bigted

So did Jay-Z diss anybody last night in Philly? I guess bringin' Nas on stage with him is enough statement that he's going after 50 Cent already though, he's probably waiting for 50 to respond then he'll release something for him, if 50 was smart he'd not diss anybody anymore now. Yeah look how "Lost and Found" almost went platinum with just one hit single, if he had 100 videos out at once like 50 Cent he'd probably sell 10 million again like "Big Willie Style", Interscope didn't really give Will the backing he deserved though obviously, Def Jam promotes their rappers well so I think it'd be a good fit for Will to go there. Columbia's been screwing Nas over for years too, it'll be nice as a Nas fan to see him get the promotion that he deserves, I think he might be able to put out some multiplatinum hits now.

That's good they took that down, maybe that'll encourage less kids to try to sneak in to watch the movie.

Well it was his lowest sellin' JJFP album at least, I could see why "Born To Reign" flopped but "Code Red" is arguably his best work he's ever done, probably the most underrated rap album ever, it's definately one of the greatest rap albums ever recorded, it should've outsold "He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper" and be the highest selling JJFP album, he was at the height of Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air then with popularity too.

If ol' school rappers KRS-ONE and Rev. Run had the type of promotion for their albums as Jay-Z does they could easily go platinum, people'll know about them if they get exposure simple as that, that's the only reason why 50 Cent sells so much is 'cause he puts out 100 videos at once. LL Cool J gets good promotion on Def Jam and he's always able to still be one of the highest selling rappers out whenever he drops an album so why not bring more on board? They might not sell 3-4 million but I don't see how they couldn't go platinum or close to it at the worst if they get the right backing they deserve. Signing The Roots and Nas is a good step towards that, I guess they gotta bring the '90s mcs back first then they could work on the '80s, lol.

Nas is rumored to sign with Def Jam so maybe there'll be a bigger chance that we might get a Nas/LL collab soon! :rockon:

Well who would've thought that Nas might sign to Def Jam, I never in a million years would've thought that'd happen, anything's possible, if Jay-Z really wants to save hip-hop he'll sign all of them, he should've never dissed Nas in the first place, it's about time that hip-hop powers join forces instead of beefing. I'm more concerned about great mcs collabing and making great songs than I am about how many are gonna diss 50 Cent, if a lot of dope songs came out 50 Cent'll lose his popularity fast, all the great mcs need to be on the top of the charts bringing something to the airwaves, it's disgusting how Rev. Run's album doesn't even sell 5,000 copies the 1st week, I wanna see 50 Cent fall down to that for a change and Rev. Run go platinum.

Jay-Z should sign Nas, KRS-ONE, Rakim, Aceyalone, and Public Enemy to Def Jam right now to bring the real lyricists to the top of the charts and bury these commercial gimmick rappers to the bottom like they should be, 2006 would be the greatest year ever if all those albums dropped with LL's album that's set to come out on Def Jam already, Jay-Z gotta get Slick Rick to make another album too, all the rulers in rap getting the recognition they deserve in the public would be incredible! btw. Will should sign to Def Jam too 'cause Interscope's 'bout to get buried.

If talent sold "Code Red", "Willenium", "Lost and Found", and "He's The DJ, I'm The Rapper" would be at the 10 million mark in sales right now with "Big Willie Style" and Will'd be ranked the greatest rapper ever by the media like he should be, it's disgusting that "Code Red"'s his lowest selling album. :shakehead:

This is actually a perfect time for them to get at 50 with his movie coming out, they could get less people to go see it, they should try to get all hip-hop fans to boycott seeing it! :gettinjiggywitit:

Well if Jay-Z was so worried about being respected on the commercial front he wouldn't consider dissin' G Unit, in fact he'd probably join them and diss Nas! :lolsign:

Yeah "Just The Two Of Us" did very well, it's one of his deepest songs and it won a Grammy, you can't win them all, these type of songs do well once in a lifetime for most artists, who knows though I have small optimism that "Tell Me Why" might have the same success but I ain't holding my breath. Since you brought up "Summertime", JJFP had many good songs be hits, "Parents Just Don't Understand" is a classic storytellin' track that won the 1st rap grammy and the worst song JJFP released as a single is "Boom! Shake The Room" and that's dope too, I don't how he could say that it was his worst song he released after he released "Freakin' It", lol. I think it's the songs he's released as singles in these Big Will days that don't represent his best skills but ironically his solo albums outsold all the JJFP ones.

