Wednesday, December 30, 2015

The Past and the Future Part 4

It is the end of the year and it is time to review the year that was 2015 in the MJ world. In this entry, I will spotlight the blogs and articles that were the best of the year. The sudden news of the ATV/Sony Music Catalogue being sold or being bought on the 30th anniversary of the purchase. I will explore the history of Michael's purchase and the video of comedian and activist Dick Gregory explaining the power of the catalogue that went viral. This year, the Jacksons did a reality show and it was the talk of the fan community. I will get into a subject that was mentioned on the show that shows that people will do anything for fame. I made a mistake doing a blog post that in hindsight was not suppose to be on this blog. I will explain why I feel that way and what I have decided to do with the entry. Michael's children are fighting back using social media and they don't care. I will tell you what I think. The upcoming events and milestones that will happen in 2016 and one was revealed this month that got me excited. Finally, the future of this blog has been bugging me for some time and I will finally get into what I am going to do with the blog.  I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did making it. 


Michael at the 1989 Soul Train Awards.




There were many things that happened this year when it comes to Michael. Six years after he has passed away, people are still talking, discussing, listening and loving or sadly, hating on Michael. I usually ignore the haters because all great people have haters. President Obama, for example, has haters who believe all of the lies about him and their hate for him is the same type of hate that Michael would receive. To me, it is always sad when the black community hates on Michael because of things that were not in his control or choices that he made in his life. The black community were the first group of people who embraced Michael but as his fame got bigger, his fanbase started to change. Michael has a huge fanbase filled with all kinds of people so I should not be shocked that people in the black community hate on Michael. However, I am hurt that he does have haters within his own race and their hate for him go to his children and family as well. His fans, unlike many in the black community, were truly his community. In February, an unknown "artist" did a portrait of Michael depicting what he would have looked like today if he did not have any plastic surgery and if he did not have Vitilitgo. The portrait was inaccurate, wrong and disrespectful. It also did not help when people commented on the picture and bashing him in the process. The "artist" never came to apologize for the picture and moved on with his day because the trouble that he caused did not affect him. Probably the "artist" has no feelings for what he has done because he shows no respect for his fellow black people. 


Michael on the set of "Remember the Time", 1992.


This prompted a fan and blogger by the name of Y. M. Fourney, who does the Facebook page All Mike Everything, to write probably the absolute best blog post on Michael that I have ever read in my life. This post hit the nail on everything about Michael. It was so emotional that I cried and I do not particularly a crier when I read articles. It was a fellow moonwalker telling her fellow race and people in general how special and important Michael was to the black community and the world in general. Here is the link so you can read for yourself - 

https://yfourney.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/black-history-or-why-i-think-black-people-need-to-re-introduce-themselves-to-michael-jackson/

I want to comment on a few highlights from the posts:


"It is simply astounding to witness just how personally Black people took-and still take- Michael Jackson’s physical changes. It says so much about us as a race and it made me wonder just how many of us understand why."

It also makes you wonder if these black people spent more time on learning about their history instead of trashing their own people, the amazing things that they can do with their time. The nerve of these people to ask if Michael should have had therapy for his so called "body issues" when blacks, historically, will dismiss therapy (particularly mental health) when they view or experience trauma in their mostly rotten communities riddled with crime and drug use. 


"Michael Jackson was a child who grew up being ridiculed for his African features (mainly his nose) and because of this, he developed a hatred of his looks that manifested itself into the rhinoplasty, hair straightening, and skin lightening that is (sadly) still the topic of many debates today."

However, black people still get their hair straighten, refuses to learn about their culture and they do get plastic surgery. If they liked their looks and hair, they would not do any of those things to themselves. 

 "Black people have been known throughout history to be obsessed with skin color, hair texture, and any other physical feature that can be used to identify a person as “Black”. By now, everyone with eyes should be able to see that Black skin can range from the ebony hue of Viola Davis, to the yellow undertones of Chris Brown, to the chocolate brown of Gabrielle Union, all the way to the olive-tan skin of Beyonce. This obsession with skin color is not something we have for fun, either. When you live in a place where historically, the darker you were, the more likely you would have been to be abused, sold, worked within an inch of life, and even killed, the memory of this travels down through your bloodline, family member by family member. "

The obsession with skin color in the black community is their undoing. I cannot even begin to state how correct this comment is. There is nothing more I can say about this. 

 "Too many African Americans lose sight of this fact when they argue that Michael “stopped being Black” in the 1980’s. We MUST stop battering that man’s memory because we perceived him as an outsider. If he was, it not because he chose to be. It was most likely because too many of us turned our backs on him once he didn’t look the part anymore. What a shallow, selfish version of love! To say that we could have only embraced this man or any person as long as they stayed within the parameters of what WE say is acceptable is just wrong. Sometimes, I see pictures of him with other Black people and all I can think about is how incredibly lonely he must have felt when the vitiligo robbed him of his beautiful brown coloring. I thank God he had the support of a handful of loyal friends, family, and the fans. No matter what color you are, if you stood by MJ during the bad times, you were his people."

