just a Michael thing most of us wouldn’t care. Most of us would keep it moving and call it a day, but MJ’s music was the soundtrack for so many people around the world and for a variety of generations from the late 60s up to the 90s and beyond. Jackson’s videos, music, concerts all had deep meaning-and because of that we hoped that the criticism would be toned down and the hatred would be put away for another day.
I’m old enough to remember when Beatles’s legend John Lennon was shot and I don’t recall such hatred and long winded conversations about his drug use or anything like that. Right wing nutcases who found him to be this anti-war subversive figure dialed down their rhetoric and Lennon was allowed to be seen as this popular worldwide icon who impacted the lives of a generation of Baby Boomers. People understood with the passing of Lennon was the passing of an important era for millions of people and so his memory was treated with respect and dignity.
When the King of Rock, Elvis Presely died the world was allowed to remember him as a handsome icon who touched lives all around the world, not as a overweight substance abuser who's life was filled with controversy
When Elvis Presley the King of Rock died, even though he was a drug abuser and about 300 pounds over weight at the time of his death, the tributes paid to him were stupendous. He was seen as royalty and people rightfully recognized that his persona and music meant a lot to a grieving nation. People dialed back the critiques. The Elvis who symbolized an era and exemplified several generations of music lovers was much bigger then the Elvis who one could trash all day and so space to properly grieve was created.
No such respect has been given to Michael Joseph Jackson. And too be honest in today’s climate of ‘gotcha’ media one shouldn’t be surprised. We shouldn’t be shocked but for many the hurt is there and damage done. Its hard to avoid. There are many commentators and pundits who I will never respect again because they went there and gave no room for a nation to grieve and reflect on the meaning of man who meant so much to so so many over the past 3 decades. As I said earlier, these folks seemed to be a part of a much larger game plan where psychological warfare is at play.
Enter BET-Black Entertainment Television.
Last night (Sunday June 28th) , all eyes turned to the Viacom owned music TV network as many of us perhaps naively hoped that those running the ship would use their platforms and immense reach to correct the wrongs we saw within the mainstream. After all, Michael Jackson helped put Viacom (MTV) on the map. I just knew CEO Sumner Redstone would see to it that one of his properties which has become the worldwide symbol for pop culture and music would ‘do this right’. All of wondered what sort of surprise Viacom/ BET would put forth.
Leading up to last night’s event the rumors were circulating. We heard Chris Brown was going to do a tribute with Usher as part of his comeback. We heard Justin Timberlake was coming in to do a special routine. We heard Beyonce had changed her routine around. We heard some of the Jacksons themselves were going to be there. (We later saw father Joe Jackson and sister Janet Jackson who left us in tears when she finally took the stage) The word was BET was gonna deliver and deliver big and deliver like only BET can.
It would've been nice to have seen an iconic figure like Motown Records founder Berry Gordy on hand at the BET Awards last night to share some thoughts about Michael Jackson. If not in person why not via satellite?
We already knew BET was scheduled to pay tribute to the O Jays and so one figured they were already in the zone. Perhaps the O Jays themselves would set the tone having known MJ and coming from that important era in our history where music and social causes all merged together. Who better then the O Jays to say a few words and put a grieving nation at ease. We figured some icons from the Motown era would be on hand last night to say a few words-Diana Ross, Barry Gordy, Quincy Jones, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Harry Belafonte, Smokey Robinson etc would maybe come on board-not to perform, but to offer up their own insights and share in the tribute/ celebration for Michael Jackson. And if they couldn’t show up in person because everything was so sudden and so last minute then Viacom with its worldwide reach and set ups in every country on planet Earth could’ve sent a camera crew to Timbuktu if needed and get some insightful words from the aforementioned and beyond.
We thought every record industry executive from Clive Davis to Tommy Motolato the people who run the Grammies to Bono from U2 on down would’ve been on hand to say a few words and talk about how Michael Jackson saved their industry. We thought we would’ve heard more about the charities he so generously gave to over the years so folks would better understand that he was more than the white glove and moon walk.
We thought maybe BET would have a correspondent on hand in Gary, Indiana where MJ was from to give us a historical perspective of what that city meant, why they did a song called ‘Going Back to Indiana’, and how people are fairing there today. We thought maybe the Mayor of Gary, Rudy Clay who is an outspoken gentleman who we had on our radio show during the primaries could speak to the issue. Or perhaps BET could’ve gotten former Mayor Richard Hatcher to come out and stand alongside the current Mayor of Philadelphia, Mississippi James Young who was honored last night and together they could’ve loaned some context to the Civil Rights struggle past and present and where Michael Jackson and his ability to transcend race sat within it.. Imagine if something like that went down last night.
With the whole world watching the BET Awards to see how Black folks would cover the passing of 'one of our own', it would've been ideal to have heard a poem or words of wisdom from Maya Angelou
We figured our best and brightest commentators would be on hand. Tavis Smiley, Michael Eric Dyson, Bill Cosby, Tom Joyner, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Julianne Malveux. We figured there would be some of our best would be on hand to stand tall and proud and let the entire world which was watching to see how we do. They could’ve set the record straight and established BET and Black America as the ‘go to place if you wanted to grieve, celebrate and talk in earnest about Michael Jackson.
We figured there’d be pictures, vintage footage and a somber moment of silence for Michael Jackson. Did we have a moment of silence last night- I may have missed it? All I know is we wanted more for our ‘King’. This was our true king when it came to pop culture and music. As I mentioned so many of us were grieving, so many of us felt like we were being assaulted, so we really looked to BET- Black Entertainment Television to rise to the occasion in ways we had never imagined.
Look, I been a part of big productions on numerous occasions and I know the hard work that goes into them. Award shows are not put together overnight, the really good ones are being planned hours after the current one ends. Stephen Hill the man behind the scenes at BET was probably up to his ears putting together last night’s show as originally planned and believe me when you have a production like that you simply can’t change course midstream. It’s not easy. To the degree that he was able to carry that additional load as was acknowledged by BET President Debra Lee, he deserves his props.
With that being said we can’t forget that BET is part of Viacom..It’s the giant among giants. Debra Lee’s boss is Sumner Redstone and at their disposal they have more resources then most countries both 3rd World and Industrialized. Viacom has positioned itself to be the number one when it comes to Music Television-This is what they do. This is how they make their billions. So quite naturally we expected alot more.
Michael Jackson was not some beefing rapper from the streets who got shot over some petty nonsense. He wasn’t having a war of words with 50 Cent, Rick Ross, Suge Knight or some other artist. He wasn’t some Johnny come lately who had one or two hit songs and that’s it. He was Michael Jackson-worldwide icon and when he died in spite of controversary or what me and you may have thought about him, the music world needed to stop. All the stops needed to be pulled out.
When John Lennon died the world stopped. It came to a halt. I was in school and we suspended our lessons to talk about John Lennon. When Elvis died the world stopped. All hands were on deck. People cancelled whatever they were doing and they flew to where ever they needed to go to to pay homage. When 2Pac and Notorious BIG died the music world stopped. We suspended our programming on the radio station for two days as family friends and whoever flew in to honor them.