Jay-Z' hip-hop credability'll grow more if he teams up with Nas now to knock G Unit out of the game, it's about time that Nas and Jay-Z finally officially squashed their beef too.

Yeah I hope there's some aggressive street tracks on there too, it'll be interesting to hear how he sounds with Mary J., maybe it'll be another "Tell Me Why" type track, I don't really care about Teiarra Marri being on there, maybe that collab won't make the cut, anyway it'll be interesting to hear what he comes up with this time. I hope Queen Latifah and him do a song for their movie, that'd be hot, he's doing 9 movies too damn he's staying busy.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LL Cool J gets busy on new album By Gail MitchellThu Oct 27, 8:37 PM ET Veteran rapper LL Cool J is at work on a new album, which is expected to be released sometime in 2006. Backstage Wednesday at the BET 25th anniversary celebration in Los Angeles, he said the Def Jam set will feature guest appearances from Mary J. Blige, 112 and Teairra Mari. The album will be the follow-up to 2004's "The DEFinition," which debuted at No. 4 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 743,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Meanwhile, the rapper said he has signed a nine-picture deal with Lions Gate Film to produce movies, and also has the option of acting in the projects. LL Cool J will next be seen in "Last Holiday," which stars Queen Latifah and is due January 13 in U.S. theaters. He also appears in "Edison," which stars Justin Timberlake. Reuters/Billboard

Thanks for the interview, it's nice to know that he's still planning on doing a world tour, I like the advice he gives about relationships too. :rockon:

Three-time MVP 'tired of having to hide my feelings' By LZ Granderson ESPN The Magazine Calling life in the closet "miserable," three-time Olympic gold medalist and reigning WNBA MVP Sheryl Swoopes announced she is gay in an exclusive interview in the current issue of ESPN The Magazine. "My reason for coming out isn't to be some sort of hero," Swoopes, a forward with the Houston Comets, says in the article. "I'm just at a point in my life where I'm tired of having to pretend to be somebody I'm not. I'm tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love. “ I'm just at a point in my life where I'm tired of having to pretend to be somebody I'm not. I'm tired of having to hide my feelings about the person I care about. About the person I love. ” — Sheryl Swoopes "Male athletes of my caliber probably feel like they have a lot more to lose than gain [by coming out]. I don't agree with that. To me, the most important thing is happiness." Swoopes, 34, is the most recognizable athlete, male or female, to come out in a team sport. Former WNBA player Michele Van Gorp, who played for the Minnesota Lynx, publicly acknowledged she is a lesbian in July 2004. Before Van Gorp, former Liberty player Sue Wicks had been the only member of a female professional team to publicly come out while still playing. Previously, Swoopes has said she plans to continue her career. Former NFL defensive tackle Esera Tuaolo and MLB outfielder Billy Bean made headlines when they revealed they were gay, but both were retired when they made their announcements and neither had a career that comes close to Swoopes. After being named NJCAA Player of the Year while at South Plains Junior College in 1991, Swoopes transferred to Texas Tech and two years later scored a NCAA title game-record 47 points in leading the Lady Raiders to the national championship. Swoopes was named the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player to go along with her national player of the year award. In 1994 she won gold at the Goodwill Games, and, in 1996, was a member of the Olympic gold medal-winning team that became the building block for the WNBA. Since then, she has won two more Olympic gold medals, four WNBA championships and three regular-season MVP accolades, including this past summer. Swoopes, a five-time All-WNBA First Team honoree who was the All-Star MVP this past season, is also the first female athlete to have a shoe named after her, Nike's Air Swoopes. "Some people might say my coming out after just winning the MVP award is heroic, and I understand that," she says. "And I know there are going to be some negative things said, too. But it doesn't change who I am. I can't help who I fall in love with. No one can." In the article, Swoopes goes on to talk about her three-year marriage, her 8-year-old son, Jordan, and life with her partner, former Old Dominion basketball coach Alisa Scott. "Discovering I'm gay just sort of happened much later in life," Swoopes says. "Being intimate with [Alisa] or any other woman never entered my mind. At the same time, I'm a firm believer that when you fall in love with somebody, you can't control that." The news could be particularly perplexing for the WNBA, which has struggled to both recognize the homosexual element connected to its league and grow its fan base. Ironically, in its infancy, the WNBA marketed a pregnant, married Swoopes to put a heterosexual face on its promotional campaign. Now the league, which will play its 10th season next summer, has to decide what to do now that one of its best and most recognizable players has announced she's gay. "The talk about the WNBA being full of lesbians is not true," Swoopes says. "There are as many straight women in the league as there are gay. What really irritates me is when people talk about football, baseball and the NBA, you don't hear all of this talk about the gay guys playing. But when you talk about the WNBA, then it becomes an issue. Sexuality and gender don't change anyone's performance on the court."

