The documentation of rock and roll’s Black roots should come as no surprise to anyone with an Internet connection and a thirst for musical knowledge, but many are unaware of the band Death and the role that they played in shaping the sound of 1970s proto-punk music. Brothers Bobby (bass, vocals), David (guitar), and Dannis (drums) Hackney started off as an R&B trio, but switched their sound in 1973, after finding inspiration in the heavier sounds of the Stooges and Alice Cooper. Their sound typified the raw garage rock sound of Detroit, with breakneck rhythmic changes, crunchy power chords, feedback, and a ‘middle-finger’ attitude that predated the likes of the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.

The trio recorded just seven songs during recorded sessions funded by Columbia Records president Clive Davis; however, the band balked at Davis’s suggestion that they change their name to a more commercially-friendly moniker, sessions were halted, and Death broke up.

While the full-length album was indefinitely shelved, a super-limited 7” single was issued and the band became the stuff of legends to record collectors and punk/garage rock luminaries who drew inspiration from the Hackney brothers’ music. While the band members went on to pursue other musical ventures (most notably as the gospel rock outfit The 4th Movement in the early 1980s), David succumbed to lung cancer in 2000.

Death’s sole album …For the Whole World to See was finally released in 2009 – a whopping 35 years after its creation – on Drag City Records, sparking a new wave of awareness and recognition for the already criminally overlooked group. That same year, it was announced that Mos Def and Dame Dash were producing a documentary on Death that will no doubt expose an even greater audience to the music of the Hackney brothers.

– by SeanDammit

RELATED: D’Angelo Finally Speaks! “I’m Cookin’ Up Somethin’ Real Nice”

RELATED: Led Zeppelin Caught A Case Of The Blues

Shannon Price has shown that she probably didn’t give a “flying f” about Gary Coleman on many occasions, but this is just ridiculous.

Spotted at Mediatakeout.com

Why would you want this to be the last picture of yourself and ex-husband? How disturbing…

Audio: Coleman’s Ex Yelled At Him As He Bled

The family of Michael Jackson will find the answers to lingering issues surrounding the late pop icon’s estate and the legal custody of his three children, who range in ages from 7 to 12, during a critical Aug. 3 hearing in Los Angeles.

Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, has hired high-profile celebrity attorney L. Londell McMillan to handle those legal affairs.

McMillan, who served as attorney for Michael Jackson for three years has also represented other music stars such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Lil Kim and Kanye West.

In an exclusive interview, McMillan, who is Michael Jackson’s family-appointed legacy attorney and spokesperson, discussed the family’s goals and concerns in their battle for Michael’s children and legacy.

”Katherine Jackson, who is represented by myself and my team, have been in negotiations and discussions with Debbie Rowe and her lawyers,” McMillan responded when asked about the validity of reports that the family was negotiating a settlement with the surrogate mother of Michael’s two eldest kids to maintain custody. ”Mrs. Jackson and Ms. Rowe have both been conducting themselves in a very amicable, courteous manner, to do whatever is going to be done in the best interests of the children.”

There are two distinct legal actions at play that the Jackson family is pursuing. One action is as it relates to the custody and guardianship of Michael Jackson’s three children. The other is how it relates to the administration, control and management of Michael’s estate, which is believed to be valued in excess of half of a billion dollars. It includes his music recordings, art work, various real estate interests and business interests such as the Beatles renowned Sony/ATV music catalog and, of course, Michael’s own highly lucrative music publishing catalog.

Katherine Jackson currently has temporary custody of 12-year-old Michael Joseph Jr., known as Prince Michael; 11-year-old Paris Michael Katherine Jackson; and 7-year-old Prince Michael II, known as Blanket.

The lawyer said that despite the media scrutiny the negotiation process has not been contentious as has been reported. However, the same cannot be said about the proceedings involving the control of Michael’s estate.

”There have been quite a bit of back and forth and differences of opinion with respects to how Michael Jackson’s business will be handled and who will control, administer and handle his business assets. And that is how the difficulty has created much concern and debate,” McMillan said.

