Urban Thought Collective

“She got a dark skinned friend, look like Michael Jackson.”

Oh Mike. Oh Mike. We remember you way back when. The afro…which metamorphosed into a curl. The bell pepper nose…which metamorphosed into…a jalapeno nose? Anyway, you may have heard that MJ announced his last concert tour earlier this month. In honor of “The Gloved One” we’re going to take a look at his career. But of course, we have to break it up a little. First up is Black Mike. It may come as a shock to some, but I actually like Black Mike more than White Mike. [Sorry, couldn’t help it. Gotta keep it light!]. On to the videos!!

JACKSON 5 | MOTOWN AUDITION
I know the sound is piss poor and the video isn’t much better, but I just want you to look. Look at a 9 year old with more natural ability, talent, and charisma than anyone on the planet, absolutely mesmerize his audience. The kid was NINE FREAKING YEARS OLD! You can’t take your eyes off of him, and you absolutely don’t want to. We’ll never see another like him.

“ALL I DO IS THINK OF YOU”
“I can’t wait to get to school each day.” First off. Randy on the congas. Really? Randy was a gifted percussionist? So gifted, that they let him play on the actual record? Riiiight. Anyhoo, I think we’ve all heard Troop’s version of this jam but there’s nothing like the original. Original afros, original…leisure wear. The kids are growns up by this point, but they are still on point…no doubt because Joe kept them that way! When it comes to showmanship and musical talent, you really can’t beat the Jackson 5. Well, Joe did but that’s another story.

“ROCK WITH YOU”
“And we gonna ride the boogie.” Hmmm…could this possibly be Mike’s best song ever? If this song isn’t, then it’s not too far behind #1. Seriously, I could listen to this joint for three hours straight. It just doesn’t get it old. Mike and Quincy were at the apex of their game, and it shows. I really think cats have been trying, in vain by the way, to top “Off The Wall” over the last 30 odd years. Keep trying my pedigree’d chums. You might make it yet.

“BILLIE JEAN”
“Eyes were like mine.” Motown 25 was a pretty decent show, but all I really wanted was for my mom to let me stay up long enough to watch Mike do his thing. I begged and begged and begged….and begged. And, she actually let me stay up late to catch it. I think we all know that Mike delivered a knockout performance that night. But the funny thing was watching all the guys try to moonwalk…in sneakers. Yeah, it’s hard to glide in rubber soles pimpin’. Apparently none of the girls experienced that problem, because they had on dress shoes. Nevertheless, they weren’t rocking the glitter socks so it doesn’t count. [Take that!] Oh, and by the way, don’t you just love the socks WITH the high water pants. Mike set it off. I’m just saying…

“THRILLER”
“I can thrill you more than any ghoul who’d ever dare try.” Yeah. This video scared the beejesus out of me as a youngster, I’m not ashamed to admit. Let’s be real. “FrankenMike” is kind of freaky, especially since he seems to really get into the part. But aside from that, there isn’t much else to say about the greatest music video of all time. Well, maybe a final lament for Ola Ray. She could’ve been a huge star. Too bad. I guess we’ll always have “The Walk.”

Diallo Tyson is a filmmaker, comedian and old school music junkie. When he’s not busy, he is a rapper with the group “Two Pimps and a Dream.” Step into a groovin’ time machine every week on UTC.