One of the great fantasy fights we'll never get to see is The Brown Bomber Joe Louis (66-3, 52 knockouts) versus Iron Mike Tyson. (50-6, 44 knockouts)  Both guys were the best finishers in heavyweight history. Both guys loved to end things with a hook or uppercut to the chin. Both guys blended tremendous speed and power with frightening accuracy. But what would happen if the young Joe Louis from 1938 clashed in the ring with the peak Mike Tyson from 1988? One thing is for certain..the ending of the fight wouldn't have anything to do with the judges' scorecards.

Even though their styles were totally different, Tyson and Mike had one major thing in common – they are the only heavyweight champions blessed with lightning hand speed AND brutal knockout power in both hands. Generally, boxers are gifted with either great speed or great power. It's rare that a guy gets both. Since Louis and Tyson combined both, they were dangerous, dangerous heavyweights to fight. Both men also put together strings of dynamite punches called combinations. Making things worse for their opponents is that both guys had great punching accuracy...they often hit the intended target perfectly. Neither man ever looked sloppy or wasted a lot of punches during his prime. 

Power is one thing, but the speed of their punches would get you. You literally wouldn't see the knockout punch coming. Even though they went about things differently - Joe preferred to set things up with his jab and patiently wait for the perfect opening, while Mike came right at you and launched thunder, especially when his opponents missed-- these guys almost always put on a great show and left their opponent dazed on the canvas. 

Both men were good from a technical standpoint. Louis was always in position to punch and always had his right hand ready to parry and his left hand ready for a jab or hook. Louis' technical flaws were his “ball and chain” footwork. Louis was not fast on his feet. Granted, he cut the ring down well and walked guys down until he was in range to counter them or attack. Louis only threw a punch if he were a foot and half away from you. He did not like to leap or lunge to land a punch. He always made sure his feet were planted and he was at a close enough distance to land his dynamite.

Louis was knocked out by Max Schmeling because of dropping his left hand after he launched a jab. With his hand low, he was wide open for a right cross or overhand right. Max slammed Louis' jaw with 72 right wallops before he finally KO'd him during their first encounter. Louis improved his defense afterward but when he was injured or surprised, that left hand would drop again. A perfect example of this is when he was propped up against the ropes with his arms dangling, leaving him wide open for Rocky Marciano's Suzy-Q. The punch knocked Louis out of the ring and ended his career.

Marciano and his trainer Charlie Goldman predicted this would happen. Their whole strategy was based around wearing Louis down with the relentless body attacks and when Louis dropped his guard, knock his head off with the right hand. Marciano dropped Louis with a hard left hook in the 8th round, and then finished him with the right.

Like I said, Louis definitely improved his defense after the Schmeling loss, but if hurt bad enough (as he was by Marciano) that left hand would come right down.

It was Jersey Joe Walcott who exposed both of Louis' major faults. With better footwork, Louis would have been able to cut down  the speedy Walcott easier – walking down Walcott without landing anything almost made Louis look foolish. And Walcott was able to drop Louis numerous times in both fights because Louis held his left hand low at times. Can't help but wonder what would happen if Louis leaves himself open this way against Mike Tyson, huh?

Watch the fight clip below. Tami Mauriello takes full advantage of Louis' lazy left and hurts him with a big right hand. Then Louis responds by letting loose with short, tight dynamite artillery. 

​Now for Mike Tyson. Tyson was known for fighting using the “peekaboo” style made famous by Cus D'Amato, who also taught the style to his other fighters such as Floyd Patterson, Jose Torres, and even Kevin Rooney during his brief boxing career. But it was TYSON who had the most success with it.

In my opinion, Floyd Patterson was more diverse with the style and did it better, but Tyson absolutely bulldozed guys with it. Some of Tyson's most effective combinations included a right hook to the ribs followed immediately with a right uppercut to the chin. He also loved to land a right hook to the body and then come upstairs with a knockout left hook to the head. Tyson also fought you in a circle. He'd initially stand right in front of you, but as you miss he'd slip your punch and then he's standing to the side of you attacking your ribs.

It may look as if Tyson is just rushing at you throwing punches, but there was a science to it. And he often threw his bone-crushers when he saw an opening or countering opportunity. He was much like Louis that way, only Tyson scared you into making mistakes while Louis baited you into them or patiently waited.

But the peekaboo has its drawbacks too. Tyson bobbed and weaved in a predictable pattern, always right then left. This made it predictable to know where his head would be. Angelo Dundee and Pinklon Thomas noticed this, which is how Pinklon was able to land his jab on Tyson at will. If Pinklon Thomas could notice and exploit this flaw, no doubt Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis would.

Tyson also fought in spurts. He'd attack his way in and invade your space, but if you clinch him or withstand his assault, he ALWAYS paused to reset himself. When he does this, it's the perfect time to attack him. Joe Frazier and Rocky Marciano swarmed all over you and never let up. Tyson swarmed his way inside but stopped punching while there. This is what made him so easy to be clinched throughout his career. He was not a good inside fighter - after a combination of three or four blows he would stop and wait for a clinch or whatever else his opponent has to offer. Rinse and repeat.