Yeah she admitted she was gay, the way you worded though it made it look like you was dissing her, lol. She was on the "Cold Pizza" show on ESPN2 talking about it, that takes a lot of courage for her to come out and say that considering how she'll proabably lose her endorsement deals now.

I just read an article about this woman named Claudette Colvin who also refused to give up her seat on the same bus earlier that year in 1955: http://inquirer.stanford.edu/Fall2004/vdlt/Unsung.html In The Shadow Of Rosa Parks: ‘Unsung Hero’ Of Civil Rights Movement Speaks Out By Vanessa de la Torre January 20, 2005 Claudette Colvin could easily be lost in the crowd. Her short hair is neatly curled; she wears eyeglasses and a small pair of gold hoop earrings. She dresses modestly and looks more like someone’s kindly grandmother than the woman who 50 years ago was a catalyst for one of the most famous events in civil rights history. But that, in fact, is who Colvin is. Nine months before Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger, Colvin had done the same thing, but without any fanfare. She was only 15 at the time, and civil rights leaders had reservations about using her as the symbol of their movement. Instead, Parks, who worked for the NAACP and was inspired by Colvin’s example, became the person whom history would remember. Now, half a century later, Colvin still vividly recalls her emotions on the day when a bus driver summoned the police to arrest her in Montgomery, Ala. It was March 2, 1955. Colvin was a junior at Booker T. Washington High School. She hoped to practice law one day and defend people like Jeremiah Reeves, a black classmate who had been convicted of raping a white woman and sentenced to death. The case had her simmering. It was on her mind that bus ride, she explains. And she was angry that twice a day she rode the same bus and here was the driver, ordering her to stand so a white person could sit. What happened next was impulsive, Colvin says. “I had the spirit of Sojourner Truth inside me, the spirit of Harriet Tubman, telling me, ‘Don’t get up!’” She told a policeman that she was “just as good as any white person” and wasn’t going to give up her seat. “I was very hurt because I didn't know that white people would act like that and I was crying,” Colvin later testified in court. “And (the policeman) said, ‘I will have to take you off.’ So I didn’t move. I didn’t move at all … So he kicked me and one got on one side of me and one got the other arm and they just drug me out.” The police said Colvin was “clawing and scratching” as they hauled her off the bus. What Colvin has admitted is screaming again and again, “It’s my constitutional right.” She had paid her bus fare. Colvin was charged with misconduct, resisting arrest and violating city and state segregation laws. (Eventually she was convicted and sentenced to probation.) E.D. Nixon, then a leader of the Montgomery chapter of the NAACP, had been waiting for a test case to challenge bus segregation and vowed to help Colvin after her father posted bail. But then came the second-guessing: Colvin’s father mowed lawns; her mother was a maid. Churchgoing people, but they lived in King Hill, the poorest section of Montgomery. The police, who took her to the city hall and then jail, also accused the teenager of spewing curse words, which Colvin denied, saying that in fact the obscenities were leveled at her (“The intimidation, the ridicule,” she often says now). Some blacks believed she was too young, and too dark-skinned to be an effective symbol of injustice for the rest of the nation. Then, as local civil rights leaders continued to debate whether her case was worth contesting, that summer came the news that Colvin was pregnant — by a married man. E.D. Nixon would later explain in an oral history, “I had to be sure that I had somebody I could win with.” Rosa Parks, for a decade the NAACP secretary who took special interest in Colvin’s case, was “morally clean, reliable, nobody had nothing on her.” On December 1, 1955, Parks would board a bus at the same stop as had Colvin, and go on to become the symbol Nixon had been seeking. In contrast to Colvin, when policemen came to lead Parks away, she asked, calmly, “Why do you all push us around?” Recently, as the country honored what would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.’s 75th birthday, televisions replayed scenes from the era of burning crosses, hooded Klansmen, “Whites Only” signs, clashes between Southern policemen and peaceful protestors, the “I Have a Dream speech,” and King’s assassination. But second to Reverend King is the image of serene dignity: Rosa Parks, the unassuming seamstress who galvanized the movement after a long day’s work, because she refused to give her seat to a white person. The legend goes that her feet were tired. She became one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Important People of the Century. When someone Googles Claudette Colvin, on the other hand, the first item is a dated news release about fourth