Katherine Jackson will contest custodial oversight of the will at the Aug. 3 probate, during which all claims will be resolved and the distribution of Michael’s property will be determined. The will, written by Michael Jackson in 2002, named attorney John Branca and music executive John McClain as the will’s executors. Michael’s close associates both have temporary control of Jackson’s estate. The assets will be transferred into a trust, which will also be administrated by the same co-executives, except the trust’s charitable component, at which point Katherine Jackson is a part of the trustee team. The will states that Katherine Jackson should be a beneficiary and named as the guardian of the children and their estates.

”Based on 2002, when that will was drafted, and June 25th of 2009, when Mr. Jackson passed away, there’s been considerable amount of evidence that Mr. Jackson would not and does not want this particular estate served by individuals that were listed in 2002 without his mother having a seat at that table,” McMillan explains why he believes Katherine Jackson should be allowed to be involved in the decisions of business affairs of the estate.

McMillan reasons that rather than fighting it out in the court system, this should be an invitation by the executive; particularly since Katherine Jackson is the only adult beneficiary of the will and the trust.

”For the life of me, we are having difficulties understanding why Mr. Branca and Mr. McClain continue to object to Michael Jackson’s mother serving on the trustee team with her advisers to make sure that Michael Jackson’s legacy is going to be administered and controlled in a way that she knows and those that were close to Michael toward the end of his days knows what he would have wanted,” McMillan said. ”To have his estate go into the hands of people from 2002 that he’s ceased doing business with, and that he later had disputes with, presents challenges and problems, and it also puts a legacy issue in question. And that is what we are seeking to resolve.”
McMillan also laid truth to rumors involving the roles of various family members on the matter.

”The truth is that Katherine Jackson will be the guardian,” McMillan responded when asked about reports that Michael’s sister Rebe Jackson would raise the kids if Katherine got awarded custody. ”She’s very active and she’s a very healthy and vibrant 70 plus year-old woman. She’s always been the primary maternal caretaker of that entire family and their grandchildren. The rumors are circulating, possibly, because Rebe is very close to her mother and she’s always been like a parent to her siblings and others.”

A lot has been made in the media about Joe Jackson’s involvement but McMillan shot that down also.
”He has very little, if any, influence other than he’s the grandfather. He said hello and he shows his support. He will have no child rearing obligations with these children,” he said. He added that Joe Jackson will have no connection to affairs of the estate.

”Michael did not have his family play a major role in his business, other than his mom. His mother is one that is a trustee and has been a trustee in his businesses and she should be a trustee in his post-death business. She’s the one person that he’s trusted more than anybody else in his life.”

McMillan argued that if Katherine Jackson is not in control of her son’s legacy then it will go into the hands of people who do not share the same interests as the late pop icon or the community that he was concerned about.
”Elvis Presley’s family has a seat at the table. The Beatles’ family has a seat at the table. Michael Jackson’s mother should have a seat at the table.”

For now, she is a beneficiary.

According to McMillan, the will divides Michael’s assets as such: 20 percent will go to charity, 40 percent held in trust for Mrs. Jackson and the rest will be held in trust for Michael’s children.

He said a primary concern here is if Mrs. Jackson doesn’t have custody, who will have control of Michael Jackson’s legacy and his history from here until the rest of time?

”He had some definitive views about how he wanted his life and legacy to be remembered. Why would people want to restrict his mother from serving in an equal capacity on some board to oversee Michael Jackson’s legacy? I don’t accept that proposition.”

Here’s some photos of Quincy Jones out in Europe with his Czech model girlfriend at the time of Michael Jackson’s Memorial. Why wasn’t Q at the memorial??? He obviously had some more important prior, ahem, engagements on his agenda. Check out the photos of him and his girl and some memorial photos below:

Quincy On Michael: “He Obviously Didn’t Want To Be Black!”

Check out photos from the memorial:

Click here for more memorial coverage!

The King of Pop’s final images of him alive will be of him on stage, as it should be. AEG Live, the company behind Michael Jackson’s 50-concert tour, released footage of MJ and crew rehearsing for the epic show. The video shows Mike performing “They Don’t Care About Us” and he still looks like the greatest performer on Earth. It seems like we missed out on what would’ve been one hell of a show. The footage was shot a couple of days before his death.