But unlike Louis, Tyson wasn't afraid to leap off the mat to smash his opponent's chin. Tyson took more chances and was generally more aggressive, while Louis saved his aggressive moments for the right time.

It's hard to say who had the harder punch between these two ring warriors. As far as the stats go, Louis' knockout percentage is 75.36%. Tyson's is 75.86%, only a teeny tad higher than Louis.

Tyson dipped and got full leverage for that nasty uppercut of his. Louis, on the other hand, often hit guys with a punch that would make them “freeze” right in their tracks, and that's when Louis would pulverize them with combinations or what I like to call, “The Joe Louis Specials.” Guys would sometimes clinch Tyson after getting rocked, but that rarely happened with Louis. Watch his knockout of Max Schmeling, for example.

You could argue that Tyson hit a little harder than Louis, or you could say Louis hit a little harder than Tyson. Either way it's very close. I was never punched by either man and I don't want to know! But both guys had pure knockout power in both fists. Jim Braddock said that Louis' jab felt like someone smashing a light bulb in your face again and again.

Now, we know that Tyson hit extremely hard because his fights are in color, some even in High Definition. For example, you clearly see him knock the mouthpiece and bridgework out of Mitch "Blood" Green's mouth.

But with Louis' fights all being in black and white and somewhat grainy, it's difficult to judge his power. You see his victims go down, but it's much harder to see the details of the punch. 

Here is a very informative video that shows how brutal Louis' right cross was.  

​​This is also really difficult to decipher. Tyson's hand speed was unreal, but you could say the same about Louis. In fact, watch how fast Louis' hands were when he destroyed Max Baer with that triple left hook. I hesitate to say who was faster between Louis and Tyson. It could easily go either way.

​Louis and Tyson both have reputations for being the best finishers of all time. Once Tyson had his man hurt, it was over within seconds. BUT there have been several guys hurt by Tyson that withstood his attacks and beat him. Tyson briefly hurt Evander Holyfield with a body punch in 1996, (5th round) but didn't jump on him to try to end it. Tyson also failed to knock out Buster Douglas when he floored him with that nasty uppercut.

Joe Louis ALWAYS got the job done. I can only think of two exceptions when he couldn't finish his prey. He hurt his right hand against Tommy Farr, and said in his autobiography that he couldn't throw the finishing haymaker when he need to. In his fight with Ezzard Charles, he said his hands just couldn't get to the target fast enough. This fight happened in 1950 when Louis was far past his best.

​In comparison, Ruddock, Tillis, Green, Holyfield, McBride, Douglas and several others were able to survive at times when Tyson had them hurt.

Tyson generally finished guys quicker than Louis did, but Louis' finishes were gradual. He'd actually be setting you up for the knockout as early as round 1 even if he doesn't deliver it until round 5. Louis had to carry white opponents a few rounds..he only finished guys early if they hurt him (Galento, Baer, etc) or if they were African American. (John Henry Lewis, for example). In his book he said that he tried his best to get Walcott and Charles out of there early but it didn't work out that way.

​As far as accomplishments go, Louis is far greater. Tyson unified the heavyweight titles and is the youngest title holder in history, but lost his legacy fights and shattered his own potential early in his career. Joe Louis' record of 25 consecutive title defenses still stand, and his reign of dominance lasted almost 12 years.

Both guys are monsters head to head, but I think Louis would do better in this era against the modern giants than Tyson would. Louis routinely destroyed giants like Buddy Baer, Primo Carnera, etc. Tyson, on the other hand, often beat bigger men in his prime but struggled more to do so, often failing to knock them out.

Consider this also. Tyson would likely demolish the guys that Louis fought and might even look even more impressive than Louis did. If Mike kept his head on straight and fought as consistently as Louis did, do you think it's possible that he would have 25 title defenses in that era? That's something to think about.

I'm a big fan of both guys but if they fought I think Tyson would destroy Louis early. Louis said he hated to be crowded, and although he was old against Marciano, I think Marciano would still have a style advantage, as would Tyson. Louis never fought anyone like Tyson before...the closest opponents he fought to Tyson were Marciano and Arturo Godoy. (Godoy made Louis real uncomfortable by always ducking at him). Louis would have to catch Tyson as he charged in, which would be incredibly difficult given Tyson's head movement and fast attack.


Louis in his prime was a small heavyweight, weighing between 198 and 205 pounds. The older, post-World War II Louis that fought Charles and Marciano was around 212 pounds, but would be too slow and old to last with Tyson. Louis had a good chin but was dropped by guys who were basically light heavyweights like Braddock, Schmeling, Walcott, etc. But again, he also successfully absorbed bombs from Tony Galento, Max Baer, and other notorious bangers. So you never quite know. 

Tyson definitely had a solid chin. He was knocked out more than Louis, but each time he was stopped it was late in the fight. Tyson could definitely take a beating.