graders in Milwaukee who made a six-minute film titled, “Claudette Who?” Over the years, Colvin, now 65, has grown accustomed to anonymity. After her arrest in 1955, Colvin did become a plaintiff in the NAACP’s federal lawsuit to desegregate buses. But the following year she gave birth to a son Raymond, who was so fair-skinned (like his father) that people frequently accused her of having a white baby. She left Alabama for New York in 1958, and for over 30 years worked the night shift at a Catholic nursing home. Aside from a handful of articles in the mainstream press about Colvin and other obscure names who preceded Rosa Parks — “It was four women who made the bus boycott successful, otherwise the people would’ve been walking in vain,” she says — being at Stanford University last week was the first time Colvin has ever been publicly recognized, she confirms. ‘Honorable mention’ Claudette Colvin is chatting with two admirers when a record producer tells her to look at the television. The song he co-produced on the Montgomery bus boycott has a music video, he says, and “Your name is in it.” So Colvin watches when “1955” and the name “ROSA PARKS” appear on the black screen, in bold, white letters. She waits. “Rosa the spark,” a rapper says. She waits. Suddenly her name pops up on the screen, and the record producer says “There!” and points, and Colvin stands silently and reads, “When the police arrested her she went kicking and screaming.” “So why not give her an honorable mention,” the rapper suggests. The screen blackens and a new verse begins. Colvin turns her head slightly. She gives a short, muted chuckle. Probably best that she has her back to the TV, a slice of melon in hand, when “Rosa Louise McCauley Parks” emerges on the screen with the title, “Queen of the civil rights movement.” About this time, Colvin starts talking about the past. Back then, “you couldn’t look your madam in the eye,” she says, very close, gazing intensely. And the white children, their innocence was also tainted. Colvin remembers her first job as a sleep-in domestic in New York, how she felt part of the household. Then she heard the little girl say, “Oh mother, that nigger has on a cap just like me.” She also says black people often got caught in legal trouble because they had no money to properly defend themselves — and that they still do to this day. “They have no one to go to.” Colvin contemplates this. Tens of seconds pass. It seems like she might be done talking. “Another thing about racism,” Colvin will suddenly say, and note how her son Randy, an accountant in Atlanta, had to buy his home in a nicer part of town so his children could attend a good school. “If you’re in a poor neighborhood you get an inferior education,” she says. And about single moms in the ghetto: “She’s out trying to survive, working two jobs. She’s never at home, she can’t supervise her kids and tell them to do their homework. And the boys get bored and start selling drugs. They think, ‘I’m not gonna work in McDonald’s and get minimum wage.’” Colvin’s firstborn, Raymond, had become addicted to drugs and alcohol. At 37 he died of a heart attack in her apartment. About her life, her dreams of becoming a lawyer, she says, “Yes, I’m disappointed. But then again, no one knows what’s in store for them. At least my grandkids don’t have to suffer what I had to suffer.” She thanks God that none of her five grandchildren are on drugs. She mentions that one is a D.C. policeman and another is a first-year medical student. The three younger girls all get good grades; one plays the violin. But they all lack an understanding of personal sacrifice, she worries. “They’re fast-forward … What we gained was through blood and tears … And they don’t see that.” Maybe, Colvin says, they are just taught differently nowadays. In her era, adults told children that God was directly over their heads. As an individual she was accountable. Now she can’t tell the kids that God is in the sky, because they know that the universe is infinite, as far as you can see there is space. People don’t know where heaven is, she says. ‘Not the right icon’ Colvin says she is not angry with the NAACP for not taking her case. But she is disappointed that nothing came from a front-page article about her and Mary Ware, another teen to follow Colvin’s bus rebellion before Rosa Parks, which was published ten years ago in USA Today. Colvin thought she would get a response from the black community, but didn’t. “They probably thought I wasn’t the right icon.” Minutes later, a white woman approaches, smiling nervously, saying sorry to bother, excuse me, but, it’d be a great honor if Colvin could sign her book. She extends a ballpoint pen and Threshold of a New Decade, the latest, 703-page volume on the papers of Martin Luther King, Jr. Colvin seems surprised. Her eyes appear tired. But with a steady hand, she takes a couple minutes writing her message in cursive, under a quote from Dr. King: “Claudette Colvin, unsung hero of the civil rights movement. Thank you and keep the faith.”