This the one thing that black people do to one another, which is to make one an outsider from their group because they changed or they became something they did not recognized. Many people in the black community turned their back on Michael because he was not the person they loved anymore and that is not unconditional love. I would remember when I was read articles on people who knew Michael who were black and they always have to state that Michael was a real black person and that bothered me a little. Why must they remind blacks that Michael is black? If the black community did not see him as a black man because of his skin color, that is their problem and they have a closed minded perception of what is black, when it comes to the color of their skin. Blacks come in all colors, shades and hues. 

 "Michael traveled to Africa several times, spoke with dignitaries and presidents about the state of affairs, and donated millions in aid. The African people famously crowned him “King Sani” when he toured the country in 1992 and I think it speaks volumes that in 1992, Michael had become very light-skinned due to the effects of his vitiligo. Michael Jackson, with his straightened hair, alabaster skin, and thin nose took us back to the Motherland in the “Black or White” short film to symbolically show you where all of it began.  Michael’s “Remember the Time” short film took place in ancient Egypt when he could have easily done anything else.” He showed US as the kings and queens we were and you thought he didn’t know who he was anymore."

This is the one major point that I want to get across when I discuss this blog post because it must be done. I am Nigerian American and I am proud of who I am. I have heard of all of the African jokes that came from black people and the lies they stated about the one place where they are originally from. Instead of finding their roots, they trash their own people and belittle Africans because their "skin is too dark", their "hair is nappy" and they are "not good looking people". In this day and age of social media, where one can learn about so many things, many in the black community still believe the lies about Africa. When I heard that Michael loved Africa, I was so happy because even with all of the success in the world, he still decided to give Africa a shout out. The Dangerous album, along with the short films and that era signifies Michael's personal attempt to educate his people about their original homeland. That is proof that Michael never hated being black. Michael wanted to educate his people about who they really are that they were kings and queens and lived well. That is important when, at that time and even today, America continues to prove to me and many people of color that the country was not made for us. Michael's suffering with the American media and the aftermath is proof that he was black man because not one white entertainer will ever be treated the way Michael was. If black people learned from his life instead of bashing him, look at what they could have done with their own lives. To take what he stated about anything and applied that in their own lives could really help them and I really do believe that. A great blog done by a fan that turned something unfortunate into something educational, informative and truthful. 


Michael with Usher and Chris Tucker, 2001.


The media has an obsession with finding the next Michael Jackson. That has been going on for decades but this year, for some strange reason, this type of discussion has gone too far. The media website Pop Matters compare singer/songwriter Taylor Swift to Michael Jackson. Yes, a lilly, rich white girl who sings country and pop songs being compare to a legend that was just too big of a star to be called a legend. If you are curious, here is the article - 

http://www.popmatters.com/wire/is-taylor-swift-the-new-michael-jackson/

Hilarious. I know. Of course, thank God for black twitter because they educated the ignorance out of the author of that laughable article. Thanks to the website, theroot.com, the tweets that were captured were everything -

http://www.theroot.com/blogs/the_grapevine/2015/09/the_funniest_twitter_reactions_to_a_news_site_asking_if_taylor_swift_is.html

I need to post this quote from the article that pretty much sums up the exact reaction twitter had when the Pop Matters twitter account had the nerve to even go there:


"So when Pop Matters took to Twitter and asked if Swift is the new Michael Jackson, people were Kanye-ing her all day."

Yes, people on twitter were on fire with the memes and the comments. I was loving every minute of it. That was a great highlight of the year on social media for me. 

No one has been compared more to Michael this year than the singer the Weeknd. Now, I am not a fan of this singer because he does nothing for me. It makes me sad when a staple in black music and culture, BET, starts to proclaim him as the next MJ. Here is the part of the article to this nonsense - 

(The link detected a threat for my laptop and the link has been removed.)

If there's a Battle Vocale going on for which singer most resembles The King of PopThe Weeknd just got Victory.The "Earned It" crooner was gifted an official Michael Jackson tour jacket, after a series of his own back-to-back 'Madness Fall' shows this past week at the Barclays Center.

Just because this kid got a jacket that Michael wore and the brothers signed that means that the crown for the next King of Pop has been chosen? Please. This was becoming a nearly every three day thing of the media comparing Michael to this singer who isn't that much of a decent singer. 

Writer Michael Arceneaux did a great article on vh1.com in which he had to address this crazy habit after actor, tv host and rapper Nick Cannon, posted a crazy equation on his Instagram account that stated that Michael + Tupac = Chris Brown. Yes, this really happened. The article made very good points such as:

http://www.vh1.com/news/219114/no-one-will-ever-be-michael-jackson/?xrs=_s.fb_vh1main

"For many – notably 1980s babies and the pop stars they’ve seen produced – he is a template and a genre of music unto himself."

This is true for me as well because it was Michael, Whitney, Janet, Prince, Madonna and many more in that decade. You will never see that again. 

"And to be perfectly quite honest, if nothing else, Bobby Brown gave the world Don’t Be Cruel. Chris Brown doesn’t even have that, so don’t you dare keep comparing to Michael Jackson just because Chris Brown can dance. He doesn’t even dance like Michael Jackson, for the record."