Given Tyson's head movement and speed of hand, I don't think Louis would know what hit him. Kid Dynamite was a beast from another generation..a new breed of heavyweight.

IF Louis survived Tyson's early blitz, he could then become the ring general and use his jab and counters to break him down and take him out late. I could see Louis defeating Mike with the same strategy used by Lennox Lewis.

But honestly I don't see Louis making it past two rounds. Louis is the greater fighter here, but that doesn't automatically mean he beats Tyson.

​While I was talking to the man in the car, I noticed a pizza delivery car driving up to the same apartment complex. The delivery guy got out of his car and knocked on one of the apartment doors. The man in the car had just driven off when I was on my way back to my squad car. I was just about to open the door when I heard shouts and then a gunshot. I turned and saw the pizza guy laid out on the ground and saw two guys running away at full speed.

I drew my gun. "FREEZE, SCUMBAGS!!" I know in hindsight that calling them "scumbags" wasn't necessary but I was caught up in the moment. I called for backup on my radio and hurried over to the pizza guy. He was struggling to move and there was blood spurting from his mouth like a fountain. I crouched down to him. He was trying to talk to me. "I'm....I'm scared."

"Don't move! It'll be OK. I'll be right back," I told him and took off. He looked so frightened. I'll never get the image of his scared face out of my mind. As I ran off after the suspects, I heard him whisper, "Don't go." It turned out to be the last thing he'd ever say, and I felt horrible for abandoning him.

But my night was about to get worse. I stuck to the shadows with my gun drawn and checked the perimeters of the building. Suddenly I heard a woman's scream. I looked and saw one of the suspects struggling with a young woman near a running car. He was trying to steal her car but she was resisting.

I had my gun aimed right at the man. I was just about to yell "Freeze" when I was suddenly tackled from behind. As I went down, my finger slipped and pulled the trigger. I heard the shot ring out before I hit the ground with a big thud. I had been ambushed by the other suspect. He pounced on me and we struggled. Everything happened in slow motion. I remember him drawing his fist back for a punch and I knew what was coming but I couldn't do anything about it.

POW!!! Everything glazed over. I was losing consciousness but heard his partner yelling something like "Come on man! Let's go!" As the guy climbed off of me I had enough wits to grab his ankle and trip him. Down he went, and I immediately cuffed him while he was down. When I got up, I didn't see the other man and woman that were fighting near the car, but I did see a pool of blood and the shadow of a body laying on the other side of the car. I limped over and my heart sank. "No, no. Just no."

It was the woman laying on the ground. Her eyes were wide open staring right at me. I had accidentally shot her when I got tackled down. She had a look of shock on her face. And then it got worse...she was pregnant. Her belly was big. She had to be around 8 or 9 months.

I felt my eyes get wide and water up. Everything just froze right there. It felt like she was staring at me for 20 minutes. Then I felt a sharp pain in the side of my stomach that burned like fire. I went sprawling background and hit the ground. I panicked when I realized I had been shot. I was wearing a bulletproof vest, but I could feel the pain so well. I remember feeling that it didn't work.

I heard police sirens in the background. At first they were distant, then they started getting louder and louder. I touched the wound and looked at my hand. Blood. And lots of it. All over my fingers. This was it. I'm dying. I thought about my boyfriend....then my parents and my sister. What would they do without me? I had so many plans - marriage, children, vacations.. I had so much to look forward to, and now I was about to die. Gone forever. My eyes filled with tears and I struggled to breathe. As I faded out while looking at the night sky, I felt one of my supervisors, Sargent Edwards, trying to lift me up. "Stay with me, Joan!! Joan!! Can you hear me!!! Joan!!" His voice faded out more and more until I wasn't conscious anymore.

Everyone remembers the The Jacksons Victory Tour. The Don King-promoted tour was the last tour by The Jackson brothers. But why don't we hear much about the Victory album? There were several reasons why the album didn't do as well as it should have. Here, I'll dive into the music itself and why the album was not the smash people expected. Well, here is the primary reason. Yep, the man singing to himself in the mirror in the picture below.
​

But the lack of Michael is not entirely a bad thing . Ever wonder how talented the other brothers were on their own? This is what makes the album very revealing.

Jackie is probably the most passionate songwriter in the group right under Michael and it shows on how strong his songs are. He co-wrote Torture and composed the song Wait, both of which are strong album openers.

Randy's solo contribution to the album is One More Chance, which is a very memorable ballad full of pretty synths and background vocals. Little sister Janet later covered the song.

We Can Change The World is Tito's chance to shine. It's a tough song, but very much of its time.

The Hurt is a good song piloted by Randy, but he was the wrong brother to sing it. It should have been sang by Michael, or at least Jermaine or Jackie. Hell, I almost think their father Joseph could have sang it better. I understand that Randy wanted to maintain that ethereal, whispery Jackson sound, but he can't pull off a good falsetto cry like Michael. This was a missed opportunity.

Body is the Marlon Jackson version of Wanna Be Startin Somethin. It's a decent enough song, but it's great to see him try. He doesn't necessarily disappoint, but when you're on the same album as your brother Michael, you're automatically gonna get compared. This makes Marlon's effort dead on arrival.

