The hype was everywhere. The BET awards (Black Entertainment Television) were coincidentally going on a mere days since the unfortunate passing of Michael Jackson. This would be a golden opportunity for the black community to celebrate the life of a true musical genius. They would potentially achieve a rating never heard of in their history. This was going to be good, given the talent they would have in town.
The opening act was five unknowns with an extremely poor sound system attempting to sing a Jackson family hit, but failing miserably. That's OK, they were called into service quickly and unexpectedly (and it showed). Surely the next act would be the show stopper, a serious tribute to an American icon. This would call for the host of the show, Jamie Foxx to bring down the house in superstar fashion.
What I saw was an egotistical, self absorbed and over hyped fool embarrassingly grabbing his crotch and bragging about the size of his package. Worse than that, he showed true class by uttering the words "boa constrictor" while he did it, then giving us 20 feet of a white man's moon walk, replete with a near stumble on stage.
I would tell you this total embarrassment of a performance left Michael spinning in his grave, but the poor man hasn't even made it there yet. After seeing what I did, I am surprised he didn't get up and dig his own hole.
As for the "music" presented, you had to read between the network bleeps to makes heads or tales of any "story" they were telling with their rap; but needless to say, it wasn't Steinbeck. The verbiage used in todays music is, without question, appalling. As I watched the acts unfold, I couldn't help but wonder how it was being accepted by the younger crowd, who see these artists as role models.
I will end this critique with two observations: "Is there a shortage of black dress shoes in the marketplace today?" There seemed to be an inordinate number of tuxedos and sneakers at the awards show. But whatever, express yourself....who am I to judge.
What I do feel qualified to ask, and judge, beckons me to ask..."Is there an epidemic of penis thefts in the world today?" There seems to be, since every act seemed to be grabbing, groping and verifying the continued existence of their penis through the evening. I get it. Women find you sexy, and you have a penis. Happy for you. But did we have to see a continual cupping of hand(s) around your personal Johnson? Trust me, if someone stole it while you weren't looking, you would be the first to know. What goes for cool now days blows my mind.
The BET awards...a golden opportunity wasted. An opportunity to show some class and dignity to a very large swath of America tuning in to see the MJ tribute was absolutely squandered. What should have been a tribute worthy of an American icon turned into a night not worthy of remembrance.
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