Damn. 

 "I could go on and on, but by now I hope you get the point. Michael Jackson was so much more than just a moonwalk, a hot music video, and a hee-hee-hee. When people make these comparisons as a compliment to another artist, it often reads as an insult to Michael Jackson’s multi-faceted legacy."

This is the most important part of the article because the lazy media does not truly understand the artist that was Michael. The media witnessed a great entertainer but focused more on the media circus than the musical and vocal genius that he was. That is the one thing that bothers me with the comparisons. The media compares Michael to anyone that has a hit single or a string of hit singles this year because of their hits and not because of the impact, the musicality, the records, the skill, the discipline, etc. Michael was not just an entertainer, that is too limited to even described him. He was a cultural phenomena. How many entertainers that you know can go to a country that you never heard of and practically the whole village would come to the hotel room where the person was saying at just to see the person? The comparisons are not the right way to state to the reader that the artists reminds them of Michael. None of these artists should ever remind them of Michael because Michael was very talented and then some. Michael was a visionary and them some. Michael was a pioneer and then some. Michael was more than what he was described. That is why no one should compare him to anyone because when you do, you miss out on more things about him that the people doing the comparisons misses out on. I hope in 2016, the comparisons stop but this is the media so who am I kidding? 





Crystal Lee King-Jackson in the 1920s and her descendants, the Jackson family in 1989 and 2003.


When it comes to Michael's huge family, I am fascinated by how many members of his family are in his family. Later on this blog, I will get into the next generation Jacksons who are doing various things these days. This year, blogger Raven Woods of Allforloveblog.com stumbled upon a picture of Michael's grandmother, Joe's mother Crystal Lee King-Jackson. You can read the article here - 

http://www.allforloveblog.com/?p=9889

I am sort of into the roots of people and if I had time, I would love to one day watch specials all about the roots of people's ancestral backgrounds because it is such a learning lesson for the individual to know who they are and where they came from. When I read this article, I learned so many things about her such as -


"She was only sixteen and a mere schoolgirl-but quite wild by most accounts!-when she caught the eye of her handsome and distinguished teacher, Samuel Jackson, said to have been the first African-American teacher in the state of Arkansas. Theirs was a romance that would have been much frowned upon today, with the thirty-year-old Jackson, a man in a position of authority and power, courting his sixteen-year-old student. But it was a different time and era. Opportunities for women were scarce, and a man like Jackson would have been viewed as a “good catch.”"
I learned that the year that she was born is not set in stone and was pretty much a teen bride when she married Samuel Jackson, Michael's grandfather and Joe's father. 


"Something ultimately snapped in young Crystal, and her life took a downward spiral turn that never quite righted itself. Joe Jackson would grow up with memories of a mother who too often wasn’t there; who disappeared without word for long stretches, leaving him ultimately as the man of the household. Drug addiction and even rumored prostitution became Crystal’s reality (the prostitution, no doubt, a necessity to feed her addictions). Joe remembered his mother as someone who would re-enter his life again, from time to time. Samuel still had his “thing” for her and would always take her back, like the prodigal wife and mother,but these reunions were always short-lived. By the time Joe was twelve, they had separated for good."

I think to understand the root of Joe's madness when he became a father of nine children, you have to understand what he went through as a child. Joe probably had no idea what it is like to have a mother, almost similar, in a way, to Michael's children, his two oldest ones Prince and Paris having a mother that was barely in their lives. The pain that Joseph must have felt when his mother pretty much abandoned him left a huge mark in his life. That pain turned into anger and resentment and he put that on his children who, probably at the time, had no idea why their father treated them so harshly. The age that Joseph separated from his mother was older than to his grandchildren when their connection to their mother was gone before they were both five years old. 

"Thus, a young man who became hard because he could never really love or understand his mother became, in turn, a hardened father who could never really allow his children to love or understand him. Such is the cycle of family pain and abuse."

A cycle that is beyond painful. This is why it is important to understand the roots of the madness of Joseph and some of the Jackson family members. It helps you understand why some of them do what they do. Abuse should not happen in any family but the roots of abuse, if it does happen, needs to be known so that people can understand why it happens. The blog entry on Michael's grandmother will give the reader a better understanding of Joseph and the Jackson family and also, as shown in the Next Generation Jacksons docu-series, the cycle of the destruction of families have been ruined in the family and that is the most important thing. 


Michael laughing in 1984, a year before he bought the famous catalogue.


Thirty years ago, Michael purchased the Beatles Catalogue, which is now known as Sony/ATV Catalogue and news broke that the 1/2 of the catalogue that Sony Music owns might be either sold or bought. Here is more information on that - 

http://www.nasdaq.com/article/sony-exploring-sale-of-musicpublishing-unit-20151007-01170#/ixzz3nw5oFCYx

The article states that Sony Music might be giving up it share of the catalouge because it is basically not as lucrative as the other Sony enterprises like Sony Entertainment and Sony Pictures. That article is interesting to read and it made me think about the power Michael had when he own the catalogue. I was on youtube and I was looking around the website and I stumbled upon a video that was done on Michael and the ownership of the catalogue. I want you all to watch the video because it explains very well how Michael acquired the catalogue, who helped him, why he did it and Paul McCartney's complaining about Michael owning it. Here is the video - 




A very good video of Michael's ownership.