The tour’s investors seem to have made the behind-the-scenes a full scale production with multiple camera shots and everything. And since they also have to recoup the hundreds of  millions of dollars they lost on a tour that won’t be happening don’t be surprised if you see this footage in theaters in it’s entirety sometime soon.

Michael’s memorial is set to take place on Tuesday at the Staples Center Los Angeles.

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In first her public appearance since her brother’s shocking death Janet Jackson closed out Sunday night’s BET Awards with a few emotional words about the deceased pop icon and thanking his fans for their overwhelming support.

“To you, Michael is an icon,” she said teary-eyed. “To us, Michael is family. And he will forever live in all of our hearts.”

Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo closed out the show, which was reworked at the last minute to honor Michael Jackson, with a cover of Mike’s “I’ll Be There”.

Follow me at Twitter.com/youngpharoh

Using a variety of outlets like Twitter and media statement celebrities reacted to the loss of a great one.

“Michael Jackson showed me that you can actually see the beat. He made the music come to life!! He made me believe in magic. I will miss him.”- P Diddy

“RIP Michael Jackson . My love and prayers go out to the Jackson family…’you are not alone’.”- Lindsay Lohan

“I’m looking at pictures of my 14th bday party at Neverland Ranch, these memories will last forever!”- Kim Kardashian

“I will be mourning my friend, brother, mentor and inspiration… He gave me and my family hope. I would never have been without him.”- MC Hammer

“I am heartbroken. My prayers go out to the Jackson family, and my heart goes out to his children. Let us remember him for his unparalleled contribution to the world of music, his generosity of spirit in his quest to heal the world & the joy he brought to his millions of devoted fans throughout the world. I feel blessed to have performed with him several times & to call him my friend. No artist will ever take his place. His star will shine forever.” - Mariah Carey

“His music is just as relevant now as it was the day they pressed record, I’m sure it will remain so for generations to come. RIP Mr Jackson.”- DJ Samantha Ronson

“He lives forever in my heart i will never forget the day he came to see me in the studio and i played him music… R i p to Michael Jackson my music god … Some lost Elvis Presley and we lost Michael Jackson… I cried today because Michael Jackson was a Father that we all lost!”- Wyclef Jean

“Michael Jackson was my generation’s most iconic cultural hero. Courageous, unique and incredibly talented.  He’ll be missed greatly.” - Russell Simmons

“Michael had the rare gift of bringing together people of all races, ages, nationalities and religions. May we all be so fortunate in our own lives.  I am truly blessed for knowing you my friend!” – DJ Whoo Kid

“Michael Jackson is the reason why I do music and why I am an entertainer,” Brown said in a statement. “I am devastated by this great loss, and I will continue to be humbled and inspired by his legacy. My prayers are with his family. Michael will be deeply missed, but never forgotten. He’s the greatest … the best ever. No one will ever be better” – Chris Brown

“I am deeply shocked and saddened to hear about the sudden death of Michael Jackson. He is a musical icon. I have always said to myself that the top would be working with Michael and last year when I got the chance to work with him, I was completely humbled. Michael Jackson’s accomplished so much that there’s not even words to explain what he’s done for urban and pop music. Every artist that I personally know has been influenced by him. The world has lost one of the greatest entertainers who shaped many generations and will continue to for years to come.”- Akon

“I can’t stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless. “- Madonna

” I can’t find the words right now to express how deeply saddened I am by Michael’s passing. We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together. My heart goes out to his family and loved ones.” - Usher

“I was so excited to see his show in London. We were going to be on tour in Europe at the same time and I was going to fly in to see him. He has been an inspiration throughout my entire life and I’m devastated he’s gone!”- Britney Spears

“Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ. I think we’ll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player.” – John Mayer

“I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news…He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.” - Quincy Jones