I recall a day after Biggie died our radio station owned by Evergreen/AM-FM and later Clear Channel did a a special simulcast with Emmisowned Hot 97 in New York City. We had on air personalities like Sway and the Breakfast Club and damn near our entire staff on one end and the Hot 97 crew on the other. Right there while we were on the air coast to coast grieving over Biggie, the folks from Hot 97 worked it out to do a nationwide program honoring Biggie and to bring attention to stoppingthe violence. Everything was pushed full steam ahead. Two days later a nationwide co-ordinated broadcast took place.
I usually like Lil Wayne, but last night the profanity laced routine he and up and coming superstar Drake did was totally inappropriate for a show that said it was paying tribute to Michael Jackson. The pair needed to fall back on that one
My point in referencing that scenario is that with the death of Michael Jackson and all eyes on the BET Awards show owned by the biggest music network in the world and one of the biggest media companies in the world, this should’ve damn well expanded beyond BET. The call should’ve went out; ‘Stop what your doing-All hands on deck… the King of Pop died and proper tributes must be paid. If the show goes over an hour so be it. If Lil Wayne and Drake can’t change up at the last minute and use their incredible talents to do something more fitting versuses the profanity laced bs routine they did last night about wanting to screw every girl in the world and have what appeared to be 12 year old girls on stage-then its time for them to fall the hell back. Save that nonsense for another date and time. Alicia Keyes kept mentioning the spirit in the room was enthralling and that everyone was feeling Michael’s presence. It was hard to tell on TV. We wanted more than a shout out to MJ after each song was sung. We wanted more, needed more, expected more from a network so powerful.
We understand people didn’t have time to prepare and hone things to perfection. We understand that that it was last minute, but the rule of thumb in show business has always been when in over your head keep it simple. Where was the film montage like they did for the O Jays? To be honest that was all that was really needed. Imagine if we were treated to a 15 minute film montage and then Janet came out to speak followed by Jamie Foxx andNeyo singing? That would’ve been butter- pure butter. Imagine if this was done with a nice set up away from the regularly scheduled routines which at times seemed mediocre and totally in approapraite if MJ was being honored?
If extra money was needed to get Stevie Wonder on via satellite from Milwaukee where him and John Legend where doing a concert last night then extra money needed to be spent. If Quincy Jones was in another part of the world then a camera crew needed to find him and put him on on so he could speak eloquently to the moment at hand. If the BET staff was overwhelmed as was mentioned numerous times throughout last nights broadcast then the rest of the Viacom team needed to be brought on to do the extra lifting. If they can spend time and money flying actor Sasha Cohen aka Bruno from a harness during an award show to land on Eminem to shove his balls into the rapper’s face and garner world wide attention they could’ve harnesses some meaningful tribute to uplift us. It was what the world that needed. We needed them to them to step up and be counted.
Tyrese teamed up w/ Johnny Gill & Trey Lorenze and killed it during their OJay Tribute, Tyrese lost me when he did this corny skit of from the movie Baby Boy which went on way too long and became a bit painful to watch.
In closing I will tip my hat to the tribute that Johnny Gill, Tyrese and Trey Songz did for the O Jays that was an example of us really shining. Those guys should form a group and maybe try to see about doing something similar for MJ in the future. That’s was how a tribute should be done. Neyowas on fire and I’m sure with more time can do MJ justice and Jamie Foxx although he was over the top with plugging his concert was good. I liked the opening act with New Edition and while I understand they didn’t have the singing down to perfection they got busy on the dance routine-I wanted to see them do more in that vein.
A Few things to Ponder….
i completely agree–and just for clarification–in the ojays tribute the singer’s name is Trey Songz. not Trey Longz or Trey Lorenze
Well articulated my brother. If we don’t hold ourselves to high standards no one will. Everyone needs to email a copy and put it in Stephen Hill and Sumner Redstone’s email boxes to the point of overflow.
thank you for this write-up. it speaks volumes to what so many of us last night were thinking…sometimes over the top isn’t necessary…just attention to detail, the small things that would have amounted to so much more…
sigh…
I think that BET did a GREAT job on a short notice. It takes MONTHS to put a show together and they rearranged the show in 3 days. Michael has had sooo many tributes in the last 5 years. I sure that BET will do a bigger tribute within the next 2-3 months when other artist has a had a chance to put together a great show.
As far as the Greats like Diana Ross and Quincy Jones not being on the show…realize that these people are grieving..they didn’t just meet Michael in passing or adored his music they knew him like family.
Well said!!
I agree, sir on a number of points…one in particular…wtf was Drake and Weezy doing? How come THEY aren’t up on indecency charges for their performance? That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen…Drake had garnered another fan for performing despite his torn ACL…then lost me right away as soon as a girl barely older than my daughter was pulled onstage during that horrid song. How sick…and they talked about Michael Jackson being a ‘perv’ and having innappropriate relations with young children (although supposedly light has been shed on that whole issue as well…google Jordan Chandler)
I couldn’t have sed it any better! How can u get this 2 viacom n debra lee?
Man, I thought it was just me..this show was painful to watch, esp. soulja-boy act…what?!!! (I almost turned to country music after that!!), some bright moments..but the energy was wasted and the perfect moment to truly honor MJ was lost. Well said Brother Davey-D
Was all prepared to argue for the sake of being caring and nurturing at this time but honestly I can’t even argue b/c what’s the truth is the truth. More could have been done…HOWEVER as far as his peers and family and musical friends go, I feel for them and I believe that their hearts were in the right place even if Viacom’s was not.
I wanted to get up this morning and blast BET on my Facebook site. The reason I didn’t is because it would have led to more ridicule by the mainstream with regards to our community. Part of the problem is that our community, as a whole, does not take a stand when such injustice is done. Thank you so much for this article. I posted it on my fb page immediately and sent it around to a few folks. It was well articulated and necessary. Bless.
“If Lil Wayne and Drake can’t change up at the last minute and use their incredible talents to do somethingmore fitting versuses the profanity laced bs routine they did last night about wanting to screw every girl in the world and have what appeared to be 12 year old girls on stage-then its time for them to fall the hell back.”
Well maybe, just maybe… Lil Wayne isn’t that talented, has anyone thought of that? Has anyone thought of the absolute dearth in talent when it comes to “Black Music” in 2009? When we push up clowns like Wayne and push down real talent we need to look at ourselves.. I think that this incident of Micheal passing and the collective of Black America being caught in essence with their pants down.
This happens when we don’t support ourselves, don’t know ourselves, don’t own ourselves… it’s on us.
and it took Micheal passing as a watershed moment for black music.
WE MUST DO BETTER.
