Why did V103 Atlanta dump their regular playlists and go all Michael Jackson?
“Back then, if you were a young black man dressed in blue jeans, a leather jacket, wearing sunglasses and asking to see a $2,000 bracelet, it was thought you were going to steal something,” Young said Thursday night from his New York City hotel room. Television coverage of Jackson’s death was audible in the background. The charges were dropped once Jackson’s security guard arrived on the scene and the store owners discovered the identity of their famous customer. “He wasn’t bitter,” said Young, who knew Jackson since he was a child. “He knew it was all a part of the price of fame.” Too high of a price, according to Atlanta-based rapper and author Chuck D. “Our celebrity-driven culture held him up and then tore him down,” he said by phone Thursday. He learned of Jackson’s news while on a flight to Los Angeles. “To see him chased by the paparazzi, lumped in with Paris Hilton, that just made me angry. This man created a standard of excellence. He wasn’t famous just for being famous.” Jack
Jackson, dead at 50, cast a large shadow over the Atlanta music scene — an influence with no peer and a source of many fond childhood memories. News of her brother’s death dominated the Atlanta airwaves Thursday night, even on country stations. “Your heart just sinks when you hear about it,” said 94.9/The Bull deejay Lance Houston. At least four Atlanta radio stations — V-103, Kiss 104.1, Hot 107.9 and Majic 107.5 — dumped their regular playlists Thursday evening and went all Jackson. V-103 morning hosts Wanda Smith and Frank Ski were on air for a Jackson retrospective. Sources: http://www.accessatlanta.com/news/content/entertainment/stories/2009/06/25/Atlanta_celebs_jackson_reax.
