[SuchFriendsAreDangerous]

sway, as usual you have entirely missed my point and then dragged out your own misinterpretation way out there..

i NEVER said that Michael Jackson was the SOLE person to popularize black music, I said that he is the MOST POPULAR black musician (of 'black' music) and I think demonrail most eloquently elaborated on this point when it was said that michael jackson " didn't just blur racial barriers in terms of its appeal so much as disregard them altogether." THAT was my point in bringing up race into the issue.

Michael Jackson is the most famous black person that has ever lived. Perhaps BILLIONS of people know what he looks like, and have even heard his songs. Who could compare? That being said, it is clear that NO OTHER BLACK MUSICIAN could have quite as LARGE an impact on music in general regardless of race, and clearly Michael Jackson (who IS MO TOWN since a youth) exposed the entire world to black music through his beyond belief popular albums. it is literally unimaginable to comprehend the number of people from every corner of the world who have heard and enjoyed michael jackson's music, and again that being said, it is clear to me and many others that michael jackson did a great deal to promote black music and destroy the racial barriers of commerical music which existed in 1969 at the beginning of his career and were solidly in place until the mid-1980s..

to me, that is his legacy. and I am not the world's biggest michael jackson fan, I am just a rastafari who grew up on michael jackson and can clearly see his contributions to the music of the world. I never said you didn't like michael jackson, when I said "put down" I meant in status as compared to other artists which is the point you have been arguing correct (that MJ is not as important as I am believing)?