I want to warn you that towards the end, the person who did the video stated some off things about Michael but the point was made about Michael and the music catalogue. I remembered last year, I posted the review of a book when I added a video of comedian/activist Dick Gregory stating that Michael made $800M on Country Western (Country music) alone in one year. Month ago, I was on Facebook and I saw this video of Mr. Gregory talking to people in a seminar about Michael and the ownership of the music catalogue. Here is what he stated - 



Comedian and activist Dick Gregory educating the people about the power of the music catalogue, 2015.

Up until this day, I cannot believe how many music publishing rights Michael owns. It really boggles the mind. This video went viral on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr where millions of people worldwide can see the power that Michael truly had and why the media treated him so badly. Social media truly is making a real difference in the way people are viewing Michael and various things that the media has told them was true when really it wasn't. 


Travelling With a King, 2015.

That brings me to the topic of books that have come out this year. If I would have to pick a book that fans should read this year, it will have to be the book Travelling with the King. The reason why is because that is the only book that focused on the facts about Michael and how important Michael was all over the world. To read my Q&A with the authors of the book, please click here:


The book that I would recommend fans not to read is The Genius of Michael Jackson by Steve Knopper, a Rolling Stone magazine writer (Man, do we hate RS magazine. Always hated Michael. Still do.). The power of manipulation is what the media is good at and you would think that myself and fellow MJ fans would not fall for what the media states about Michael. Steve Knopper knew how to get the fans attention by following certain authors that wrote books and articles on Michael: Joe Vogel, DB Anderson and Susan Fast. He said the good things but did not state what exactly was going to be in the book. When the book was released, fans got wind of what the book was going to discuss and they were not happy about that. 


The book fans should ignore.


Let me post a review from freelance writer D. B. Anderson did on the book. She had an advanced copy of the book and let's just say that she stated how she really felt. 

https://medium.com/@dbanderson/book-review-the-genius-of-michael-jackson-61cf70cfd6ff#.vwq4bzbb0

Anderson focuses on what Knopper's book was supposed to focus on which is the genius of Michael and in the book, according to the review, Knopper was not trying to explain anything. Leaving the reader to make the assumptions that Michael was a mess, did not give credit to where credit is due and cannot handle people. All of these things are easily rebutted in various interviews on Michael and people who knew Michael. I doubt that Knopper interview anyone close to Michael let alone 400+ people that knew or worked with Michael. This is how the media continues to manipulate the situation. If you are not on top of the Michael information, you will be tricked. This is why Michael called his fans not just his other family but his soldiers because the fans will make sure that the truth about Michael is being told.

As you might have guess it, Steve Knopper is still promoting his worthless book of fables on his twitter account. In a series of tweets, Knopper is stating to his followers what media outlets are doing interviews with him for the book. Let's post them and comment - 




Steve Knopper, @knopps tweets.

Over a month after the release of the book, Knopper decides to team up with the magazine the New Yorker to discuss the book and the laughable article that was written by Carvell Wallace about Michael's blackness (that was never complicated and never went away). Knopper had to swoop to the lowest of lows to belittle a deceased man because no one wants to buy his recycled trash of a book. In the near future, I am going to do a blog post where I will discuss in detail why the article that Wallace wrote was uncalled for and ridiculous. 



Steve Knopper's promotion of the book.

Desperation to get people to purchase his book that has no real merit and does not discuss the genius of Michael. 


 
SMH.

A former employee of the Jackson Family, Brian Oxman, who lost his law license, even interviewed Knopper and have the nerve to promote the book by getting his listeners to win a copy. You would think that knowing and working for the family, he would know better. Then again, Oxman was never a person that knew better. He was always the aloof one. As you can see, the media continues to lose when it comes to Michael. Steve Knopper thought that many fans would come around and purchase his book not thinking that MJ fans know almost everything about Michael. It is pathetic to see these people trying to rewrite history only to fail every single time. Maybe, Knopper needs to focus on writing for that god awful Rolling Stone magazine interviewing their white celebrity idols and let Michael be. 



Tatiana Thumbtzen promoting one of her books in 2011.

At times, we think that some people, when they get the work for, meet, date or befriended Michael and the Jacksons, they do what they are suppose to do and move on. At times, some of the Jacksons feel a connection with people that they work with. Case in point when Michael hand picked Tatiana Thumbtzen for his classic short film, "The Way You Make Me Feel", there was instant connection between the two. Michael was so impressed by her that he even invited her on the set of one of his short films, did photo shoots with her and took her along on his epic BAD Tour. It was at that time, when Thumbtzen was suddenly fired from the tour by either Michael or his then manager Frank Dileo, that things changed for her. Instead of accepting her fate and moving on, she never really did and in turn still have not done so. 


Michael with Tatiana in 1988.

