Harlepolis said:

I didn't know that she passed until i saw that site

banks said:

i had heard rumors in the past that said this fella was officially gay. don't know about the dad on Fresh Prince though.

BlaqueKnight said:

She died a month and a half later. How long did you figure the JB memorial was going to go on? And all that the tabloid coverage of her death ate into was the tabloid coverage of the wackiness surrounding his burial, which is something that didn't need to be celebrated.

banks said:

Didn't realize that there was a site, just checked it. I don't think Roger Troutman's death fell on def ears, his case is still open. I for one, don't believe that his brotha killed him.

Tessa said:

Yeah... I don't think ANS death eclisped James Brown's, by the time she died James already had that Circus 4 blocks from where i live in Harlem and his funeral was broadcast live on CNN... the only talk about James was that he was not buried...

Harlepolis said:

So what's your take on what might have happened to Roger ??

banks said:

agreed...Gerald Ford died too and his coveraged stopped too...Whose to blame for that one?

banks said:

I don't know but there's something fishy about his death case. It couldn't be his brotha.

Tessa said:

Tabloid coverage? Hell, NEWS coverage! They made that insignificant heiffer's death NEWS! She was NOT that important. They made a much bigger deal of her death than they did of James and whether or not YOU realize it James Brown's contribution to music was bigger than Elvis's. He DESERVES a proper memorial. Not coverage of the lag time of his burial but a celebration of his life. As usual, he's one in a LONG list of brothas who don't get their just due for their contributions but hey...its Amerikkka. Exactly what I expect.
[Edited 3/20/07 9:15am]

BlaqueKnight said:

so whats your take on her getting more publicity then good ole Gerald Ford?

BlaqueKnight said:

she was young and beautiful and died (somewhat) unexpectedly. James Brown was 73 years old. it wasn't quite as shocking, you must admit. that's what was "news" about her death, though they did go overboard on it. plus James Brown had the misfortune to die on Christmas Day. hardly a day that the world is going to be glued to CNN.

Plus, John Ritter and Johnny Cash died on the same day, and which one do you think got more coverage? The person that more people in the 21st century are interested in, right or wrong.
[Edited 3/20/07 9:37am]

sosgemini said:

Its still wrong. Although my personal feelings towards Gerald Ford's "work" as President are of distaste, he was our President. He got a proper send off, being that his funeral interrupted the major networks and was televised nationally. Its less about the death than the examination of life and contribution of the work of the person after death. Gerald Ford was no celebrity. As is the case with most elected officials, there was proper national recognition for that...fool. I sincerely believe if you replaced James and Anna with Prince and Paris Hilton, you'd get similiar results in terms of public reaction. America is obsessed with the insignificant these days.

BlaqueKnight said:

im sorry but did you just call me a fool in your post? why would you do that for?

sosgemini said:

[b]No. I called Gerald Ford a fool. I believe he was. Actually, TOOL would be a more accurate description, since he pretty much played puppet to the Nixon Administration but that's another topic.[b]

Tessa said:

My point is he didn't get acknowledged properly in the media given his contributions to our culture. I still believe that. More attention was put on his not being put in the ground than his life and contributions. That has nothing to do with "when" he died. Its the subtle downplaying of his work and significance that is sickening.

BlaqueKnight said:

thanks for clarifying...

BlaqueKnight said:

He did get acknowledged throughout is his life, though. I guess you have to blame his family for fucking up the conversation about his contributions with their stupidity after his death. The news isn't going to cover his contributions. Other media venues have to do that. They're going to report the news as it's happening, and in this case, James' family gave the media something titilating to cover, just like Anna Nicole.

Where's the BET tribute to James Brown? did they have one? did the Image awards? were they any better than the waste of time the Grammys and R&R Hall Of Fame devoted to it?

Tessa said:

BET is a division of Viacom now. They could give a fuck less. If Bob Johnson's bitch ass still owned BET, James would have had a PROPER special on his life. That piece they did on him was lame. Black folk have NO VOICE in the media outside of the struggling TV-One station, so there's no national forum for us (other than the internet). Its messed up. Jame's contribution was worldwide. There isn't a dance song out anywhere right now that wasn't influenced by James directly or indirectly. That's BIG. Dude deserves his dues.[

Tessa said:

Actually, just after James Brown died, former President Gerald Ford died, and then there was the death, or should I say execution, of a former Iraqi dictator. I forget his name, though.... I think it rhymes with "muh mom." But I do remeber on the same day that Gerald Ford was buired, CNN actually had live coverage of James Brown's memorial service complete with bands and Michael Jackson.

But you people are right about the news coverage of Anna Nicole Smith. I thought that the news media in this country went overboard when Princess Diana died, but at least she was a Princess. Anna was just a C-list celebrity who had a white trash upbringing that somehow married into mega-money. Why her saga is still so fascinating as we speak somehow perplexes me.

This what happens when U don't have your OWN. It is that simple really. Maybe one day will will wake up and stop leading the nation in being NOTHING but consumers.

Maybe not TVOne, but I'm counting the days till PBS make a documentary movie about James Brown,,,a truthful one this time, not the watered down released one already.

If Mick Jagger was the one who died, they'd shut down the media outlets I could give 2 shits about whether they downplay JB's legacy or praise it though, it wouldn't add anything to his name,,,,shit, he's JAMES BROWN, period. No matter what they said, it wouldn't give him justice.

In a way, I'm glad he didn't get that much of a mention,,,if he did, they'd focus on his womenizing, drugs, arrest, jail and 4got about the most important thing, music.

That's what usually happens
[Edited 3/20/07 11:07am]

BlaqueKnight said:

Harlepolis said:

Yeah, He played Earl the Mailman on that show. He was on all those Black sitcoms back in the 70's. His bio says that he was married to Joan Pringle, She's the actress who played the principle on "The White Shadow".

SPYZFAN1 said:

I though he was gay, but had no proof. But had no idea that he died. I dont remember hearing about that at all.

banks said:

Starpoint's leading lady??

Shirley from What's Happening???how come I never heard any of this?

banks said:

yea I heard that Paul never got over the death of his partner who died two years earlier before Paul. I heard that the guy from Family Matters is bi, not sure about Uncle Phil tho.
[Edited 3/24/07 17:31pm]

banks said:

I was shocked hearing about Damien Dame died back in 96, and I found out recently. I knew about Deah's death for awhile.

Me and my friends used to dance on their song Exclusivity back in spring '91 and we also singing their midtempo song Right Down to It..

Graycap23 said:

Exactly.