The videos are quite strange. Torture is the best, despite the absence of Jermaine and Michael. The song actually told a decent, sinister story despite the lead singers of the song being absent.

The video for Body? Eh, the less said about it, the better.

​State Of Shock was the album's biggest hit, but it was never performed on the tour and there was not a video filmed. Michael was only going through the motions here to get his family off his back. Soon after the tour wrapped in December 1984, Michael co-wrote We Are The World with Lionel Richie, then got to work on Captain Eo for Disney.

​The Victory album has become almost a footnote in the Jacksons legacy, but the album is not terrible.​

Falsetto is a very popular tool, especially in soul music. Legends from Marvin Gaye to Prince to Michael Jackson have among the most recognizable falsetto voices in music history. 

Every man has the ability to pull off a falsetto, which is a manipulation of the vocal cords to expand your vocal range. 

But in this era, it is not considered "masculine" to use this part of the human voice. This is a real shame, because some of the best male singers in history (Freddie Mercury, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, etc) were known for their high soaring vocals.

In 2002, there were four major questions before Justin Timberlake dropped his first solo album, Justified.

1. Could he make it without his N'Sync buddies?
2. Could he succeed in his attempts to create true R&B grooves?
3. Could he nail almost an entire album using the airy falsetto sound, a technique he rarely attempted with N'Sync?

     4. Was he still crying over Britney? 

That last one is a half joke, but was a real concern to some people at the time, believe it or not. Ahh, good ole' 2002. 

I'll briefly review my favorite Justified tracks, but I will first go on record as saying that I've always had a soft spot for this album.

The reason? It sounds like the 2002 version of Michael Jackson's classic Off The Wall album. A 21 year-old Michael Jackson released Off The Wall in August 1979 and it generated several hits including “Don't Stop Til You Get Enough,” “Rock With You,” “Off The Wall” “Girlfriend” and “She's Out Of My Life.”


Just as Justin was taking big risks with Justified, Michael was doing the same thing when he recorded Off The Wall. He was experimenting with his songwriting and attempting to create his own sound, one that was different from the sound he had with his brothers, The Jacksons. All of the Michael Jackson trademarks we eventually came to know and love (the hiccups, the falsetto, the growling) all came to the forefront on this album.

​With Quincy Jones producing the project and songs written by Michael, Rod Temperton, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder and Tom Bahler, Off The Wall had no chance of losing.

Despite this, Off The Wall was Michael's first adult solo album and his teenage solo albums at Motown didn't do well. A lot was on the line here. Looking back at it now, I can't see Off The Wall being a failure. But back then, it looked like somewhat of a possibility, especially considering Michael's one attempt at becoming a movie star failing with The Wiz just two years prior.

The influence of Michael's sound is all over Justin's album. The lush grooves and melodies of the songs strongly recall the sound of the Off The Wall album, and, just as Michael did, Justin developed a habit of sliding his voice into a crying falsetto over the instrumentation.

As I alluded to earlier, falsetto is considered a real crack in masculinity. But the good news is that a lot of women are attracted to that form of vulnerability, which is why Smokey Robinson and Prince could seduce basically any woman they wanted. A  good falsetto vocal could express a wail of hurt that a baritone never could. It's amazing how such a soft and quiet voice generates real power with women and record sales. 

Michael used the falsetto sometimes throughout his career, (Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Butterflies) but Justin took this one part of Michael's sound and expanded on it, using it twice as much as his moonwalking idol.

Michael used to layer his background vocals, which resulted in him sounding like a small choir of twin brothers, some with higher and lower voices. Throughout the album, Justin delicately stacks his background harmonies the same way.

Quincy used his "Killer Q Posse" to record Off The Wall. The Killer Q' Posse consisted of John "JR" Robinson on drums, Louis Johnson on Bass, Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, Bruce Swedien as the engineer and Rod Temperton as the head songwriter. The Neptunes used the digital technology available to them to record the Justified songs, but they still played real instruments enough to give the songs an authentic funk feel that I'll elaborate more on later.

Justin and the Neptunes had been listening to Off The Wall and Thriller very carefully. They understood the Michael Jackson sound of those albums.

I also have to point out that the Neptunes originally wrote some of these songs with Michael Jackson in mind, but his then-manager rejected them, so the songs instead were recorded by Justin and Usher.

​
​Senorita:

A brilliant hybrid of latin and funk soul, punctuated by Pharell Williams' live drumming and the use of a live trombone. The melodic melody to the bridge of the song (“When I look into your eyes, I see something that money can't buy...) is a real play out of the Rod Temperton songbook. The falsetto harmonies during that part strongly recall Michael Jackson. 

Like I Love You:

The album's lead single. It's a standard catchy pop tune. Again, Pharrell adds some real funk to the track by playing live drums, and the song is driven by guitar. The grooves of the song may stay with you when it's over. But again, it's those Michael Jackson influences that make it stand out. Justin explodes into his “Michael Jackson” voice during the bridge. “I JUST WANNA LOVE YA, BABEH!!" Justin also incorporated Jackson-esque harmonies as his background vocals.