Is it possible that Sumner Redstone is loving/behind this crap? CBS’s coverage of MJs death has been shady, they were one of the first networks to really consistently go negative immediately after…then there was the controversial photo of MJs body that was obtained by ET which airs on CBS and is produced by Viacom & now there’s the absolute travesty that was the BET Awards which basically used MJ and his death for ratings, and is also produced by Viacom…no sir I don’t like it…
well said man. I feel as if the best performers were Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, and the whole Trio of Tyrese, Trey, and Johnny….everything else was a monstrosity….MJ was probably twitching in the coroners office.
as far as the media…it all goes back to the roots of slavery…we will never, and i mean NEVER, be able to mourn our heroes…as long as there are White people in power (just cuz Obama is Prez duznt mean squat) there will never be a time where we can do that without some ramification. The media is our crutch, the one thing Black people can count on for guidance, so of course they would take that, and use it as a weapon against us, and our fallen heroes and icons…one day it will be different…until then all we can do is sit and watch the horror unfurl.
LOL Davey.
i’m not sure what your point is here,other than to note that Viacom owns BET and complain that Maya Angelou didnt recite one of her corny-ass poems. WTF???
Apparently the show you saw was completely different from the one AP writer Nkesi Mumbi Moody did, which mentioned tributes by Jamie Foxx, Ne-Yo–who performed the classic “Lady in My Life”–and Boyz II Men, as well as appearances by Janet and Joe Jackson (which you downplay).
I’m not defending BET at all. They’re garbage. But this article comes off like a cheap shot which doesnt give them any credit for what they did do to pay tribute to MJ. it goes out of its way to pontificate on off-topic subjects without really offering concrete analysis, besides being a little light on facts.
Look, most of us would have done things a little bit differently had we been in charge of BET. And there is little doubt that the music industry hasn’t produced artists of Jackson’s caliber in quite some time—not that these artists dont exist, but that’s not where the industry’s focus is.
However, these are obvious points. there’s also no getting around the fact that MSM coverage of MJ’s death has focused on the tabloid fodder which drives ratings, but has little to do with the man’s legacy. Still, three days is not enough to logistically plan a tribute, and in this economy, even cable channels dont have extra money to spend.
I have to agree with Tressie that we’ll likely see more MJ tributes down the line.
and as for your Elvis analogy, it’s not really a fitting parallel. sure Elvis was addicted to prescription drugs. But he was never dogged by child molestation charges. He never had a hyperbaric chamber. He didnt bleach his skin. He never had a chimp named Bubbles. And he didnt live in an era of music videos and the internet.
Besides his obvious talent, MJ was an enigma. He was a pretty weird cat, especially in his adulthood. Can you seriously expect the MSM not to mention this? Maybe he never had a childhood, and maybe people were always using him, but no one forced him to have sleepovers with little boys, or dole out “Jesus juice.” Sure the media had a fascination with his oddities and eccentricness, but they didnt kill him in and of themselves. Just sayin’…
I understand that music evolves but I am scared to death if we never have another timeless artist like Michael. If artists like Lil’ Wayne are leading our generation in the music world then we are F*****! Last night’s award shows brought feelings of agitation, sadness, and disappointment. How can BET ever be a family show if they have profanity and sexually explicit content in every other act? Media is goin’ downhill and people are getting dumber!
I couldn’t have said it better myself. In the months leading up to Ed McMahon’s death, he was so deep in dept that he was in danger of losing his home but people put that aside to remember his as the side-kick to Johnny Carson and the host of Star Search.
Even in the midst of all the controversy surrounding Marvin Gaye’s life and eventual murder, we where still allowed to remember him as the icon, the legend, activist and sex symbol that he was.
People forget that Elvis Presley met Priscilla when Priscilla was only 14 years old and Elvis was 24. Priscilla was only 17 when she moved to America to live with Elvis and she only 22 when they were finally married. I don’t hear anyone calling Elvis a child molester.
How many times has Elvis taken his earnings from a tour and did anything with them besides eat and snort it up. Michael has taken the money he has earned from various concerts and tours and donated it to various charities but you don’t hear the media talking about that.
We have to remember that BET is not Black Entertainment Television. It is Caucasian dictating to us what should be Black Entertainment. Until we as a people collectively pulled together and make Tyler Perry moves to build out own studios, television and radio stations something like this will happen again.
I was appalled at this so-called ‘tribute’…you mean to tell me we couldn’t do any better than what we did…It was a damn disgrace and it pissed me off that I wasted my time to actually watch the show. I was so looking forward to this event only to be let down, by Lil Wayne, SouljBoy Tell Em (which is a stupid ass name) and the rest of the show. Even Beyonce in her super short outfit singing Ave Maria was a hott ass mes…I pained me to know that his family was going to be watching the show and most probably were looking forward to it…
This show only solidified why I stopped watching BET years ago…and now they have absolutely lost me…
Jose, black people have no say in what music is put out into the mainstream. There is a lot of good underground hip hop and soul music. They call it “neo soul”, making it sound all weird and alternative, but if you listen to it, it’s obvious that these artists are carrying on the tradition of Marvin Gaye and yes, Michael Jackson. Modern day commercial r&b is just a bastard step child of modern day commercial hip hop, which itself is a bastard child of real hip hop, where artists or groups make their own records without anyone in the studio telling them what to do. The only commercial hip hop artist who has that creative license today is Dr. Dre. And it’s been so long since he’s worked on a studio album of his own, it’s hard to say if the industry suits won’t meddle into his album and force a collaboration or two on him. That could be what’s holding him back from his long awaited “Detox”. Jose, you make your arguments as if black people control the industry, own the t.v. and radio stations, and control the distribution. I feel your frustration and share it, but you’ve got yours aimed in the entirely wrong direction. You’ve become blinded with your anger.
I agree with your article Davey. I was very disappointed with the BET Awards and was excited and even rearranaged my schedule so I could see it live on the East Coast and not tape delayed. And your point about it now being Viacom own was on point. Watch what happens when MTV puts their award show together at end of August. I haven’t watched BET in years and last night reminded me why.
As far as the show, I was only impressed during Hov’s The O’Jays set and when Gill, Songz and Tyrese did the tribute and the end (though that could have been much better). Jamie Foxx’s “Blame It” performance wasn’t bad in fact I’d say it was good. I still am not impressed with Ne-Yo, not trying to hate but that’s how I feel and I’m sticking to it. New Edition acted more out of shape than I. And if I was producing this show, you best believe during the New Jack portion, Guy would have came out last and they would have went into “Remember The Time” considering Teddy Riley co wrote and produced it, of course they would’ve needed someone better than Aaron Hall to sing it.
Lastily, I do take issue with your comment regarding Elvis’ weight though, being the fat kid that I am and all.
You took the words right out my mouth. I was so disappointed after Drake and Lil Wayne’s performance – I almost had tears in my eyes. I completely understand that it takes time to put on a show, but those performers are professionals and should be able to deal with changes made under any circumstance. Last night was supposed to be monumental and memorable – it was neither!