“A friend of Michael’s for the last 35 years, I call on people around the world to pray for him and his family in the hour. I have known Michael since we were both teens, worked with him, marched for him, hosted him at our House of Justice headquarters in New York, and we joined together to eulogize our mutual idol, James Brown. I have known him at his high moments and his low moments and I know he would want us to pray for his family.” - Rev. Al Sharpton

“Truely saddened, hopefully the rumors aren’t true…. :( not believing anything until it’s confirmed.”- Rihanna

Michael Jackson’s Most Controversial Moments

]]> http://theurbandaily.com/gossip-news/pharoh-martin-2/celebrities-remember-the-king-of-pop/feed/ 14 http://theurbandaily.com/music/smokey-fontaine/thoughts-on-the-death-of-biggie-smalls/ http://theurbandaily.com/music/smokey-fontaine/thoughts-on-the-death-of-biggie-smalls/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:43:58 +0000 Smokey D. Fontaine http://theurbandaily.com/?p=147091 On the anniversary of the death of Christopher Wallace, I remembered this eulogy I wrote twelve years ago.  I had met Biggie days before he left New York for Los Angeles where he would be gunned down on March 9, 1997... Where were you when the legend died?? I was a fan first.  Before I had the chance to talk a... Read more..]]>

On the anniversary of the death of Christopher Wallace, I remembered this eulogy I wrote twelve years ago.  I had met Biggie days before he left New York for Los Angeles where he would be gunned down on March 9, 1997…

Where were you when the legend died??

I was a fan first.  Before I had the chance to talk and laugh and join him in his world, I was a fan of Notorious B.I.G..  From “Juicy,” “Warning,” “Unbelievable” and “One More Chance” to “Things Done Changed,” “Dreams…,” and all the cameos and remixes, there was a lot of music to love.  I actually played “Get Money” so often that the vinyl began to sound dead, and I remember rushing to the club the night I got “Hypnotize” so I could blow it up three or four times in a row.  It was fun.  Fun to hear his growls at the beginning of records and to mimic the way he slurred some of the words in his rhyme.  I loved watching him play the playa role in a ridiculously huge suit and enjoyed dancing all night to his tracks with women who loved his “Big Poppa” steelo.  And when he rose out of bed, naked and unashamed, roaring down the phone in all of his 300-pound glory in the “Warning” clip, I knew that for now and always, Big was a star.

A few weeks ago, I wanted to roll with that star.  Assigned to do a feature for Trace magazine on the life and times of Biggie Smalls, I was determined to write a piece that kept clear of what I saw as the bullshit controversy surrounding his life: the drug busts and criminal charges, the hoopla around Lil’ Kim, the break-up with his wife Faith, and of course the conflict with Tupac Shakur.  I wanted to see what was behind all that, concentrate on the music, and explore some of the peculiar dilemmas that the nineties have held for African-Americans.

See, for many of our young folk, Big was a hero.  A hero because he gave expression to the thoughts and feelings of those who have never been heard.  Biggie, as the best hip hop artists do, narrated as artistic fantasy what for so many, is a cultural reality.  And that is essentially, the nature and purpose of the art form.  Like the blues, jazz and the best of African-American art, hip hop is one person’s expression of self that is representative of some part of ourselves.  Big was Brooklyn’s finest, the brotha who dedicated his album to “all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothing…and the niggas in the struggle.”

And he was a real person.  I remember the first night I spent with him, his peeps and I laughed for hours about his exploits on the road.  Stories of Luke, Shaq, and rolling with R. Kelly had us in tears about as much as the numerous sex tales of groupies along the way.  But there was no pretentiousness, no over-confidence, no cocky mask to hide any deep-seated insecurity.  Big let you love him or leave him alone.  And it was hard to do the latter because as he said so often: “To know me is to love me.”

But those who have the least, have to sing the loudest.  So it was no surprise that Chris Wallace, former hustler, former dealer, former survivor, frequently expressed in his music the anger and frustration inherent in a life from the ‘hood.  And the materialism.  For over the past two decades, the most significant shift in the culture of African-Americans has been that we have fallen victim to the individualism and greed that have always defined the larger American society.  James Baldwin once asked in his classic discussion of the Civil Rights Movement, The Fire Next Time, “Do I really want to be integrated into a burning house?”  Without ever answering, black folks find ourselves today within that burning house, robbing and stealing and “going for mine” either on Wall Street in a Ralph Lauren three-button suit or on the streets of Brooklyn in a Korean-made Polo sweatshirt.