Last Night:


While Justin showed the Jackson influences in spurts on the previous songs I mentioned, he went all-out on this one. I could so easily hear Michael singing this song. “Remember girl when I was your maaan.”  The Michael-Meter is exploding here. There's nothing bad I can say about this track. It's one of my favorites.


Cry Me A River:

The Neptunes produced the majority of the tracks on the album, but it was Timbaland who was behind the boards for Justified's biggest hit, “Cry Me A River.” It's a dark track, haunted by Timbaland's thumping beat and beat-boxing. Legend has it that this song was written about a certain lady named Britney Spears. Certainly, this song was a hint of what was to come on Justin's future albums, as he and Timbland would collaborate almost frequently and this overall sound became more of a focus.


Rock Your Body

This was one of the Neptunes-penned songs that was supposed to go to Michael Jackson for his “Invincible” album but instead wound up here. It's another song that strongly mimics the post-disco sound and melodies of an Off The Wall era song. I initially liked it, but it got overplayed. However, here is a great recording of Pharrell teaching Justin the bridge of the song.

 
Disclaimer: No, I did NOT get my ass beat while reporting! This pitiful picture was just a way to reel you in. It worked. You're here!!  LOL. 

Ahem. OK. Now on to the blog.


"How you doing? I'm A.J. Dugger, lead writer for High Ground News.”

Source stares at me hard. “Are you a real reporter?”

This conversation has unfortunately happened before. There are people who initially don't believe that there's a young black man with dreadlocks working as a professional journalist ready to interview them.

To quickly move past their skepticism, I whip out my phone and play brief clips of my TV appearances as a crime analyst on the crime series, “For My Man.” Then I show him/her the High Ground News website and also my personal website which features information on the books I've written, my celebrity interviews, awards, etc. After about a minute of showing these impressive credentials, the source is generally sold and we at last have our interview. Now they're suddenly DELIGHTED to talk to me.

While witnessing white reporters in action, I've rarely seen them have to "prove" themselves as real journalists. Hmmmm........

Since graduating from college 10 years ago, I've come a long, long way in journalism, and I've accomplished many of my goals. From the outside looking in, people are like, "DAMN, AJ! You getting famous on us! Don't forget the little people!"

But what people DON'T see is the hard, hard work that goes into it, and the horrible people and prejudices that attempt to get in your way. People don't see the blatant racism, stereotyping and almost countless setbacks I've had to endure over the years. There's a lot of ugly I won't discuss here, but I'm willing to share a few stories and give you some insight on being an African American journalist. However, these are MY experiences. I can't speak for other black journalists.

Being a reporter is a tough enough job. First off, it's hard to GET a journalism job with the decline of newspapers, ads, etc. Then, there are those who don't like the press, and there are also those that don't like black people.  How do I overcome this every day?

​
​Personality is everything. I always aim to be professional, but I can't help but be myself. And who am I? Friendly, cocky and fun!! And the producers of the TV-One Crime Series For My Man LOVE that about me!

I've already written about how I got the job as a crime analyst on that show. For My Man is a crime series, and in most of the stories, (but not all) someone is brutally murdered. To be honest, they're horror stories because they're real crimes.

However, I during my first time on the show, I made an impact. I stayed on the fine line between being a pro and being a clown. I cracked jokes, I winked, and I surprised everyone by doing my “Mufasa Voice.” They loved it so much that they left in some of my antics. They told me that my presence lightened the tone of the episode. They told me they'd call me back for future episodes. A few months after my episode aired, I got the call. They called me back for TWO more episodes! Yeeeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh!!!!
​

With the exception of Thriller, Michael Jackson's biggest visual masterpiece was Moonwalker, a music video anthology with a loose plot about Jackson saving the world (and three homeless children) from a drug dealing maniac played by a screeching Joe Pesci.
​
Moonwalker was my favorite movie as a kid and to this day I never get tired of watching it. It isn't meant to be taken seriously as a movie; just another vehicle to showcase the talent and magic of Michael Jackson during his prime. So, come “rock with me” as we enjoy the bumpy thrill-ride that is Moonwalker.

The movie begins with blaring synthesizers and the movie logo shown over an endless crowd of Jackson fanatics as he begins performing one of his biggest hits, Man In The Mirror. This footage was taken from performances during his BAD world tour from 1987-89, and Michael was certainly in his prime here. What I don't like about watching Michael Jackson performances during this time were the constant fan reaction shots. With every spin, every grunt, every crotch grab, etc, the camera zooms right in on fan reactions. People were passing out left and right. Not just young teenage girls, but grown men, too. Michael had that kind of power over people in his time. During their time, Elvis Presley and The Beatles had the girls swooning too, but this was something else. And in lots of different countries.
​
The movie then transitions into animations and brief music video snippets of Jackson's long career up to that time. There's Jackson 5 footage, leading up to Jackson's more recent successes with Off The Wall and Thriller. But when we finally get around to the BAD video, we see the video being re-enacted by children, led by a snarling Brandon Adams as Michael, and R&B singing group “The Boyz” playing the "menacing" Wesley Jones gang from the original video. This was all in good fun, and Adams certainly had the moves down.