Davey D, once again you have articulated some of the collective thoughts of our people, thank you! I too hoped Viacom would step up to the plate and do the “right” thing for the greatest artists in our lifetime, not to mention some who has made them BILLIONS, but Michael Jackson himself told us YEARS ago, “they don’t REALLY care about us”, WORD!
Oh yeah, E- Scribblah, was it really necessary for you to DISS Dr. Maya Angelou?!!! Shame on you man, I’ll keep you in prayer, word!
Good post, I pretty much agree. I am not sure what had to be done or why some people were not used versus others. It could have been because of grieving, licensing issues, royalties, etc. Sadly even though the attempt may have been good, people are still in the business of being about business.
The REAL problem I have even given those considerations is that B.E.T through Deb Lee said they were going to pay tribute to Michael Jackson and changed the show around to do so. WHAT IN THE HELL DID THEY CHANGE? I don’t have a problem with and would have appreciated it more had they ran the regular show with time alloted to MJ.
My biggest disappointment is not about who wasn’t there, but who was and what they did. You mean to tell me that those performances that were paying tribute to Michael were needed.
What’s worse is that this was Black Entertainment Television moment to shine. This was this networks opportunity to give back to a black artist who not only transcended the genre he helped to usher in, but built the infrastructure which B.E.T has profited from. No to many people would have watched this show had it not been billed as it was. I know that what happened is typical for this or any other award show like it. Fine! However, the world was watching, we were watching and what was delivered was not acceptable. The night had it’s moments, not all was bad, but unfortunately that good was overshadowed by a majority of what wasn’t.
As I have said, I am looking forward to CNN and the other networks that have mentioned or are doing proper tributes and honoring Michael Jackson as last night should have.
I agree 300% with this article. We must demand want we deserve and that is a shame. There will NEVER be another Michael Jackson no matter how hard we try. I am a music lover and I have a 4 year old. It terifies me to think about what music will be because it has become nothing but repetative commerical non singing “talent”. Real music is dieing and no one cares. That is very sad. Michael Jackson had is weak moments, his faults, his uniqueness be it good or bad but we are no one to judge when we are ALL human & also fall weak to our own desires. He stood above & gave us his life and no one could give him the time he deserved just to say a well earned Thank You Michael for making us Dance, think about the world, the children, our own personal changes and teaching us how to just Love! Hopefully BET / Viacom & the rest Music Industry will do the right thing.
YOU TOOK THE WORDS RIGHT OUTTA MY MOUTH! N I BLOGGED ABOUT THE AWARDS ON MY BLOG AS WELL (WWW.INMYHEAD5.BLOGSPOT.COM) N POSTED THE LINK 2 THIS ARTICLE AS A REFERENCE.
VERY WELL SED & CRITIQUED! THANX 4 THIS ARTICLE…BET OUGHTA BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES 🙁
I am so thankful that I didn’t watch the BET Awards last night. I was afraid that they wouldn’t give Michael the respect he deserved. They haven’t given the black community to much these days so I figured they would screw up a MJ tribute. I am shocked by the music world. I thought MJ would be playing all weekend on Power 99. Oh he** nawh. These fools popped in dookie music every chance they got. MJ deserves so much more. He was an ambassador of hope and peace to the world. He was the Obama of music. I don’t think Obama wouldn’t have been loved by so many if it hadn’t been for MJ. 🙂 < I know that last comment was a bit much but just tolerate a sista for a second.
EXCUSES!!!! “excuses are the tools of the weak and incompetent…” I don’t care if they had one day to plan this event. These people get paid millions to do what they do and if they have half the talent that they claim they could have done better.
I’m going to guess they were given the option to change their performance, and some stars (lazy as they are) decided why do extra work and bring on 12 year old girls to an inappropriate song, and throw a MJ up in there for the sake of the show!
It upsets me that the main stream media does not critique BET. We have sub-par programming because the main stream media doesn’t put us on blast for the crap that goes on. If CNN called out BET, how could our black leaders defend BET. They would not be able to defend, the crap that airs on that station!
Good Article. I agree that regardless of a tribute for our brother or not, having a song rapping about wanting to Fu** every girl in the world is beyond detestable. When are we as a people gonna put a stop to this nonsense!
e-scribblah,
You are right about one thing. The parallel between MJ and Elvis does not fit. Elvis was nowhere near as talented as MJ. Elvis took “Race Music” and put a new face on it to make it acceptable for whites. Elvis was a drug addicted, racist moderately talented pedophile yet he is touted as “The King”. MJ sold more records (Fact: his “Off The Wall” album singlehandedly SAVED the recording industry from financial ruin the year it was released), created a whole new standard in this game, and will go down in history as the true “King Of Pop”.
I barely remember anything about Elvis’ passing but I do remember that no black people I saw seemed to care very much. I remember that more black people were affected by John Lennon’s passing than Elvis. This is not to make it about Black vs. White perception, it is to point out that MJ brought ALL RACES together in a way that no other artist ever did. Only in America does his eccentricities get that much focus. A huge part of that is because this country will not have a black man be the icon that MJ was without destroying him. The reasons for that are much bigger than MJ.
I’m all for calling it out as it is and accepting responsibilities for ones actions, but based on your comments, you sound like one of those 25 and unders who are too young to actually remember anything about MJ other than the tabloid fodder that the MSM and Sony perpetuated in their attempts to destroy his legacy. Everything you have heard about this man for the last 20 years has focused more on his negative points than his positive one right? So how is it that his death brought the WORLD together? Just think on that.
Davey brother, all I can say to you is that I’m afraid you are expecting something from BET that they are incapable of doing. Personally I have to chalk it up to that because if I were to look at it any other way it would be straight disrespectful. Why cant we as black people “get it right?” That’s why I didn’t even bother to watch the awards last night. With MJ gone i didn’t need another reason to be depressed.
Great points tho Davey as always.
Priest Forever
Harlem’s Most Dangerous Emcee
Good piece…But you expected this from BET? Honestly? B? E? T? You set yourself up for that disappoinment.
Well for someone like me, who never watches award shows, i thought that it could best be described as “a lil classless”. Jamie Foxx hiking up his pants to show his print, and calling his genitals a camel toe, and a boa constricter, is boder line for Jamie, but at this, a MJ tribute, it was down right WRONG. Short notice can explain some of the misques, like Jamie not always knowing when the show was back on the air. But I think imaturity, and a bad dicector, are mostly the blame for the way the show came off to lots of people. There is no way Lil Wayne should not have discouraged from performing that song and especially that act. Soulja boy i think should have also been giving some direction before his performance. So either the director, and producers of the show were more concerned with their hip-hop fan base, than they were about dudes like me who normally dont watch award shows, being impressed with the BET Awards 2009, with a tribute to the King of Pop, MIchael Jackson
One of my friends suggested on facebook that ideally BET would have died and Michael had a tribute for them…..in a perfect universe!
“Hip-hop (Helping Ignorant People – Hurt Our People)” at its best. BET just ain’t start getting bad, its just that these weak Black folks didn’t know how to explain that nonsense to their white counter-parts at work. ITs time to “Return to Glory” and grow up. Help-hop ain’t just start making us look like bufoons, people. That’s just the first time that many of you looked at it as “adults”. Insulting ain’t it?