A couple of years ago, I did a Q&A session with her for two reasons: 1. at that time, I needed a boost with the viewership. I figured if I get this session, people would come more to the blog. I should have never make assumptions about something that was going to happen anyway. Even if I never did a session with Thumbtzen, I do believe my blog would do well because of the content and not the extras, 2. I was never going to purchase her second book because her first book was the worst book I ever read in my life. 

I am now starting to realized that I have made a mistake even communicating with Tatiana. Let me just state that she is not a horrible person but she likes to get herself involve in anything that deals with Michael. Case in point, when she decided to sue the Estate of Michael Jackson because the video game, Michael Jackson: the Experience, has used her likeness without her permission. Here is the link to the story - 

http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/225957

"Thumbtzen’s lawsuit alleges the use of her likeness in the video has caused her permanent “financial and emotional harm” and is seeking financial damages as a result."

It is clear what she is trying to do and I do not think she has a case. There were three things that happened that made me realized that I made a mistake doing a session with this woman. (These three events did not happen chronologically. There were three red flags that happened around the same time. I wanted to point that out.) 1. When I was on Facebook a month or so ago, I used to friend her and I read her status update about her anger (it seems) with a picture of Michael kissing a fan on the lips at one of his concerts in the early 1980s. I screen captured the image:



Tatiana bringing up the past again, 2015.

I would think that Tatiana would move on from this time and go on with her life. She even stated to me that she has made peace with the situation - 

"Still, I found closure in our meeting. I’ve also realized that, nothing of the past really matters anymore. All that matters now, is that in one moment in time, I shared some wonderful and beautiful moments with Frank and Mike. We shared a lot of laughter. What we leave behind on this earth, is very important."
https://michaelandthetruth.blogspot.com/2013/01/q-session-with-tatiana-thumbtzen.html

So, why bring it up again? Now, I admit, I commented on the post and I have since deleted it because I decided to not get involved. 

2. A college student who attends a very well known university, contacted me because she was doing a paper on social media effects on music sells of deceased celebrities. I gladly responded to her email and offered to give her a screen capture of the stats of this blog. When I looked at my stats, which I never do, I was stunned that the most viewed blog post was Tatiana's session. I was extremely disappointed because I worked so hard on great posts that had wonderful, informative and interesting content and that session was the most viewed. I could not accept that at all. 


This book....

3. I went on Lipstickalley.com and saw a thread that discussed a video that a business woman name Tonia Ryan did a year ago to combat the things Tatiana stated about her. As a matter of fact, Tatiana stated on the session about her about what she did to her - 


"I’ve also become a victim of extortion because of my co-author from my first book. She basically stole my life story and 50% of my royalties. But, I put it in the Lord’s hands, like everything. He’ll take care of it! Her Karma will come back to her one day! I have decided that I will make that book available as a “free” read soon. That’s my 50% talking! I figured if she’s going to keep cashing in off my back, I’ll cut some of her profits."

https://michaelandthetruth.blogspot.com/2013/01/q-session-with-tatiana-thumbtzen.html

I see... Here is the video from Tonia Ryan -



Interesting. 

It is best to watch the whole video because Tonia explains in detail what happened between her and Tatiana. I believe her story over Tatiana's any day of the week because Tonia showed the proof and stated things that she dealt with Tatiana that I had as well. Tonia speaks on this pattern that Tatiana has when she likes to claim that the authors of the books that she written would "steal" her money or royalties and she even stated that Michael did not pay her enough. Towards the end of the video, Tonia discusses how bad Tatiana's grammar was when she handled her memoirs to her to write for the book. I went through the same issue with her when she would answer the questions I posed to her. What you read in the session was the best way I can fix her grammar without re-writing her answers. 


Michael and Tatiana in 1988.

I also had an issue with her when it came to direction. I advise her when we were working on getting the questions answered for the session, to please read the blog before she does the session. It is possible that I might have stated something about her on there that might not be true. Tatiana contacted me one time because a fan told her that she should not do an interview with me because I "supported" Michael and Lisa Marie Presley's marriage. Typing that sentence is almost making me laugh because if you read my blog, you will know how I felt about that union and I did not see what that situation had anything to do with Tatiana. I had to waste my time sending her an email of the links from the blog that proves that I never supported that union. I am not sure if she even read the email. Another time she emailed me was when another fan posted what I stated about her in one of the older blog posts I made. I had to remove the information and post the link of the session to that older entry. That was why there is a correction on the introduction of the session because the information on the older entry was incorrect. 

After all of those three things happened, I wanted to cut ties with Tatiana and was thinking of removing the session I had with her because of this realization that I had. The truth is that Tatiana does not know when to let things be and to accept her reality. I never posted some information about  Michael and Tatiana on this blog because I never really thought about it. However, I am going to post it because it proves that all of this that she has been doing to herself and others for nearly 30 years is pathetic. As I stated on this blog various times, I communicated with someone back in 2004 who worked for Michael as his promotional guy (Filthy was his user name on the National Enquirer message board.) and he witnessed Michael's interaction with Tatiana. Sidenote: I did not ask him about her but a fellow fan that also communicated with the person asked him about Michael and Tatiana. The fan and I communicated about the information and told me this. Now, even though it was the fan's words, the promotion guy did state the information to the fan. This is what he stated (I made bold what he told the fan.) - 

