I heard some coworkers who haven't kept up with Prince since "Purple Rain" talking and laughing about what Tom said about a week or two before this thread was even started.

2elijah said:

PREACH IT SIS!

babynoz said:

Exactly. People can't get mad at an artist for refusing to play a gig. It's teh artist's personal choice, it's not like Prince said he didn't like TJ. Why is it that some fans feel like they have to tell Prince who he should or should not play for is beyond reaching. TJ will get over it and move on. Doesn't mean he and Prince are enemies. In my opinion, like I said before, it just seems that TJ admires Prince so much as an artist, he really just wanted to get an opportunity to have him on the cruise one day. I bet this is not the first gig Prince did not agree to do, outside of TJ. As far as Tavis, we've already heard Tavis say how much he and Prince are very good friends, and how Tavis has so much respect for Prince as a friend, and I doubt if Prince agreed everytime to show up at an event Tavis was having. This will all blow over in a couple months, and will be a non-issue.
[Edited 2/15/10 10:06am]

babynoz said:

2elijah said:

What have I told u about the truth?

I see Tom has gotten weaker taste in his choice of groups over the years (he used to have more funk groups). But the thing is, a lot of the acts he has on his cruise and on his Sky Shows are groups that never crossed over to a white audience and a lot of them have been completely unknown to a lot of white people (at least a lot of them used to be anyway until Tom started making more money and bringing in bigger acts....which usually means acts that don't throwdown as hard as the ones that never crossed over).

Tom's show is broadcast on black stations across the nation so, as usual, a lot of people don't consider it A List since most white people aren't aware of them, regardless of how extremely popular they may be with black audiences. It's the same as when I read comments here about how "Prince was an underground artist before Little Red Corvette and Purple Rain". Hell, Prince was all over the radio and was extremely popular. He was just on black radio so I guess in their minds it made him "underground". A lot of these R&B acts trying to become "A List" is what weakens their music. Hell, just look how it weakened Lionel Richie in his transition from The Commodores to a solo act. But that's just it, if the acts aren't huge crossover acts, then a lot of folks write them off and if someone that isn't their definition of A List doesn't agree with Prince around here, then they are just tossed to the side.

Tom does a lot of good and has a very good side and an artist like Prince would bring in a wider variety of listeners to his show. Normally, I could care less about artists or radio shows having a variety of listeners because they start playing weaker music to try to please all of them. But considering that Tom has been playing a lot more weaker music these days anyway (since the 2000s have come along and now the 1990s is considered old school also), I'd love to see him get more of a variety of listeners because I bet he'd keep his damn mouth shut cracking jokes about interracial dating.

vainandy said:

That's exactly where a lot of this dismissiveness is coming from and I ain't havin' it!

Graycap23 said:

Oops....

2elijah said:

I get where you're coming from but Tom Joyner is the type of person who tends to not get over it and will hold a grudge for years.

Prime example: Whitney Houston. She refused to be on his show years and years ago around the time when she was becoming really popular. When Whitney started to fall on hard times he brought up that old incident time and time again. And he would do it in a not so slick but still fucked up way that basically had the implication -- of 'What goes around, comes around. You blew me off way back when, and now I get to slam you over and over for it.'



typo edit
[Edited 2/15/10 12:33pm]

Ifsixwuz9 said:

U r so right. He surely does hold a grudge. He will not play a certain artists music nor will he acknowledge their presence.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

Well, there's not a damn thing TJ could do to destroy Prince's 30 plus years career. The only ones who will dwell on TJ complaining about Prince on his show, are listeners who weren't really Prince fans anyway and those who usually nitpick like crazy over everything Prince does, and love when there's controversy about him.

Others would more than likely try to find out the reason why Prince didn't agree to do the show, and take it for what it is, and not blow it out of proportion.. TJ complaining will not bring Prince any closer to performing on his cruise. I don't dislike Tom and have no reason to because of how he feels about Prince not doing the cruise, but it still won't ruin Prince's 30 plus year career. Prince has way too many diehard fans for that to happen, even if they don't agree with the way he does his business at times. I can guarantee you that if Prince announced a tour, those interested will not let what TJ said stop them from going. It is what it is.
[Edited 2/15/10 11:49am]

daPrettyman said:

Well, that's on Tom. If he holds grudges like a spoiled child, and decide not to play artists' music he has a grudge with, then that's on Tom. Many reasons why I don't listen to a lot of radio stations I used to tune into years ago, and don't have to wait until the radio personalities, feel like or don't feel like playing an artist's music, because there are too many options today, where I can go to hear an artist's music that I like. Like I said, I have nothing against Tom, and someday he'll get over it, but it's good to know one doesn't have to wait on radio to hear the music they want to hear anymore, that's the beauty of choices.
[Edited 2/15/10 11:50am]

2elijah said:

Oh I agree. I haven't listened to the radio, much less The Tom Joyner show in years. He and his whole crew bug me. Same thing with Russ Parr. Between the two of them they have this thing where they think because they are syndicated they speak for the entire black community on everything. I got to the point where I was like you don't speak for me.