After the performance is over, MJ and his guards are walking in the basement of the subway and MJ scoffs when his bodyguard says that his pet monkey, Bubbles, is wearing a PRINCE t-shirt. I am honestly surprised that there is a Prince reference in this film. MJ and Prince were musical rivals at the time, but rarely mentioned each other in public.

Emerging through a random fog outside, MJ and his posse have returned to their normal adult selves. Michael was sporting his black, leather-clad and buckled outfit from the BAD video.

I have to point out that by this time, MJ no longer resembled the same guy we saw in the “Thriller” video a few years prior. Sure enough he had the same whispery voice and mannerisms, but there was also new self-confidence, a new nose, a noticeably brighter skin shade (around this time, his skin disease was beginning to reveal itself) and his jheri curl had grown into a long, wavy mullet shag. But the fans on a nearby tour bus (much like his real life fanatics) didn't give a damn. It wasn't long before the King of Pop was spotted. “MICHAEL JACKSONNNNNNNN!!!!” a young boy shouts out. Those two words ignited a frenzy and everyone on the bus ran out to chase our giggling star.

The chase leads to Michael hiding in a costume store and picking out (of all things) a BUNNY WABBIT costume?!!? The same guy who transformed into a bloodthirsty “werecat” creature and dancing zombie in Thriller decided to bypass the scary costumes and went for the bunny wabbit? You'd think he'd try to scare his stalkers. Sometimes I can't figure Michael out..

Anyway, he casually strolls out of the costume store and the authorities fall for the disguise, one even saying, “It's just a stupid rabbit!”

Before leaving, Michael gets their attention with a whistle and then taunts them by doing some of his signature dance steps before hopping on a bicycle and speeding off. (I still can't figure Michael out. He must have enjoyed the thrill of a chase. This would have been his chance to get away peacefully and quietly).​

The chase continues as his bicycle instantly transforms into a motorcycle and we segue into a music video for the underrated Michael Jackson song Speed Demon, which fits in with the narrative. Not long after a brief cameo by Pee-Wee Herman (who was also at the height of his fame at the time) Michael gets his obsessive fans arrested by a giant police officer for speeding.
​
Afterward, Michael arrives at a concluded area near a cliff and attempts to abandon his bunny wabbit suit there, only for it to spring to life and challenge Michael to a dance-off. This was a fun exchange, with the bunny (Spike) matching Michael move for move until Michael does a spin effect that makes Spike's eyes bulge in surprise. But Michael can't celebrate his victory for long because he is harassed by a cop who points to a sign that says this.

Michael whimpers something about dancing with Spike, who has now vanished, leaving it to look as if Michael was just crazy and dancing by himself in a secluded area. Instead of demanding a ticket, the cop demands an autograph instead. When the cop leaves, Spike's big head emerges from the nearby mountain, getting a big warm smile from Michael.

Now the actual “movie” part of the movie rolls in. Three homeless children, Sean (Sean Lennon, real life son of John and Yoko Ono) Katie (Kelley Parker) and Zeke (Brandon Adams, who appeared in the BAD remake earlier) are spying on Michael from the rooftops as he emerges from his town house. I honestly don't know the purpose of this part, as Michael kind of poses around doing his best to look pretty. Vanity moment, perhaps?​

A shooting star then whizzes by (a concept we'll see throughout the film) and Jackson's spidey sense is tingling. The look on his face resembles 2Pac flashbacks as he is apparently gunned down by a group of foot soldiers led by Joe Pesci, known as “Mr. Big” in the film.

But before Mr. Big can brag, he realizes that there is no bloody corpse laying on the ground full of pancake makeup...only the shot-up remains of Michael's fancy cashmere coat. The thing was covered in bullet holes. These guys REALLY wanted Michael dead for some reason. Next thing you know, we witness Jackson's shadow sprinting in the distance and see him running for his life, his face full of fright and pretty.​

We have a flashback to a recent time when Michael was playing with the three kids and their goofy dog, Skipper. Suddenly, Skipper grabs their soccer ball and takes off into the deep woods somewhere. Michael, being braver than I'd imagine, was curious about what was in the area so he and Katie decided to explore and look for their pup. At one point they come across a hidden door with a huge tarantula doorbell. Katie tries to pull away, but MJ gently forces her to come inside with him. Without mentioning names, I will say that someone was too afraid to go in there on his own, I see.

Once inside the spider-infested lair, we discover Mr. Big screeching about how he wants to take over the world and get children everywhere high on drugs so he can make a fortune. He has an obsession with spiders, so maybe he was going to use them as his enforcers? The plot didn't explore this. Anyway, a tarantula crawls on Katie, she screams and gives away their hiding spot, and Mr. Big points and yells “DEAD!!! DEAD!!! DEAD!!!” MJ and poor Katie are marked for dead, obviously.