"Tatiana...he said her and Michael were "hot and heavy" for sometimeWas Michael discreet about the relationship? Yes.  Tatiana?  No.  Whenever he saw them together, she was always kissin' up to Mike.  How about their sexcapades?  Filthy said he didn't wanna know!!"
I remembered reading her book where she stated that she was not sure if she had a relationship with him and by reading the above information, I think she knew exactly how her relationship with Michael was. I believe that all of the interviews, books, tv specials she participated in was all to make the public think whatever she wanted them to think about her and Michael. Tatiana knew the deal and the ones that continue to fall for what she states will not see what is in front of their faces. I admit, I wish I never had any communication with her but I was one of those fans that wanted to at least believe that Michael and Tatiana had a connection. However, the reality is that is just because someone might look good for Michael does not mean that they are good for Michael. He smelled right through her and if he went along and still had a relationship with her, it would have ended horribly. Tatiana Thumbtzen likes to play the "victim" when in reality she isn't.



Taniesha Rodney looks nothing like a Jackson. 

Another person that needs to re-examine her life is Taneisha Rodney aka "Tanay Jackson" who made laughable claims that she was the daughter of Tito Jackson and the sister of Taj, Taryll and TJ. For years, Taneisha has made claims that Tito messed around with her mother and even stated that she was in her "uncle" Michael's "Remember the Time" short film. You can read a blog post that I did on her three years ago for more information - 

https://michaelandthetruth.blogspot.com/2012/08/who-ask-them-to-speak.html

This year, as I mentioned in the previous blog post, Taj, Taryll and TJ did their docu-series in which they finally confronted Taneisha about her claims. After she finishes talking to the brothers about her story, she goes with them to the clinic to get tested. Here is video of that -



The truth is revealed, 2015.

As you can see with the video, the mere fact that she got sick and wanted to tell the brothers no matter the results, to promise not to say the results, smells extremely suspect. 


and


She is not a Jackson, 2015. 


After this episode aired, Taniesha had a "breakdown" of sorts and had to rushed to the hospital because of the truth being told and the fans that attacked her. Her friend by the name of Mimi Evans went to her Facebook page to come after everyone involved in the situation - 


Right... and I am the Easter bunny.

I have to comment on this nonsense, why should I or anyone else keep Taniesha's feelings in mind? The woman was lying for years about being a part of a family she knew she was not a part of. On top of that, she pretty much went to anyone that would listen claiming to be someone that does not exists. She felt the need to come after the family's matriach and even Michael's children. The hell with this person's feelings because she clearly did not care about any of the feelings that she hurt when she was running her mouth and lying about her own life for the sake of a lame music career. 

When you watch the third video, in which Tito states to his sons that he told them that Taniesha was not his daughter, you start to wonder why didn't the brothers take his word for it? Why did they go ahead with the DNA testing anyway? Tito explained that Taniesha sued him for this in New York and did not show up to the court date. When he got the results, he gave the results to Taniesha and let it be. He stated that he was passive about the whole thing instead of stopping this person from going too far. This passive behavior that some of the Jacksons have will completely ruin them. If Tito really tried to stop this woman from going too far, one of his cousins would have never invited her to her wedding. 

LaToya Jackson McCall is one of the cousins of the Jacksons and was recently married earlier this year. She invited Taniesha to her wedding thinking she was family but she soon learned that it was a huge mistake. The image is a series of Facebook posts LaToya made about her unfortunate situation with Taniesha - 


LaToya's Facebook posts exposing Taniesha, 2015.

Now, I understand what LaToya must have been feeling: it was one of the most important days of her life and she wanted it to go great. However, how come she never asked family members about her? Why didn't she call Tito or even her aunt Katherine and asked them about Taniesha? That messy woman would never come to her wedding if LaToya ask her family about her. 




She is not family, but the Jacksons helped proved her laughable claims by posing with this nut.

There is more: after Taniesha recovered from her breakdown, she did an interview with an unknown college radio show that probably needed more listeners. The show had the nerve to put her on there in which she stated these things. (Thanks to the handle leogirl_817 from LSA) - 


"Tanay speaks of her experience on "The Jackson's: Next Generation" on Sweet to the Soul radio show. She talks about it being "staged" and them having her appear on the show for ratings and she also brings up the DNA test and how they didn't show it on TV, but that it was still a "match". She also talks about meeting Michael and Janet and appearing in one of Michael's videos (what video?) and the advice he gave her. She mentions Katherine turning her nose up at her and at one point she (almost) calls Katherine a B**** and an old hag. There's much more she talks about."
Mental illness is a real illness and Taniesha is not well at all. How long will she continue to do this to herself? She was revealed as a liar twice on national television. What is it going to take for this person to let this mess go? I agree that Tito should have not let this one just go. He should have stopped her at her tracks. However, even with the confirmation of her not being a Jackson, she is still going out there and lying. The only way she can be stopped is that she is sued so badly that she cannot recover. This is what happens when you do not stop these types of people in their tracks. There is one more thing that I want to ask here: how did Tito even met this woman and how did it go from a meeting to this woman to her claiming to be his "daughter"? 