Ifsixwuz9 said:

I agree with u. Though, Tom has trimmed his crew down drastically, he still tries to persuade people to do what HE wants them to do. If you disagree with him, he then discounts your opinion.

daPrettyman said:

Well, no one should be so blind to be led that easily. Tom can speak on issues of concern within the black community, because he has has as much right as anyone else to, but that doesn't mean he speaks for everyone else although he does come off like that at times. I know of a couple of other radio personalities that do that too, but it is up to the listener to either take what t you take in what you want, It is really up to the listener.

Vendetta1 said:

I always thought Tom was such a ... well ... "Tom" ...

Prince correct!Why should HE do it for FREE????

DMSRCMC12 said:

BECAUSE IT WAS FOR CHARITY!!!!

PurpleLove7 said:

Tom is far from an Uncle Tom, not even close.

2elijah said:

I know, right? So now the dude's an uncle Tom on top of everything else? I guess peeps would really have a damn cow if TJ had said something really awful like they do on the org every day.

babynoz said:

Exactly, and we know how ugly it can get on this site at times.

Alot of people hide behind "CHARITY"!Why should Prince Play 4 free when HE already GIVE alot to "CHARITY"!
"There just as much Hunger HERE at HOME"

2elijah said:

I totally agree. The sad part is that so many people that listen to people like TJ, Steve Harvey, etc. seem to enjoy being "led" and told how to think. Not saying that the audience is "dumb" or anything, but that's what people do in general. You see the same type of thing with other personalities of different races like Rush and Glenn Beck. They have their "followers" that will tell them what to do.

PurpleLove7 said:

Don't even go there!

Whenever anyone broadcasts the false claim that Tom Joyner's an Uncle Tom, it undermines the very important work that people are doing every day to help the world understand that he's a fat, corny no-talent minstrel buffoon whose radio show proves every weekday that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.

So, don't hurt the cause, O.K.?

CJBabyDaddy said:

CJBabyDaddy said:

I agree. He's not a "Tom" at all.

daPrettyman said:

(sigh)...Ya know, I'm just going to leave this topic alone for now, because I really don't want to put Tom down. He does a lot for the black community, although some people don't like the way he runs his show. I don't listen to his program, like I used to back in the early 90s when I lived in North Florida, and he was the only black station that played decent music. Since I returned to NYC, even when his show was there for a while I didn't care for the comedy skits, because those skits were not going to go over well on the East Coast, which is why I believe his show didn't last long here. I have to give him props though for showcasing and giving jobs to many of the 70s groups like orger Babynoz said, that the industry completely ignores.
[Edited 2/15/10 20:26pm]

daPrettyman said:

I get that you don't care for Tom Joyner. I even get why you are miffed about what he said but to compare Tom Joyner and even Steve Harvey to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, while backhandedly attempting to defend Prince, the man who, in fact, has tried to use his celebrity to convert his music fans to the Jehovah's Witness faith, is just appalling, repulsive and pathetic...even by Org standards!!

2elijah said:

I feel ya. I think all of these syndicated shows are aimed at small and medium sized markets to make them sound "big". Small towns/cities love to hear their city shouted out to on a national show.

HatrinaHaterwitz said:

I never said I didn't care for Tom. I grew up listening to Tom in Dallas and loved listening to him every morning. I was disappointed that his national show wasn't "as good" as his local show, though. I understand that he had to change his show to appeal to a national audience, but TJ just doesn't seem to be the same person.

I love the premise of the TJ Foundation and I admire him for having the guts to stand up for the issues that he feels are important to Black America. What bothers me is when he "cracks" jokes that I don't necessarily agree with. There have been many times I have felt that TJ overstepped his line as an air personality and voiced his opinion on certain issues. That was one of the main reasons he wanted to get away from ABC Radio Networks.

ABC used to get on him and tell him not to say/do certain things. THen he started Reach and started saying WHATEVER HE WANTED. When Radio-One bought part of Reach, he was still able to say whatever he wanted because Cathy and the RO crew didn't care as long as they got ratings.

When I compared TJ to Russ and Glenn, I didn't mean for it to sound like they are the same. It is a known fact that any radio personality has their own "followers". Al Sharpton has his, Tavis Smiley has his. All of them set out to do the same thing and that is share their opinion and sparking conversation with their listeners.

Anyway, tell me what's the difference between Steve Harvey's show and Tom's show? They both claim to have the same agenda and that is to entertain and inform Black America. The difference is that TJ is a radio veteran and sounds good on the air. Steve is a comedian that has pretty much done "on the job training" and made it work. He has had to do it twice to get it half-way right. I'll take TJ over Steve any day because TJ can hold an intelligent conversation with a guest. Steve can barely complete a sentence without a script.