Davy, you slow on some of these subjects.I know you a busy man, but I’m on “unknown” sites talking about these things ’cause you ain’t up to speed. Keep it coming fast!!!
on point robert.
OMG! I just recently READ your article Davey D and absolutely LOVED IT and I owe you so much respect Davey D! And, my sentiments exactly on what you stated … I just hope there is a BIG “Michael Jackson Tribute Show” planned to encompass ALL…SO VERY MUCH that was missed or could not be captured in the BET ’09 Awards Show. So many folks (literally hundreds of agents, lawyers, etc.) made money off Michael Jackson … there can be so much more to HONOR his legacy and what he did for the music industry to open doors for African Americans period! Great job Davey D!
great article dave but elvis should never even been honered ol’ boy stole his muisc and i agree wayne and drakes performance was kind of disrespectful,… but i ain’t even gonna front Jamie Foxx had me rolling, forreal, like crying laughing, hes a fool and no one could of done it but him, but your right, where was Quincy, Diana, we needed that… thanx for this
What was the rush? Who said a tribute had to happen within moments of one’s death? It is completely expected that a good tribute requires months of planning and production, so why rush it? BET afraid to get “scooped”? C’mon.
They should have taken the care and time to do it right, do Mike justice.
I felt like disconnecting my Television set when little Wayne and Drake preformed. I can’t believe people call that talent. BET should be shame to have that garbage on television with those children trying to look older than 10. And when TPain accepted his award he had a drink in his hand. What kind of nonsense was that? These performers should invest in a G’s to Gents class because they look like fools with money and you can bet your last dime if their behavior doesn’t change they will eventually be broke fool.
I am so encouraged by the compassion of the true fans and seeing how many people are coming together from all over the world to pay their sincere respect to Michael. The majority of the media coverage around MJ only confirms for me why it’s safer to live in a bubble sometimes.
Dumbest article ever. He died 2 DAYS before the awards! It takes a looong time to plan something big. Some points were good in this article & others were HORRIBLE!! THe music world stopped when bigge & pac died because they were in their PRIMES when they got killed. Michael was fifty & the average person that performed were like 25 so they honestly were probly not true fans. And we also have to realize, Michael is the king of POP. Ask yourselves the question- does BET play POP music??? And artist do what they wanna do. BET cant force people like Chris Brown & Usher to come and perform two days after he dies
Rafa, you blasting Dave, I can’t wait for you to google “Michael Jackson BET Awards Boston Examiner”. Dave ain’t said nothing but a word compared to that so-called brother. Read it and get back with us – HERE! Thanks.
LMAO…. good article, but c’mon Dave, what did you REALLY expect from bamboozled entertainment TV?
Considering the short amount of time BET had in order to put together a tribute to MJ- I think they did alright aside from all the Weezy/Drake performance and a couple of others. Again, it was a short amount of time as I belive they had to rearrange the entire show in approx., 2 days. They could’ve stuck with the original program, but the effort was made! Unfortunately, SOME of the artist didn’t reflect the effort…50 years of greatness covered in two days unexpectedly…that would have been a miricle…DD
Rafa, I love you, but to be apart of the “renasaince” or “Return To Glory” movement, you got to come more original. The same thing you said about Davey D’s article on here , you said on the Boston TV Examiner. Blast whoever you want, but represent “us” with some originality. They are going to crucify you over on that site, Rafa, watch!
This blog is being written with the full intent of having it emailed directly to BET.
Dear BET,
As I typed the letters BET I reminisced of at time when I was very proud to have a network dedicated to the Black audience. We finally had a vehicle whereby we could inform, educate, uplift, and entertain on. You were to be the hope and shining example of what Black television was suppose to be. You invented it! But after last night’s fiasco I can no longer support nor defend your network. The BET Awards Show was a disgrace to television, Black, White, whatever. If anyone was to give a proper tribute to arguably the best (Black) performer to ever live it was suppose to be you. You, BET, embarrassed all of us. And me, for the last time. Undoubtedly there are some very talented individuals that work for BET so I will not insult or reduce their talent. I am targeting the leadership of the network. You alone have reduced Michael’s legacy to mockery and buffoonery. Shame on you BET.
He Mr. Burkett, if your e-mail was a success, what e-mail address did you use for BET? Because I and no one else can seem to get through. Give us that e-mail address, I hate to have to waste a 44 cent stamp on these people. Thanks!
I think that BET did the best that they could on such short notice. However, they do need to put together a trubute show.
Perfectly stated! When will we learn to step up as a people? RIP Michael Joseph Jackson!!
Michael has had serious problems with music executives and main stream media for a long time. Remember he called the head of SONY, Tommie Mattola a “the devil and a racist” and claimed that even great artists like James Brown and Sammy Davis Jr. would starve if they did not go on tour. Sumner Redstone, Tommie Mattola and all of the big 7 who owns main stream media are Jewish Zionists. They had it in for Michael for a long time and when the Jewish woman extortioner failed in her ridiculous suit to claim that Michael had abused her child, rather than vindicate Michael, the Jewish main stream media kept alive the suspicion that he was guilty. It didn’t endear the Zionist media owners to Michael any more when Michael decided to become a Muslim. His image had to be tarnished so that no one would view him becoming Muslim as positive and follow him.
Thank you for this editorial. Exactly right on the mark.
I’ve read blog responses-serious and not so serious-
concerned with the perception of Black performers in mainstream White society. I’m part of that ‘White society,’ and I was immensely disappointed by Sunday night’s BET Awards. I hadn’t planned to watch it, but the countless CNN plugs pulled me in. I expected to see a fitting tribute paid to MJ- be it only 15 minutes of solid tribute. But it was a mess. It was a disgrace.
I’m proud of the outpour coming from angry viewers. I’m proud that Black citizens are standing up and saying “This is not how I want to be represented.” Watching Soulja Boy pounce on a bed while rapping off-key- WTF?! Why would anybody want to watch this? Who’s shelling out money to keep this career alive?
So yeah, I’m white and over 40. And I’m angry, too. Angry with what I saw Sunday night. Angry because of all the great talent out there that none of us got to see Sunday night. But turning away from BET is not the answer. Maybe, in some unexpected way, this show was the wake up call BET needed. Maybe this is exactly the right time for all communities to demand better for ourselves. Compare what you saw on Sunday to MJ’s genius, and to the genius of so many great Black performers out there deserving of the exposure and the air time on BET. And if we work together to demand better, then it’s OUR tribute to the King of Pop that will make the difference and make that change.
Robert, honestly I have the same message to all of the haters of the BET awards. I even told the same thing to my MOM. But really yall that are hating on the awards are WACK and need to listen to my first comment. Take it from somebody that has planned a big event before (go check out the ASI Hip Hop & comedy fest 2009 which featured performances by Drake & Ryan Leslie at Cal State LA). I planned that event & it took me a WHOLE YEAR. BET really did the best they could do in 2 days. And you guys never know, they could possibly be putting on a whole different tribute show apart from the BET awards. Like I said, MJ is the king of POP and POP is not even hot today. Trust me, with that short notice, they did the best they could do.
