Fashion was mad corny
Hair was either tower high
Or wet n greasy
But we were cool, innocent cool
Like not yet learning how to walk over crack vials cool
Rap was still an underground movement
So Tupac hadn't landed yet
Just schoolyard rhymes to add to the mix
Cos at the time
A rapperextraordinaire was merely accessory
Not like today when it's the other way around
And though hair weaves were making their mark
They hadn't yet learned to bend gracefully, effortlessly
Not like they do now
The synthesizer was our main form of transportation
Less you were from da hood
Where vinyl scratching
And putting base in your bebop was more the thing
But we loved it
And we loved him
Our complicated prince
The one who disrupted the color code
And taught us what a music video should look like
Still, they plucked him out for switching skin shades
While we looked the other way
Hip Hop had busted its way out from the cement tiles
And we were preoccupied with finding the right definition
Or what position to give the sistas
Some of them not waiting for permission to take the mic
Especially after Lady T had already squared the biz
No matter what complexion
Pretty much what he'd been saying all along--
Black or White
Man In the Mirror
You Are Not Alone
Heal the World...
Unbreakable
No matter what the headlines say
And unforgetable
Not like the latest trends
Gone Too Soon...
Made you wish you could take his pains for him
Maybe leave him alone like he kept telling us to
Or see our own pains through an incredible yet fragile life
So sadly interrupted by suicide
(Asking a doctor to live with you so he can kill you softly
is another form of suicide)
But we need MJ to be more than a tragic star
Cos you can still find him in the dance moves of the up and coming
In the hopes of children who haven't yet lost their innocence
And on the minds of fans who miss the days
When we'd all--and I mean all--hurry home to watch his latest classic
Remember the Time...
No one else created such a fuss
No other sis is left to carry such a public burden
(Don't you go missing too!)
If we end up crashing just to start over again
He'll still be the one we protect the most.
1 comment:
Lovely.
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