This brings us back to the present where Michael is again being chased. The visuals of MJ sprinting in the shadows throughout the smoke and buildings is actually pretty cool, especially with the foot soldiers shining their bright flashlights everywhere. However, Mr. Big's high pitched screeching voice is constantly barking orders at his crew. And with Katie constantly screaming “MICHAEL!!” at him from the rooftops, I am seriously surprised that she didn't give away his location to the bad guys.

After MJ was somehow able to outrun slobbering, booty-munching Dobermann Pinschers, he found himself backed into an alley with no escape. That shooting star whizzes by again. Although he makes a face as if he needs to have the explosive bowel movement of a lifetime, Michael instead squats and transforms into a car. (Yes, you read that right).

"Turbo Michael" as I call him in car form, easily out-speeds his pursuers. In the meantime, Katie has reunited with Zeke and Sean at a haunted, abandoned jazz club called Club '30s.

The trio hide outside the club when they hear a car pull up. Katie goes into a trance when she sees the shadow of the car transform into Michael. Michael enters the club and everyone stops and stares. Evidently, Michael has gone back into time. The men are decked out in zoot suits, while the women are also dressed according to the 1930s. One person slowly grabs a gun (Why does everyone want to shoot Michael in this movie?) Another person whispers “Watch him.” The room is quiet and everyone keeps staring at our hero. Is this because Michael is a black man in a club in the racist 1930s? Well, I guess not considering there are other black people there, as well as an Asian woman who appears to run the place and subtly stalks Michael throughout the segment. (Seriously, she's always somewhere following and watching in the distance). Michael threatened a dance move (He didn't learn his lesson after almost getting arrested earlier) and then flips a coin into the juke box, which starts his new single at the time, the sinister, bass-driven Smooth Criminal.
​
Throughout this segment, Michael escapes an ass-whooping after blowing pool-ball dust in an on-looker's face, and blows another man away with a gun upstairs. The dance routines just get better and better, only momentarily interrupted by a random orgy with no sex. I guess they were attempting to resurrect Annie? I don't know, but I do know I don't wanna spend too much time talking about it.

The party is interrupted when Mr. Big's soldiers arrive with their guns. Mr. Big kidnaps Katie, and MJ for some reason shoots up the club with a machine gun. Of course he is immediately ejected from the building for attempted murder, only to run into a frantic Zeke and Sean. The camera zooms in on Michael's face as he boldly says, "We'll see what I can do....we'll see." His eyeliner, makeup, frail body and small voice betrays any hope of Michael portraying a tough guy, but I like that he gave it his best shot. It's still damn funny, though.

A trap door separates Michael from his young friends and he is soon cornered by Mr. Big's cronies. Mr. Big arrives holding on to Katie and tries to inject her with drugs. Michael again tries his damnest to be a tough guy. But he is swiftly beaten up by one of the foot soldiers. 

Michael summons up all of his vocal strength and yells out, "LEAVE HER ALONE!!" in a man-child cry so strong that it shatters glass lights and gets everyone to slowly back off, including those booty-munching dogs from earlier in the movie.

The sky now begins to resemble the one in a Ghostbusters movie, but as Michael sits up he begins to undergo another Thriller-esque transformation.

He slowly transforms into a robot and blasts away all of Mr. Big's warriors. Mr. Big, being the only somewhat clever evil character here, escapes into some big control room hidden in the mountains. As he makes his escape, "RoboMJ" transforms into a futuristic airplane of some sort. The airplane has a brief battle with Mr. Big and then blows him to smithereens. 

Long story short, Michael disappears from earth for a while but is "summoned" by Katie's lucky star she found on the ground. Michael returns to the children giving hugs and love, and then takes them backstage to a concert where he'll be performing. There, the foursome are reunited with that damn dog Skipper (who NEVER returned their soccer ball, mind you) and Michael goes on stage to perform his dazzling rendition of The Beatles' hit song, Come Together, full of epic crotch shots and pelvic thrusts. 

From there we get to the ending credits, which is another personal highlight for me. Ladysmith Black Mambazo have to be the hippest, most soulful old men on the planet. They don't even need music to make you dance. I used to beg my granddaddies to join these guys but they sadly never did. Anyway, leave it to Michael to leave you entertained during the end credits.

​Michael Jackson will always be one of my heroes. I will not speak on whatever personal problems he had, but the man was a creative genius. The songwriting, the dancing, the singing, the flash, the style, the clothes, everything. He was what a true superstar should be. And during this time, how the hell could you NOT be a Michael Jackson fan?

Having said that, this isn't a movie to take seriously. I don't think he was going for an Oscar or anything. This was just a chance for us to see him doing the things that he did best. And this was also one of the last times we saw a fun, almost carefree version of Michael. His later appearance on The Simpsons was probably the the last time he ever mocked himself and showed his "fun" side. After 1993, things went downhill fast, but one look at Moonwalker shows how amazing this man was.