I honestly feel that your expectations were just simply too high for the BET Awards as I have no clue how hard it would be to get all of those people but I know it would be a monumental task in the least. If they did get all of those people would it even be an award show at that point, wouldn’t it have grown into something completely different?
I really didn’t initially look at the reporting the same way you did on the negative stuff but I must agree with you that compared to other historical deaths he was not given a fair shake and I believe it is because the press as a whole thinks that because of his court cases that they have the right to get nasty about someone so important to our Nation. SHAME ON THEM! Thank you for opening my eyes.
Rafa, I love you, but “Excuses are the tools of the incompetenet…” We may be “wack”, but our eyes don’t lie, Rafa.
Rafa I will say this and say this agian BET is not alone.. BET is part of a much larger network VIACOM.. It is overseen by one man Sumner Redstone.. That Viacom network has some its divisions praised for MJ coverage.. most recently Sway who managed to wisely use resources to pull together a series of specials.. Having worked for several large media outlets where we did large events including award shows.. I too know how these things work.. and stand by my words..
I already noted with 3 days before an event BET was over its head.. In a world of consolidated media where countless jobs were eliminated to make these outlets more effecient, then you use all the resources at hand.. I laid more weight on the feet of Redstone then I did Debra Lee or Stephen Hill for not utilizing HIS resources and instructing his people to rally around the networks first global shot at honoring MJ..
So please brother stop defending them.. They make enough money, have enough resources and know how to connect the dots when needed.
I laid out a real simple scenario.. Film montage..Where was it? How many days does it take to get one together. Viacom has them they’ve run them..
2- Testimonies from his friends and pillars in the music industry.. Everyone else got them including other divisions of Viacom.. When MJ dies I got calls from everyone from Fox to CNN Some called looking for numbers to people which I gave and they later used.. Others wanted me to head on down to the local studio and talk to them via statelite.. How hard is that? Its not that damn hard.. Its viacom people.. They have direct numbers to every major person in the world.. and nobody would not have taken time out to say a few words to the King of Pop.
3-They added a half hour to the show with New Edition and some words from Don Cornelius and a couple of numbers by Neyo and Jamie Foxx.. I tip my hat to those efforts. Most people weren’t looking for Chris Brown and Usher to show up. Nobody cared if Justin Timberlake rolled through. Most wanted him to be honored respectfully.. Not with Drake and Lil wayne telling us how many girls they wanna fuck then shouting out the King of Pop.. How long did it take to plan that? a year? three months? 4 days? How about this?
Lil wayne, Drake- We’re cutting your routine tonite.. I’ve been at shows as part of the planning team where acts were cut for simply pissing off the promoter.. You say sorry Drake, sorry Wayne we honoring MJ tonight no Fucking Lil Girls song tonite. End of story, one less headache.. replace it with old footage from your companies vaults. That is what those people are paid to do.. Thats their profession..
All around the country rinky dink news stations have done this.. If he died at 2 o’clock by 6 o’clock they had all their pieces rolling. I’m sitting here in Texas.. The night MJ died I heard the local no watt soul station put together an incredible tribute.. Old songs, lots of stories from young and old when he came to town.. moments of silence, The guy who planned to do his jazz show changed up. The Hip Hop show changed up.. The staff came together and gave the people a place to pay tribute..
So again stop making excuses for what was an obvious disappointment. There was no excuse for dropping the ball the other night.
Read my review on the Bet awards. Thanks
http://venusmodelsonline.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/michael-jackson-honored-at-bet-awards-with-a-tribute/
I respect your views but I’m so surprised that nobody has realized the changes that were done were MAJOR changes that no other award ceremony would have done at the last minute. I will admit some of the antics were Ghetto nonetheless but they had find singers that could actually sing so the show went over. many of the vocalists now are cute as buttons but that singing thing, not their strongest feature. my last comment, being in the business, each thing that goes on from lights to sound to fireworks to curtains to the band playing to presenters on stage etc…. is a major issue if anything is changed even for 3 seconds… Honestly they did a pretty good job if you look the time they had to change the entire show…
somebody had to say it and i’m glad you did. among other things, i was really, really disappointed in the drake performance. i’ve heard so much hype about this guy – WHY?!?!? i turned away and missed the “girl” who walked out. what were they thinking?
C Mitchell- If you dont know why he has so much hype then you obviously havent heard his music. But I do think that Lil Wayne should have chosen a different song besides every girl.
E. Dykemyster- yall need to listen to his comment. Yall expectations were too high and the whole purpose of an award show ae to acknowledge peoples accomplishments from the previous year. I dont know what you guys were expecting. Everybodys performance did NOT have to be about Mike. Dont you guys think it was bad enough that we heard sooo much repitiion during the show when every body said RIP MJ after they won an award??
Davey- I see what you mean about Viacom. And yes, people were expecting JT, Usher, or Chris Brown. Thats all Ive been hearing the last few days. Viacom may have all the connects in the world, but people still have egos and agendas
@ Rafa if it was egos and agendas that makes it even worse. I was giving people the benefit of the doubt..
Look no one put the expectations on BET.. I saw the announcement from them.. telling us to tune in cause it was gonna be on and popping.. Oh really? Bet.. People who never watched BET tuned in for this.. Nobody expected every performance. to be about Mike.. but no one expected to be the embarrasment that it was..
@ Davey it is a bad thing that artists and such have egos. ANd how dare you say that n one put the expectations on BET- read your article again buddy. And if you’re looking for people to blame about the awards, then blame the fans. Any and every award show chooses the most popular fans with the most popular music. I am also upset that people like Soulja Boy keep getting to perform every where. But it really isnt BET’s fault, its the millions of stupid people that continually buy his albums and yes he is a multi platinum artist now.
Here’s how u do a proper tribute
Great work, my man. I made similar replies on FB. The only negative responses I see are from people probably too young to understand what ‘professionalism’ and ‘self-control’ means anyway.
I agree. BET screwed this one up on a major scale. No matter what people may think of Michael Jackson, and his various problems, he was the consummate entertainer and should have been respected by BET in the proper and correct way. The entertainers that he admired should have been included in the show. Maybe the ABC, NBC, CBS or FOX Entertainment Divisions/Departments should show BET how it should be done. Overall, the BET “Tribute” SUCKED!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ELOQUENT COMMENTARY ON THE SHOW. I WAS SADDENED AND DISAPPOINTED BY THE ENTIRE SHOW. YOU HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD!! THANK YOU, AGAIN!
That was the realest, most cumulative and most honest commentary on the BET awards/”MJ tribute” I’ve seen yet…the show was just a big disappointment.
