The Valley remembers megastar

Local hip-hop remembers MJ

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The Youngstown hip-hop community looks back on the life of Michael Jackson.

STAFF REPORT

People in the local music scene and other fans expressed shock and sadness at the death of Michael Jackson.

At JAMZ 101.9, it was all Michael Jackson, all night long as fans called in to make requests and remember how he touched their lives.

“All the songs you’re hearing are from my collection,” said Devyn Bellamy, better known as Big Diesel, a backup DJ and Webmaster for the station, which broadcasts from studios on Federal Street downtown. “I have his entire discography.”

“One of my first memories was the ‘Thriller’ video,” Bellamy said. “The first record I ever scratched was Michael Jackson’s ‘Off the Wall.’”

“We all — me, my mom and dad — watched the ‘Remember the Time’ video,” Bellamy said. The video premiered in 1991. “The entire world stopped to watch that video,” he said. “No other performer can do that.”

The radio station could fill requests for any song Jackson ever made — “even his demos from 1978,” Bellamy said.

“It’s a weird feeling,” said JAMZ personality Lucky Penny. “Overwhelming, like losing a friend, relative, or someone you knew,” he said. “He was a part of my life.”

Disc jockey T Luv got a text message around 5 p.m. that Jackson had died.

“I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “I was getting my hair done, and I got one lone text message. I said, ‘Ah, no, it’s Farrah Fawcett.’ ”

It wasn’t until she saw news reports at 7 p.m. that she finally believed it. “It’s a sad thing. You really feel like crying,” she said.

She said many fans who called in Thursday night were saddened “and they just wanted to express that.”

Local rock, rhythm and blues and gospel singer Dave Robinson and his partner, Thomas Day, run the Web site YMSTV.com. The site showcases videos of local musicians.

“He was a big influence on me, my music, my dancing,” Robinson said. “It’s a tragedy that it happened.”

“I grew up listening to him,” said Greg Johnson, leader of the local dance band Youngstown’s Total Package Band and a DJ as well. “In junior high, we had a band called Fame, and we wanted to be like the Jackson 5. Michael was a big influence on us. He was someone around our age who was doing it, and he gave us that hope that we could do this, too.”

Johnson said his band still plays Michael Jackson songs, including the Cleveland Hustle, a line dance, which uses a remix of “Billie Jean.” They also play “Pretty Young Thing” every night, he said.

Angela Harris of Youngstown said she was in a meeting when she got the news in a text message, gasping after reading it.

“I am saddened that he passed away. He is an icon. The best we can do is pray for the family,” she said.

Leon Cooper of Youngstown said he has many childhood memories of Jackson performing with his brothers.

“It’s a shame. I hate to see him go,” Cooper said. “He had his issues, but he was a good guy. We grew up on Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. This is sad, a real bummer.”

Marquesha Shine is only 19, but remembers being afraid of the “Thriller” video as a child. She remembers all the news concerning Jackson over the years.

“This is devastating. Michael Jackson, you just didn’t think he was going to die. With celebrities like that you just don’t think they are going to die, but everyone is human,” she said.

Renee Rambo was barely 15 when her mother took her to see pop icon Michael Jackson in concert.

That was in 1984 when the Jackson family carried their Victory Tour to several cities across the country. Like many people, Jackson’s music served as a backdrop for much of Rambo’s life.

The 40-year-old Canfield woman reacted with shock and sorrow late Thursday afternoon when she learned that the “King of Pop” had died just a few hours earlier.

“I’m just speechless,” Rambo said, shaking her head in disbelief. “I’m really surprised to hear that. Growing up, anything Michael Jackson ever did was exciting. You heard about it and read about it and everyone talked about it. He was part of what we grew up with, a big part of it. I had hoped he would come out with something else to really surprise us all and rekindle some of that excitement, dazzle us with some more of that talent he had. He really was a pop icon, second to none of our generation. It’s really sad.”

Word of his untimely and unexpected death traveled swiftly among and beyond dozens of young professionals at a networking gathering Thursday at the Covelli Centre. Cell phones beeped and buzzed as friends and family sent word through text messages and voice mails.

“It’s just crazy,” said Michael Wolanzyk, 45, of Cortland. “He was on fire in the ’80s, when I was in school, and beyond that. Everywhere you turned you saw him. I wasn’t a fanatic, but if you listened to the radio at all or watched TV, you listened to Michael Jackson, you saw him and heard about him all the time. It’s a shame how his life unfolded. It’s just strange to hear that’s he’s gone. He was such a big part of our lives.”

As Kena Wilson explained, Jackson was an enigma that often left many people confused. Wilson lived in Jackson’s hometown of Gary, Ind., after moving from the Youngstown area for a short time several years ago.

“People would go by his family’s old house and take pictures,” she said. “It was quite an attraction. People loved Michael and the Jacksons. No matter what, this is a heartbreak. It’s like he was part of the family, that’s how familiar he seemed to us. My heart goes out to his family. No matter what, no matter what they said he did, he was a talent and he contributed so much to the music world. My heart is actually breaking now. This is really sad.”

“Everyone, I think, knows Michael Jackson,” said Brooke Seckler, 20, of Canfield. “I don’t think it really matters how old or young you are. His music’s around and it’s just so popular. In high school my cheerleading squad did a remake of ‘Thriller.’ It’s like this classic. Everyone knows it, and everyone knows about him.”

Earlier this year, Jackson announced plans to take the stage again in an effort to revive his career and started rehearsing for a comeback.

“He was different and controversial and the way he isolated himself and everything made people speculate,” said Becky Hildack, 34, of Campbell. “It all adds up to one strange scenario. He had so much appeal and yet so many people ended up turning against him. It’s all very sad, very tragic. His talent will definitely be missed. And no matter what, there will never be, at least in our lifetime, another Michael Jackson.”

CONTRIBUTOR: Correspondent Virginia Ross Shank.