Today (Aug 16th) all the stops are being pulled out to remember the death of Elvis Presley the so-called King of Rock-N-Roll.. Ever since yesterday we’ve seen national TV crews camp out all out at Graceland.. Special tributes on radio.. Even some urban outlets are giving Elvis his props.. In typical form Elvis like Ronald Reagan and our slave-owning founding fathers has been sanitized..Many forget when he died, he was an obese drug addict.. Contrast the celebrations around Elvis with the lack of tributes, shout outs & honoring we do for iconic figures like a James Brown..The Godfather of Soul, Marvin Gaye or Ray Charles. Sure folks will do a quick plug for Michael Jackson upcoming birthday, Aug 29th..Michael Jackson’s death day June 25th came and went w/o a peep. If these dates were or are mentioned, they’re usually accompanied but not w/o reminding us of all his troubles..Sadly we see similar treatment around all our icons..Many of us were still talking about the Drake/Chris Brown fight which happened a week or so earlier..
From Elvis to the Beatles to Reagan, they are all celebrated, their troubles and misdeeds wiped away while our heroes are either demonized in the mainstream or completely obscured within our own circles. Meaning we have folks with platforms, resources and loud microphones who allow our heroes and sheroes to be overlooked. So while thousands flock to Graceland to talk about the greatness of Elvis, why don’t we start the process of talking up our own.. Where’s the equivalent to Graceland for James Brown?
“Graceland for James Brown” …. that’s a great idea. Why don’t you go build it Dave ?
Thats already started Highlander
“Why Don’t Thousands Flock to Celebrate James Brown?”
Go ahead.
Nobody is stopping you.
Maybe because blaming all your problems on da whiet maan never really fixes your own issues with self esteem.
Hey Adam.. I’m sure you can read right? If you read whats written, nobody blamed anyone.. Its a question directed at those who are fans of the superstar requesting they step up and follow suit.. But of course in your world, you couldn’t read or comprehend.. .. The article is also a question directed at those who are in media on public airwaves who spend countless hours diefying elvis while ignoring others.. that’s not blame.. that’s a statement of fact designed to raise awareness and as is dictated by the FCC a push to redefine what one could consider ‘the public good’.. Are u serving all fans or just elvis fans..
Crackas always gotta have their say.
This is because Black people are too damn trendy. If it didn’t happen 5 minutes ago, it’s worthless. The Rolling Stones, and other rock acts from 30-40 years ago still pull big crowds. Earth Wind & Fire, and P-Funk play small venues, and most of the crowd is white at that. BB King famously lamented how his crowds were all Black at the start of his career, but were nearly all white by the mid 70’s. I’ve heard legends like KRS-One, and Rakim described as “old men that nobody wants to hear” by our youth. We throw away our culture, then complain when White folks pick it out of the trash and run with it. Of course while we throw away 99% of what we create, the worthless trend of running around with our drawls showing is still going strong after 25 years.
Yeah step2me has good points. I’m a white guy from Ireland who would kill to see KRS-One. I wonder how it feels for a young black person in America when they see someone like KRS. Do they just think old man who’s past it? Because when we see him we just think legend.
Same with all of the old bluesmen. When they were playing in the 60’s and 70’s when they were old, Most of the audience seemed to be white. I wonder what younger black people thought when they saw these legends, while all of the white rock n roll musicians like the Stones and Led Zeppelin were loving their music and creating something amazing with it.