The iconic stars in the cover of Life magazine in 1985.

Enough with people who want to be Jacksons for the sake of having a music career, the real Jacksons have done some things this year such as the reality show, graduating from school and working on their careers. There were also milestones that happened in 2015 such as the 30th anniversary of the classic charity song "We Are The World". The song was important to make because the famine happening in Africa at that time was horrific. The song and the proceeds from that song helped millions of people who were affected by the famine. USAToday.com did a great article on the 30th anniversary and the impact - 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/01/27/we-are-the-world-30th-anniversary/22395455/

Here is video of the song winning Song of the Year at the 1986 Grammys. (remember when that award show was the truth?) 



Aww, just precious, 1986.


In 1995, Michael released his album HIStory: Past, Present and Future and not that many members of the media discussed this milestone mainly because Michael was fighting back. In the midst of the media ignorance, thank goodness that my blog and many other blogs and websites, remember the impact the album made and why it was made. I did a blog post about the 20th anniversary - 

https://michaelandthetruth.blogspot.com/2015/09/random-thoughts-part-14.html

Here is the iconic performance Michael did in 1995 at the MTV Video Music Awards when this awards show was on point - 



Michael at his finest, 1995.

In 2005, Michael was vindicated from the lies from horrible, greedy vultures and it reminded me that once again, we have to make sure that the truth is being told about him. There will be naysayers but we have the knowledge to state to people what happened and why he was found innocent. I do hope that one day, we will never have to continue to prove Michael's innocence because people already know that. 



Michael in 2005.

One of the highlights this year was the various rare videos that were leaked online this year such as an alternative short film for "Dirty Diana" to a rare Dangerous concert to the 1987 Pepsi commercial that included the song "Price of Fame". 


Rare Pepsi Commercial, 1987

A rare version of the classic short film "Dirty Diana" was leaked. 


Rare version of "Dirty Diana", 1987.

A rare Dangerous tour concert from Bremen in 1992 leaked and it was a great thing to see. 



Dangerous Tour in Bremen, 1992.

There were more leaks this year but I wanted to highlight the ones that I felt were more important to me. As for the things that are coming up next year the 30th anniversary of the Disney/Epcot feature Captain EO. Sadly, the feature have been removed, probably for good, from Disney World and an article was done as a farewell to the feature. 


Michael on the set of Captain EO in 1986.



Five years after that, Michael released one of his most in your face (and must I state his best work) album, Dangerous, on November 24, 1991 which would be 25 years. I have no clue what the Estate will do to commemorate this soon to be awesome anniversary. I do know that I will do something about the album on my blog so look out for that one. 


Michael's soon to be 25 year old classic, Dangerous

1996 will be 20 years since Michael did one of his most amazing and sadly underrated performances on the World Music Awards. 


Michael is everything here, 1996

However, I think one of the main things I am looking forward to is the documentary that Spike Lee is doing on Michael called Michael Jackson's Journey From Motown to Off the Wall. The documentary will debut in January at the Sundance Film Festival. Here is the article to the information - 


“The film focuses on his drive and commitment. What a hard worker he was, not just on how talented he was. It looks at when he transitioned from the Jackson Five into a solo career. For fans, I think it’s going to play through the roof. And for not fans, they’re going to be fascinated.”


Artwork of the Off the Wall documentary, 2015.

That sounds very exciting and we have been waiting for this documentary for two years so I really hope it is worth the wait. From the pictures of the people who are going to be the documentary, I think this will be the best one that Mr. Lee has done on Michael. I will see this documentary at all costs. 




Michael with his children in 2003 and Taj, Taryll and TJ with their families in 2015.

When it comes to Michael's family, they are always doing something and one of the most important events that will happen next year is his daughter Paris turning 18 in April and graduating high school in the spring. Once again, Michael will not be here to see his daughter celebrate those milestones and it will be a bittersweet moment. We know that Michael was always proud of his children and family and if he was with us today, he would be proud of his nephews who have been doing what they can to honor him. I am elated that Taj, Taryll and TJ did their docu-series because I think it is time for the Jackson family to really change the way the public views them. I am only saying this regarding the younger Jacksons, the older ones excluding Michael and Janet, will not benefit from any of this. People have already made up their minds about them. 


Prince on his graduation day in May.

Prince graduated from Buckley in May and started his freshman year at Loyola Marymount University School of Film in the fall. He was featured in the docu-series of his cousins and his appearance prompted a lame person to attack him over his paternity. The never ending saga that Michael's children go through regarding ignorant people that clearly do not understand that if someone stated that their children are theirs, then their children are theirs. Michael would be very proud of his children who are using social media to speak out against the lies that people stated about them and their father. When Prince saw the comment, he responded on his twitter account - 


Prince defending his father and his parentage, 2015.

Then, the media got wind of his tweet weeks after he made it and created a whole story that Prince was demanding a DNA test to prove some "doctor" that poisoned Michael was his "father". That was all based on the quote above and the stories spread. Even that evil woman, Wendy Williams, discussed this lie of a story on her cut and paste show. Prince decided that he needed to state something that can end this nonsense. His perfect defense - 



and


Prince defending himself because stupid people can't read, 2015.

