16. "Black messiah vs. pop messiah. " In response to In response to 12 Thu Jan-15-15 12:08 PM by Boogie Stimuli
One phrase characterizes James here: "I wanna get up and do MY thang"
Once he found himself, James never catered his musical approach to white America. He was the Blackest popular musician America ever saw or will see. White America was just amazed by the talent. He was infectious and undeniable. He is and will forever be the standard of Black entertainment, because at a time when everyone else was trying their best to make crossover songs, James came along and changed music by making it the Blackest way he could. In order to capture white America, Mike intentionally went after them. He was more of a Pop Messiah who loathed his Blackness... initially anyway. I don't think any less of Mike for his approach. He just isn't deserving of the title considering what James did.