Very honest commentary indeed. I feel the same way about the BET tribute. I understand they didn’t have alot of time to put it together, but I, too thought that at the very least Chris Brown & Usher would perform. I agree that more comments should have been made by some “greats” paying tribute to the King of Pop. We will see if something will be done in the future to right this wrong. Hats off to you, Davey D! R.I.P. MJ
@oldskoolhqCLOWN- since when does professionalism have an age on it?? Hasn’t MJs young career taught you anything??
Finally, someone who watched the same show!! While reading your article it’s hard to muddle through to what your point really is. It get’s lost in the rhetorical examples and what-ifs in the beginning. Like most I agree that the hype and the expectation for this to be a poignant farewell to our King of Pop was a sad and pitiful let-down. Aside from Neyo’s rendition of “Lady in My Life” and the O’Jay’s tribute and performance this years award show was a complete waste of time.
I like Neyo and Jamie Foxx but had I known that this was their show this year and not a showcase of our best performers I would have watched reruns of the Golden Girls. I thought that the singing and rapping was awful. Beyonce’s performance was a major disappointment (as well as that over the top costume)and whoever the hell let Soulja Boy as close as the parking area should be shot!!!
I agree with you that a photo montage and a vocal performance before Janet’s appearance would have been so much better than what we suffered through.
Honestly, you all, this will be my last post on this subject here. Its too easy for Black folk to come down on the brother man and not look behind the scenes at the other man. Black people putting down Black people ain’t my thing. They screwed up, now as a “race” of people – How do we get our act together in the entertainment business and stop our kids from being bastard children of these Hip-hop owners? Too easy to put down ourselves.
I was mad because I had missed most of the show. I seen Janet come out and felt like I seen the most important part, but was disappointed because I hadn’t caught the rest.
From what your saying, I guess, I would have been even more disappointed if I had caught the whole thing. I understand how others felt, because I felt that way when I heard of SRV’s death. Here is a “tribute” I ran across. I wept..
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK25cfzdTTg&hl=en&fs=1&]
Damn, how come they didn’t submit that tribute video to BEt before the BET awards. When was that tribute made? Was it one of those look how we can do it better jerntz and was it made by last Sunday?
They say 10 million viewers watched the MTV Award show Sunday. BET made so much money they said, “We got to do that again! Forget you uppity-negroes, white people have always enjoyed a good minstrel show”. BET re-broadcasted that crap Tuesday, they was like – “FU*&( it, I’m gettin’ paid maw f*()*$!er” “There are Black people, and then there are… ” That’s all I’m going to say.
@Bernard: Bringing your own anti-Semitism into this discussion might be a little unnecessary. Michael certainly never expressed his beef that way. You are a passionate person who has a right to your opinions, but maybe writing that stuff on Dave’s page was not a respectful thing to do.
Enough is enough … It’s 2009 and I’m fed up, aren’t you? I can no longer tolerate the ignorance coming from either side of the fence. We have to take a stance – a visiable stance when it comes to ignorance whether it is against us or by us. I was certainly ashamed of what I watched – I could not continue to watch it so I missed Janet Jackson and Lil’ Wayne’s appearances because I could not take it anymore.
The questions is, what are we going to do about it? Expressing our views is a very good start but more – much more needs to be done. I like the letters being sent to the Viacom President – I actually think a petition should be started to let them know that mainstream Black America is not happy with their product.
Additionally, I think we need to start putting pressure on the Media to police how they consistently “black ball” African Americans in the media whenever there is a hint of speculation available to ponder. I am tired of watching the media refer to President Obama as only Obama as they discuss his policies – Have you noticed that ever since Barry Bonds retired from Baseball that the steroid stories have serverly died down – Isn’t it funny that Michael Vick received much more press coverage than Bernie Madoff – Each week it is a new Black Male Face in the media to be villanized… yes, it keeps the raitings up and keeps America afraid of us… I’m tired of it. It’s time that we take some action… what can be done, letters, petitions or money… ahh money, that’s the answer. Ratings = $$ so how can we effect ratings? What if we started media boycotts or better yet, what if started to boycott the funding sources of some of the media giants? What if we started to put pressure on those who put the dollars into the media giants? What if we could bend the ear of those who have the money to take a stance against what is being put out in the media about us? It’s time for some revolutionary thinking and action… it’s time for change…
Thank you for your excellent analysis of what happend on the BET awards. I believe BET needs to give up the money they earned from using Michael Jackson’s name to garner high ratings. I believe it should go to a charity or to pay Michael’s debt. BET does not deserve the record breaking ratings since their inception. The CEO has no right to claim this award show a great success. We also need to report them to the FCC for the careless obscenity and vulgarity witnessed on the show. This process takes about 2 minutes for people to put in an online complaint:
http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm
If you are a music fan and/or a Michael Jackson fan then you experienced the deep sadness and disappointment as a result of what BET presented as a tribute show. You wanted some respite from the constant negative news coverage of Michael since his death. You wanted to focus on the greatness of his music. But what we got was something else. Something we have been subjected to for years on BET but now became unbearable and difficult to stomach.
Davey, you worked out damn near every detail – which begs the question – why do we have only ONE network (not really owned by us) to represent us? How about “Black Information Network”???
Thank you, Sara for the compaint e-mail address. That’s what me and Bill cosby be talking about – “activism”. Talk is cheap, two minutes of our time shows that wee do have a sense of pride, dignity, and some self respect. And fotr those who would call me anti-semitic or anti-white, I tell you the truth, I’m not “anti” anything except a people being lied to and denied the facts about themselves. Just because I love Black people doesn’t mean I hate white people, I hate lies and people who will try to have us believing that which has never been true. Not apologizing, just giving you some insight on what I have been saying for the past fifteen years or so.
Don’t agree with you. I think the show was fine and they did what they could do in a few days.
Also, Sumner Redstone is NOT Viacom’s CEO–get your facts checked.
China Doll, I appreciate your opinion, but if you know who the Viacom CEO is, don’t be a smart behine – enlighten us! Some people liked the show, some people, obviously, didn’t. I think the comedian Dave Arnold, on here, gave a good ghetto review of the show which perhaps people like yourself and others can better appreciate why so many mature people didn’t like the show.
Mr. McClendon,
I’m sorry you took offense to my comment, I was not being a “smart behind” merely making a statement. One of the main reasons people blog and make comments is to exercise our freedom of speech. You have exhibited that over again on this page remarking on anybody who doesn’t agree. Do I dare not agree with the author?
My opinion is not one you align with and that is fine. But please don’t tell me how I should express myself..
China, all we really wanted to know was who’s the CEO?
