i ask this because Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield amongest others are considered Socially aware Black Artists but you never hear MJ mentioned in that discussion. now "We Are the World" brought all people together but it was a Black statement with MJ and Lionel Richie writing it together and Quincy Jones Producing it. Can You Feel it, they don't care about us, Jam. He has been socially aware from a Black Perspective,but he never hardly gets acknowledged in this? care to speak on this.
I feel Michael's "black experience" was very different from Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Curtis Mayfield's, for several reasons:
1. Michael was "rescued" from the "ghetto" at the age of 12 and was plopped into the lap of luxury which protected him from most of the every day problems of life as a "black" person, so he was open at an early age
2. Thus, he was raised in a very diverse environment, a largely Jewish, white and latin community, so his values encompassed a universal love and his religion taught that one day everyone will live in peace as one so he "preached" that, in songs like Can You Feel It etc.
(in early interviews of Ebony/Jet he said that his favorite song was, Black Man by Stevie Wonder expressing Michael's deep appreciation for the immense contributions made by black inventors, showing a huge part of where his heart was, as with the Manifesto)
3. By the time he wrote Black or White, his skin disorder was turning him black AND white and being the creative he was, and desiring universal love like he did, he leaned towards that all the moreso, therefore music critics would not place him in the "black empowerment" category
if I was American, I think I'd want the Donald back.
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