Replace "Boom! Shake The Room" with "Uhhh", I think "Boom! Shake The Room" is dope but I don't think it'll be a good song to convince haters to like him, "Uhhh" is a great battle track that shows that he's more than just a party rapper, Will thinks it's his worst song too so he wouldn't want haters to find out. Replace "It's All Good" with "Y'all Know" 'cause even though I like "It's All Good" but basically for the same reasons I think "Y'all Know" is much more of an aggressive hip-hop track on Big Willie Style the beat boxing on there is a plus. And like some said already put "The Rain", "Who Am I", "He's The DJ, I"m The Rapper", "So Fresh" on there too, try to squeeze "The Magnificent Jazzy Jeff" and "My Buddy" in there too, those are underrated ol' school JJFP classics that they need to hear.

LL Cool J feat. Method Man, Redman, and DMX "Fuggidabowdit"-G.O.A.T. featuring James T. Smith (2000)

I don't think Diddy has beef with 50, he put him on the Biggie Duets album that comes out in December: http://tinypic.com/ezqzbp.gif Tracklist: 1. Hold Ya Head 2. The Most Shady featuring Eminem, Obie Trice and P Diddy 3. Spit Your Game featuring Twista, Paul Wall and Bone Thugs 4. Whatchu Want featuring Jay Z 5. The Funk featuring Nate Dogg and Redman 6. Get Your Grind On featuring Big Pun, Fat Joe, and Freeway 7. Living The Life featuring Snoop, Ludacris, and Faith Evans 8. Somethin featuring The Game, and Mary J 9. Nasty Girl featuring Diddy, Nelly, Jagged Edge, and Avery Storm 10. Living in Pain featuring 2Pac, Mary J. Blige and Nas 11. Want That Old Thing Back featuring Ja Rule and Ralph Tresvant 12. Recognize a Pimp featuring Too Short and Webbie 13. Three Bricks featuring Raekwon and Ghostface Killah 14. What's Beef featuring 50 Cent and Mobb Deep 15. Hustler's Story featuring Scarface, Akon, and Big Gee of Boyz N Da Hood 16. Breakin' Old Habits featuring TI and Slim Thug 17. Mi Casa featuring R. Kelly and Charlie Wilson 18. Just A Memory featuring The Clipse 19. Running Your Mouth featuring Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Foxy Brown, Fabolous 20. I'm With Whateva - featuring Lil' Wayne, Juelz Santana, and Jim Jones 21. Here We Go Go featuring Q-Tip, Babs, Aasim 22. Ultimate Rush featuring Missy Elliot 23. Make It Hot featuring Ness and Aasim 24.Wake Up Now featuring KoRn

Now I ain't really a fan of these 2 rappers but I think it's kinda cool that they made raps about the World Series, maybe if the Phillies make it one year JJFP'll do a song, lol. "Hip-hop boosts Astros Associated Press HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros are far more likely to boot scoot to country music than bob their heads to a hip-hop tune. But that hasn't stopped two rappers from Houston from putting a baseball twist on their latest hits to pay homage to the Astros and their first World Series appearance. Chamillionaire recorded a remix of "Turn It Up" and Paul Wall remixed "They Don't Know" for the Astros. Both songs have been getting heavy radio play locally and were to play Tuesday at Minute