Oh, my bad…
Viacom’s current CEO is Phillipe Dauman
Mr. Davey you articulate well. However, I do not agree with all of your issues. Most is evolved from social anger and misdirected. B.E.T. did a great job for the little time prepared. I even look past the inappropiate performances for that reason. They did give “shouts” at the end of performances to respect Michael and that spoke volume over the lack of redirecting their performances. Seeing so many come together and devoid violence spoke volume as well. I appreciated the comments of Tressie, Raness, Priest forever and E-Scribblah. They each recognize the efforts put forth to accomplish a lot in a little time. We must learn to support each other and not openly criticize an entity struggling to survive in the society we have adopted. There is so much negative media coverage that it was refreshing to view a tribute and the presence of Janet and Joe was superb considering they are mourning we just miss the music. listen to your arguments and tone them to get across the point and support our communities.
naw Fatima. first of all i already acknowledged they had little time.. But what you are some how ignoring is that BET is VIACOM.. MTV did stellera coverage on MJ.. Sway did a series that got props by the NY Times if that means anything.. Obviously they didn’t incorporate that in their own presentation… BET is not some rinky dink mom and pop operration.. They are a corporate giant with vast resources. THIS IS WHAT THEY DO.. They’re big time.. I seen and worked with other companies that have far less that have responded under crises and came up shining..
Forget changing performances. and doping routines..
1-Video tribute.. how hard was that. Chuck D did one in less than an hour.. where was there’s..
2-Having people close to MJ comment.. Every other net work tracked folks down why couldn’t BET/ Viacom-No video feeds?? why not?
3-Putting it into context.. instead of having half baked skits that had nothing to do w/ MJ how about concentrating the tribute into that extra half hour..
4-Most people didn’t expect BET to do much, but they made the announcement that they were. They knew that would get 10 million people to watch..and they raised expectations so they should’ve delivered.. Instead that they came up way short.. Plain and simple it was wack
Davey, like i said before- it was still an award show. Every little second of it did NOT have to be about MJ. And to every one else that is complaining about BET, who said that they are not planning a real big event to honor MJ? I didnt knw they had a certain amount of time. They had 2 days, give them their props. I know a couple of the writers and they worked 48 hours straight to change Jamies whole script so just give them their props
Rafa and Fatima B, you two may be right, but who asked BET to give a honor to Michael Jackson? If you ain’t or can’t do it right, don’t do it. Stop making excuses. BET ain’t just get ignorant, people.
Rob- For the record let me tell you and every one else that i personally dont reall like BET. I am really looking at this situation from a neutral standpoint. But you guys cant expect to never watch a channel and all of a sudden be blown away by its award show. Like I said before, the fans are what dictate whats on channels like BET. BET is ignorant because their fans are. Like I also said before, I hate Soulja Boy and many other rappers but as long as he keeps selling and people request his videos then BET has to play it.
BET is Black Entertainment and Michael was black and also one of the best performers ever so of course they were going to honor him. And what do you mean by do it “right” the MIchael dedicated performances were pretty good. And you guys really need to get off Jamie Foxx. He is a COMEDIAN and of course he wasnt about to host the award show all said and boring. You dont pay a rapper to do country music, and you dont pay a comedian to be boring. Yes Rob, I think they could have done more and had people like Usher or Chris Brown perform; but we dont know all the facts so we cant judge them. Take it from someone who knows how to plan big events, they did great for short amount of time
Rafa-stop making excuses for this.. seriously please stop.. I will repeat for the last time as I stated in the article..
-BET was up to its neck doing an awards show..i know this.. Having done big shows..I clearly understood and know that two or three days out they were up to their necks with last minute ligistics.. I acknowledge that-Did you not read it?
-I already said the person identified as leading the BET team Stephan Hill deserves his props for taking on the extra load.He didn’t have to but he did .I wrote that you did read that right?
-BET is part of a much larger company with vast resources where i know for fact that they had people doing MJ work that were not a part of BET but work for Viacom.. hence since this was an extraordinary occassion involving a person who put Viacom on the map, why not pull out all the stops to make sure the first major award show which BET announced they were turning into a tribute would be done right ?
-This means Rafa.. turning to your other divisions and saying we need the following resources
1- Friends of Michael to come on and pay respects via satellite or live.. How hard is that ? Its not too hard.. its done all the time.. We’ve done this on networks I been at.. BET has done this..
2-Put together some sort of moving tribute using old footage of Michael so the audience who had been subjected to hours of Thriller and MJ bashing could have another perspective to appreciate.. How hard is that? Sway form MTV had already put together tributes for MTV.. why not use his stuff? There are all sorts of tributes put together by local news casts that gave us a walk down memory lane with Michael..
3- Jamie Foxx’s skit took 2 days to write?? How about some heartfelt words about what MJ meant to you and the audience watching? Was this about a Jamie Foxx skit or paying tribute to a MJ?
4-Rule 1001 in show bizz K_I_S_S Keep it Simple Stupid.. I learned that in radio i learned that from promoter Bill Graham. I learned that from my old bosses who routinely did shows.. I learned this from former BET employees who have won awards for their work.. Its a mantra drilled into us .. Did folks not get the memo?
5-Since the show was already in tact and people spent weeks and months rehearsing.. why not center the MJ tribute efforts into a segement of the show as opposed to trying to spread it throughout thus creating confusion and anger because people were ‘paying tribute to MJ with half baked skits and routines-some of which had nothing to do with MJ..
This could’ve easily been done right there in the middle of the show when they paid tribute to the Ojays or at the beginning.
As I said most people didn’t wake up expecting BET to do an MJ tribute, but they went and announced that they were knowing full well all sorts of folks who had no intention of watching the awards were gonna tune into watch the awards.. You had millions of extra viewers and lots of new press..
Instead of doing a tribute BET attempted to ‘showcase themselves and use MJ as the bait to draw us in and because shit was half baked it came off wack..
And again I bring into question why would Viacom allow one of its companies to come up short? My criticism is not the only one.. It was widely felt..
Thats not the way Viacom does things.. I simply could not see MTV allowing a wack tribute.. That would not go down on their watch.. so it makes me wonder if there’s some internal shit going on..
Maybe there is some internal stuff going on. Maybe Viacom doesny care that much about BET??Who knows. Look at BET nowadays. No more good shows (like Rap City) but all you see now is ree-runs and stupid shows like “Tiny and Toya”
Rafa thats why I said stop defending them.. Its either they are greenlighting ignorance or their hands are tied and sooner or later someone has to be brave enough to step up and let folks know whats going on just like the man they paid tribute to.. If they giving them crumbs to work with then the KISS principal applies even more.. U know that as someone who works in the business..
Rafa frank williams who works at BET did an incredible film tribute that wasn’t played during the award show? why i don’t know.. tried to track in down on youtube and only saw it on facebook.. here’s one that someone else did.. why didn’t we see something like this?
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1sqAjlyKe_A&hl=en&fs=1&]
if you are on FB u might beable to see this here..
http://www.new.facebook.com/inbox/?ref=mb#/video/video.php?v=104476520772&ref=share
If there was only a limited amount of time to properly prepare, then there should have been a seperate show planned. Don’t just scramble to “throw something together”. Did he just run to the studio and push out music “just to put something out there”? NO he didn’t because the man threw his heart and soul into his craft. He deserved better than an impromptu memorial by Buffonary Eveytime Television…
**If you can’t do it right, Don’t do it!