My mom is not a MJ fan, nor a hater. She's never been a fan of an artist cuz she's not into music. But she said this on his birthday last year and this is the 1st thing I've ever heard from her talking about him: "He seemed to have a pure soul. You can't be an artist without that." Of course, she said that after I brought up his name as we was sitting down on a bench at a park in my neighborhood. On that day, I got the blues cuz his death was too painful to deal with on his birthday and had to talk about him with someone I love and trust and she was one of them. I know she didn't say that to console me cuz she don't even know how big of a fan I've become. I'm sure every word was straight from her heart.
I would probably never hear from her mentioning his name again, let alone commenting on him. But what she said truly moved me on that day and still do. Sometimes I wished she was a fan, too, but with those words that day, it feels like my wish has come true.
I know this thread is about family members ranking him musically, but I had to tell my story. My mother's words about him as a person and artist, that means a whole lot more to me than hearing the posthumous "MJ-is-the-king" praise.