Biggie wasn’t ashamed about being in hip hop for the money.  And why should he be?  Merrill Lynch makes no apologies.  Everything we learn and are taught by America tells us to go for the paper because with money there is success and happiness.  Don’t try to improve your community or change the ghetto, just buy your way out.  By any means necessary.  And Big did that through hip hop.  A generation ago, Chris Wallace wouldn’t have had a chance to make “tremendous cream.”  There wouldn’t have been a space for a “Notorious B.I.G.” or a “Biggie Smalls” or a “Puff Daddy.”  And a generation ago, our parents feared we would be killed by someone in a white sheet, not someone that looks like us.

So where are we now?  And who’s to blame?

Do we blame rappers themselves for often talking about the worst of their environments or the media industries for promoting and selling unhealthy words and images?  Do we blame the parents who are not around to teach and guide their children or the kids who don’t take responsibility for their own actions?  Do we blame an indifferent white government or ineffective black leadership?  Or shouldn’t we just blame ourselves as a collective?  If I asked my former students, twelve and thirteen year-olds living in inner-city Baltimore, how many of them had seen or known someone who had been killed, every hand would go up.  And so the drive-by murder of Biggie Smalls becomes not an anomaly, but a part of the macabre reality we call black life.

Hip hop is the primary way we are all socialized.  In the absence of a strong family unit, the church, or any reliable systems of education, young people learn how to talk to each other, treat each other, and feel about themselves and their world using the rhymes they listen to every day.   The tragedy about the death of B.I.G. is here was a young brotha struggling to figure himself out.  Life After Death represented for him a new beginning.  A path away from a life he knew to be self-destructive, but one which until recently, he was unable to escape.  That is not to say his second album is free of the pathos that made him so Ready to Die, but there is a growth there.  A progression he would have continued in his music, a journey that so many young people could have learned from.

Big wanted to be alive, to laugh and cry and act out the lessons he had learned from his past.  He also wanted to love.  Love his children, his fam, and his moms.  Mrs. Wallace was all over Ready to Die.  She was an object of stress and bitterness, but also a symbol of strength and survival.  Big spoke of her in his rhymes more than any other rapper I know–except of course, Tupac.

Many will point out that Biggie and Tupac’s deaths are more examples of life imitating art.  But aren’t we all on stage?  Murder is often the leading cause of death for young black men and most of us do very little about it.  Can that be a reality?  It seems that we have become increasingly unable to differentiate between fantasy and what is real.  And for that reason, our art is our life.  Hip hop is our dominant culture, and it’s the way we learn how to live.  Kids act like the stars they see in their favorite videos, and find a rhyme for the situations that confront them every day.  That power of the art form surprises even many of those who wield it.  It’s what makes hip hop so compelling, but aren’t we allowing ourselves to be entertained by our own tragedy?  Tupac, in his martyrdom, became a cultural hero.  Biggie will be the same.  Tupac asked brothas to die for him…Big found new life.  But ultimately, the music couldn’t save either of them.

Check out the hot new Biggie mixtape here

The provocative new blog, “A Dead B.I.G. Is Better Than A Living Weezy!”  here

And our exclusive GIANT VIDEO interview with Jamal Woolard and the cast of Notorious here

“I know that I have been quiet, but I had a lot going on,” writes the 39-year-old actor. “But I am slowly pulling it together.”

The Oscar-nominated star of Hustle & Flow made an appearance Saturday at an FYE electronics store in Miami. According to the mourning actor, this is “the furthest that I have gone from home since my mom’s funeral last month.”

You can check out his blog via his MySpace page by clicking the link here.

Have some condolences to share? Feel free to let Terrence Howard know how you feel in our comments section!

The Interactive One and Radio One family extend our condolences to the Obama family during this most trying time during a most pivotal moment in American history.

Click here for NewsOne…