Maid Park during Game 3 against the Chicago White Sox. "Making the song was a natural for me because I'm such a big fan," said Wall, who remembers watching the Astros as a child from the $1 upper-deck seats at the now defunct Astrodome. Wall and Chamillionaire are former partners turned bitter rivals, so it's no surprise that they would have dueling Astros anthems. "I just wanted to give some encouragement to the team," said Chamillionaire, whose Universal debut "The Sound of Revenge" comes out next month. "Because I know that in my world of hip-hop a lot of people pay attention to baseball. I just wanted to be a part of this history." Straying from his teammates -- who keep country music videos playing on the clubhouse TVs -- third baseman Morgan Ensberg said he was excited about the raps. He said he likes both rappers and couldn't wait to hear the songs. "That's the coolest thing I've ever heard," he said. Wall (real name Paul Slayton) names all 25 players on the active roster as well as manager Phil Garner and owner Drayton McLane in his 2½-minute song. He also mentions Astros fan and former President George Bush. "Last year it was all a dream, but this year they did their thing," Wall raps. "The Astros are baseball's kings." Wall wrote the song in the car returning from a show the night the Astros won the National League championship and recorded it at 5 a.m. the next morning. Late in the regular season, just before his album "The People's Champ" was released, Wall attended a game and caught a foul ball. He said he thinks catching that ball was a good luck charm as his album debuted at No. 1 overall on the Billboard charts. Now he said he hopes this song will help his good fortune rub off on the Astros. "I'm so happy to be a part of this in some small way," said Wall, who recorded a videotaped message to play before his song. Chamillionaire's uptempo song, which was released first, is less specific but just as supportive. It features lines like "Houston is the best if you don't know then you're delirious" and "couldn't win the series is what they thought and now we're proving it." Chamillionaire (real name Hakeem Seriki) said his record label asked him to include the players' names but he resisted. "I realized music's designed to be timeless," he said. "You never know that record could get played again down the line. It didn't want it to only be relevant for that time." Known as the Mixtape Messiah on Houston's underground rap scene after selling more than 250,000 records independently, Chamillionaire used his freestyle skills to put the song together in about 30 minutes. In the midst of a promotional tour for his album, Chamillionaire was in Chicago when he recorded the song. "It's kind of crazy," he said. "At the time I did it I wasn't thinking about any of that." Despite it being recorded in the opposing team's hometown, Kirby Kander, Minute Maid Park's director of entertainment, said it's a boost for the team. "Chamillionaire's is kind of a rally song that gets you excited during the game," he said."