Now, THAT is a Jackson that knows who he is. He is not fazed by the haters so haters, keep on looking stupid because we are laughing at you. 



At her father's star in Hollywood, 2015.


His sister, Paris, is now on Instagram and letting people know that she is not here for the bull. She is defending her daddy and people will deal. As usual, Paris had to set the record straight about the naysayers who are judging her weight and letting people know that she is claiming her blackness. Please read - 



Paris letting people know the deal, 2015.

This girl and her brother are claiming their blackness and I am loving every bit of it. Every. Look, Michael taught them well and he probably told them to own their blackness and let people get mad. I wonder what else they are going to say in 2016. 


Michael in 1993.

I love doing this blog for so many reasons and next year on September, this blog will celebrate five years. I could not be any more proud that this little blog that could is celebrating a big milestone. I have to make changes to this blog because I think it is time. For next year, I am not going to do a blog post every month because honestly, I am running out of ideas. I have decided to focus on doing more in-depth blog posts and ending all of the features except Random Thoughts and Reviews. That means no more Q&A Sessions, Magazine Scans, Exposes or The Ladies of Michael's Life. Also, the Tumblr page for the blog will not be used anymore. I feel that the blog is more exposed on Twitter and Facebook. The magazine scans feature will now be done on my personal Tumblr page and the Ladies of Michael's Life feature is completed. I believed I covered all I can cover on this subject. I doubt any more information about Michael and women will be released next year and if information is revealed, I will not do any blog entries solely on the information. 

So, I am going to end this blog post here. I want to thank you all for reading this blog post, liking the Facebook page, retweeting the blog posts, emailing me your views and commenting on the topics being discussed here. It has been a pleasure doing this blog this year and I wish you all the best for the upcoming year. 

This blog is dedicated to the innocent victims of violence. 

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References:

Articles/Blogs -
"Black History (Or , Why I Think Black People Need to Re-Introduce Themselves to Michael Jackson"), Confessions of a Crazy MJ Fan. Y.M. Fourney, Feburary 3rd, 2015, 

"Is Taylor Swift the New Michael Jackson?" Star Tribute (Minneapolis) and posted on popmatters.com. Bream, John, September 14, 2015,

"Entertainment Site Asks if Taylor Swift is the Next Michael Jackson; Twitter Laughs", theroot.com, Eromosele, Diana, Ozemebhoya. September 14, 2015, 

"Let's Stop Comparing the Weeknd, Chris Brown, and Anyone Else to Michael Jackson", vh1.com, Arceneaux, Michael. October 29, 2015,

"Where Michael Got His Looks: Michael Jackson's Beautiful Grandmother Crystal Lee King-Jackson", AllforloveBlog.com, Woods, Raven. May 9, 2015,

"Sony Exploring Sale of Music Publishing Unit", nasdaq.com, Kapp, Hannah. October 7, 2015,

"Q&A Session: With The Authors of Travelling with a King", Michael and the Truth, Belinda O., July 29, 2015,

"Book Review: The Genius of Michael Jackson", medium.com/@dbanderson, Anderson, D.B., October 2015.

"Safety Harbor Woman in Michael Jackson Video Sues Over Game Likeness", saintpetersblog.com, Irwin, Janelle, April 16, 2015.

"Who Ask Them to Speak?" Michael and the Truth, Belinda O., August 4, 2012.

"We are The World at 30: 12 Tales You Might Not Know", USAToday.com, Mansfield, Brian. January 28, 2015. 

"Random Thoughts Part 14", Michael and the Truth, Belinda O., September 19, 2015. 

"The Making of Captain EO: Lucas, Coppola and Michael Jackson's Messy, Miraculous Disney Space Adventure", yahoo.com/movies, Zakarin, Jordan. December 9, 2015.

"Sundance Film Festival Announces 2016 Premieres and Documentaries Lineup", ew.com, Lee, Chris. December 7, 2015.

Facebook -
Tatiana Thumbtzen's post from her official Facebook page. 
Taniesha Rodney's friend Mimi Evans post from her Facebook page
LaToya Jackson McCall series of Facebook posts about Taniesha Rodney fraudulent ways from her Facebook page that was posted on lipstickalley.com. 

Twitter -
Steve Knopper's tweets to promote his book from his Twitter account, @knopps.
Brian Oxman's promotion for Steve Knopper's book from his Twitter account, @Insightwith
Prince Jackson's tweets defending himself from his Twitter account, @princemjjaxon (verified)

Instagram -
Paris Jackson defending herself from her official Instagram account.

Quotes -
Tatiana Thumbtzen comments from the Q&A Session on Michael and the Truth blog 

A rundown from what Taniesha Rodney stated on a radio show from the poster leogirl_817 (post #1) from lipstickalley.com

The quote from the former employee (worked for Michael exclusively from 1981 to 2003) of Michael's that stated information on Tatiana from my personal file. 

Video -
All video comes from youtube.com.

Pictures - 
Some pictures came from google.com and some came from my personal harddrive.