I found this when I was browsing the internet today and since there's a lot of MJ fans here, I figure I'd post this, enjoy! : http://www11.brinkster.com/turgay/PharrellWilliams.htm "For once, Michael Jackson gets to ask the questions in the August edition of "Interview" magazine where he quizzes Pharrell Williams in a phone conversation. "Interview" magazine is published in the USA. Michael Jackson: Hello? Pharrell Williams: Hello! How are you man? MJ: You must forgive me, but Gregory Peck, who just died yesterday, was a very dear friend of mine, and I've been helping his wife prepare the memorial and all those things. So please forgive me for being late with this call. PW: No, listen, man, I can't believe I'm on the phone with you. MJ: Oh, God bless you. PW: Thank you, sir. You too. MJ: Thank you. So, I'm interviewing you, right? And I think it's seven questions, or something lime that? PW: Sure. Whatever you like. MJ: Okay. What would you say inspires you in your music? What is it that inspires you to create your music. PW: It's a feeling. You treat the air as a canvas and the paint is the chords that come through your fingers, out of the keyboard. So when I'm playing, I'm sort of painting a feeling in the air. I know that might sound corny, but - MJ: - No. No, that's a perfect analogy. PW: And when you know it's done, you know it's done. It's like painting or sculpting. When you let it go it's because you know that it's finished. It's completed. And vice versa-it tells you, "Hey, I'm done." MJ: Yeah. And it refuses to let you sleep until it's finished. PW: That's right. MJ: Yeah, I go through the same thing. [laughs] And what do you think of the music today - are you into the new sounds that are being created and the direction that music is going? PW: Well, personally, I kind of feel like I'm taking notes from people like yourself and Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway, and just sort of doing what feels right. MJ: Right. PW: You know, like when everyone was going one way, you went "Off The Wall". MJ: Right. [laughs] PW: And when everyone else was going another way, you went "Thriller". You just did it your way. And I'm taking notes from people like yourself, like not being afraid to listen to your feelings and turn your aspirations and ambitions into material. Making it happen, making it materialize. MJ: That's beautiful. That's lovely. You said that very well. I wanted to ask you - do you feel, the way I do, that it's almost like pregnancy, giving birth? Writing a song is like having a child, and once the song is finished, it's like letting the child into the world. Do you ever feel like that, like it's hard to let go? PW: You know what? I did an interview the other day to present a video, and I was afraid to let it go. That was for a video, but the video to me is like the second part of the song because it is the interpretation given in a visual perspective. So, yes, I completely feel that way. And it's like sometimes if you play something to people and they don't get it, it's like your child who's done something and everyone is pointing fingers and you're like, "Wait! This is my kid!" Now, I'm not a father, but I imagine that's the way it would be - at least that's how I feel about my songs. MJ: Right. Now the different forms of music/popular-culture music/that the black race has been responsible for bringing in, ushering in, from jazz to pop to rock-n-roll to hip hop, you name it, what do you think all that is about? Is it given from God? PW: I think all music is a gift from God. And - [a fan interrupts] Michael, can you hold on for one second? [Williams talks to a fan for a few seconds, then resumes talking to Jackson] - Sorry. MJ: [laughs] Blues, rock-n-roll, all the different forms of popular music like rock-n-roll was invented by Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino. PW: Absolutely. MJ: Even the dances from the cakewalk to the Charleston, the popping, the breaking, the locking. Don't you think they're a gift from God? PW: Absolutely. God gave us that gift when he gave us the gift of interpretation. I mean, when you write your lyrics, you're writing to someone, or to the world. When you're playing, you're playing something for the world to hear. When you're dancing, you're dancing for people to see. It's just a form of expression. And the there are times when you might be a little more introverted about it, when you're dancing, writing, or playing for yourself, and you have no idea how amazing what you're doing looks, sounds, or feels, until somebody else tells you, or until you record it and go back and look at it. MJ: That's right. Who are some of the older artists - not the artists on the radio today - who inspired you when you were younger? Like the artists your father listened to, did you learn anything from those artists? PW: Absolutely. The "Isley Brothers". MJ: Yeah, me too. I love the "Isley Brothers". And I love Sly & the "Family Stone". PW: Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder... MJ: You like all the people I like. [laughs] PW: Those chord changes. They take you away. MJ: Beautiful, beautiful. Okay, well where are you? In New York? PW: I'm in Virginia Beach, Virginia, sir. MJ: Virginia! Oh, beautiful. Will you give my love to Virginia? PW: Yes. Thank you. MJ: And your mother and your parents? Because God has blessed you with special gifts. PW: Thank you, sir. And I just wanted to say something, and I don't know if you want to hear this, but I have to say it because it's on my heart. But people bother you - MJ: - Yeah. PW: - Because they love you. That's the only reason why. When you do something that people don't necessarily understand, they're going to make it into a bigger problem than they would for anybody else because one of the most amazing talents that's ever lived. You've accomplished and achieved more in this century than most other men. MJ: Well, thank you very much. That's very kind of you. PW: What you do is so amazing. When you are 100 years old, and they're still making up things about what you've done to this and what you've done to that on your body - please believe me, if you decided you wanted to dip your whole body in chrome, you are so amazing that the world, no matter what they say, is going to be right there to see it. And that is because of what you have achieved in the music world, and in changing people's lives. People are having children to your songs. You've affected the world. MJ: Thank you very much. It's like the bigger the star, the bigger the target. You know when you're - and I'm not being a braggadocio or anything like that - but you know you're on top when they start throwing arrows at you. Even Jesus was crucified. People who bring light into the world, from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King to Jesus Christ, even myself. And my motto has been "Heal The World", "We Are The World", "Earth Song", "Save Our Children", "Help Our Planet". And people want to persecute me for it, but it never hurts, because the fan base becomes stronger. I'm resilient. I have rhinoceros skin. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing. PW: Well, that's precisely my point. I just want to let you know you're amazing, man. What you do to music, from "Billie Jean" to "That's What You Get (For Being Polite)" - [sings "That's what you get for being polite"]. MJ: Oh, you know that one? [laughs] PW: [sings "Jack Still Sits All Alone"] MJ: Boy, you know all those ones. PW: When you do that, you do that to the world. [resumes singing "Jack Still Sits All Alone"] MJ: [hums a guitar riff] PW: If I never work with you, just know that you are unstoppable. That's why I said, when you're 100 years old and you decide to dip your entire body in chrome, as much as they say things - and I don't care what they say about you, sir - they're going to be right there to see it. MJ: There's a lot of jealousy there. I love all races, I love all people, but sometimes there's a devil in people, and they get jealous. Every time there's a luminary that goes beyond the heights of his field of endeavor, people tend to get jealous and try to bring him down. But they can't with me because I'm very, very, very, strong. [laughs] They don't know that, though. PW: They know! Please believe me, they know! MJ: Anyone else would've cracked by now; they can't crack me. I'm very strong. PW: Of course. They couldn't crack you when you were 10, because you were destroying grown men doing what you did with your voice and your talent. And when you were 20, you were outdoing people that had been doing it for 20 or 30 years. And nowadays they're still waiting to see where you're at. They want to see your kids, they want to see your world. You're amazing, and I just wanted to tell you that, man. And I hope that this all gets printed because it's very important to me. I hope I can be half as dope as you one day. MJ: Oh, God bless you. You're wonderful, too. Thank you so much. PW: Thank you, man. MJ: Have a lovely day. PW: You too, sir. MJ: Thank you. Bye. PW: Bye.

It's like what Talib Kweli says on one of his songs: "that's why I don't f*** with politics/you got Democrats actin' like Republicans"

I knew I remember reading that before on this site...