9 out of 11 of the BAD songs are featured throughout Moonwalker. BAD was released when I was almost two years old, so it (and Dangerous) were the albums I grew up with. Moowalker and the music from the BAD album are nostalgic for me. This was the Michael Jackson I constantly mimicked when I was a kid.

And hey, it's still a fun movie to watch and highly entertaining all of these decades later. Could Beyonce, Kayne West or Chris Brown put together something as fun as this? You tell me...

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom." Those legendary words from Mufasa's booming baritone were spoken yet again in 2019, but this time with a more gentle, soft spoken touch. That is one of the new things to expect in the new Lion King live-action remake.

I'll keep this short and sweet. My wife and I saw it a few hours ago and enjoyed it. But here are a few things to expect...

Predictably, with Beyonce and Childish Gambino playing the adult Nala and Simba, you already knew the singing was going to be twice as soulful as the original 1994 version. Beyonce began riffing with her first note. They didn't over-sing as much as you'd think, but you can't help but notice the ad-libs. 

Modern slang is added to the dialog, including phrases like, "I got this."

A new scene is added to the story.

As I hinted at earlier, James Earl Jones' voice has certainly grown weaker as he aged. Mufasa's voice is still deep, to be sure, but lacks the BOOM and presence of 1994. As a result, Mufasa's character seems a bit more passive and less authoritative this time. James Earl Jones is 88 years old now, and is (to my knowledge) the only person from the original cast present in the reboot. 

Lead Hyena Shenzi is given more screen-time this time around and shows much more menace. You could argue that she's even more dangerous than Scar, and she's far less submissive to him than in the original. She's a horrible villain in her own right. (Whoopi Goldberg played Shenzi originally. This time the character is voiced by Florence Kasumba).

While Shenzi's role was elevated this time, Rafiki''s role was reduced noticeably. 

The CGI was actually pretty decent in my opinion. People have complained about the "lack of emotion" from the CGI animals. Of course lions can't smile or anything, so this was to be expected. At times their expressions were blank, but in key emotional scenes, their faces had great reactions. 

Overall I enjoyed it, and aside from the few things I mentioned here, there isn't much to say. Of course nothing will top the original. The Lion King is like The Wizard of Oz of my generation. No reboots, sequels or add-ons will come close to capturing the magic of that 1994 Disney Masterpiece. The story flowed pretty well, and even the small amount of people who may see this one first before the original will be able to understand the story easily. In this writer's opinion, it's definitely worth checking out.

​“Cocky.” “Upbeat.” “Enthusiastic.” Those are words that perfectly describe A.J. Dugger at age 18 back in 2004. I was starting college and itching to enjoy my first taste of freedom and independence from my family. I left Memphis and lived in a dorm at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. My hair was freshly braided, I had swag, (oh yes, I did) and I was fearless. If I saw a woman I liked, I wasn't afraid to wink at her, or strut right up to her and use my charm to catch her attention. Like many teenagers on their own for the first time, I was bold and absolutely full of myself.

​But by the time I turned 33, being an adult had worn on me. You go through several hardships in life that can leave you jaded and discouraged. Making things worse was that the career I was so used to (journalism) has been dying a slow and painful death.

Oh, for no real reason, watch me dance!!! 
​

2007. Oh, the good ole' days when my dreads were babies.

Anyway, anyone can start their own blog or website and hire people to write for them as “reporters.” There are bloggers who don't know a thing about journalism but write online pieces regularly. This, and the decline of newspapers and ads, have hurt journalists a great deal. Each time I applied for a new journalism job, I got the same result: “We love your resume. It's real strong. We'd love to have you on our team. Unfortunately we can only pay per article and it's $25 a story.”

Some places pay $50, and occasionally I'd hear $75. But that isn't enough to pay the bills, obviously. All of the writing, researching and interviewing journalists do....for only $25 an article? That is beyond ridiculous. If you're in the later stages of college or just getting your feet wet as a journalist, then these freelance gigs will cushion your resume and prove useful. After all, it is experience. But for someone like me, who has written books and done so much in this field, that chump change will never do. Nope, nope.

So I had to work other jobs full-time, and spent some years working at social work jobs for people with physical and mental disabilities. I also worked in education as a preschool teacher. I had a lot of fun doing this but it's not my calling. For several years I was just coasting through life, punching the clock and stressing out over bills like every other miserable adult. I had my highlights – I got married in 2017, and wound up being featured on an episode of the popular crime show “For My Man” on TV-One. Although it was great exposure and I was a natural, it didn't excite me the way it would have if I were younger. I basically considered myself retired from journalism.

One day a few weeks ago, my mother texted me a letter I wrote to my parents when I was 18, very early into my first semester at APSU.  

NOTE: I was dating a girl named Monica at the time, hence her reference in the letter.

​Let's face it. I was corny as hell. But at the same time, I was cool as hell, and at that particular time, I let nothing hold me back or stop me from reaching my goals. In the end, I accomplished everything I set out to do...I graduated from APSU in 2009, got a journalism job, and got married. But you know how life is...there are bumps along the way that pop up unexpectedly and disrupt your joy. 10 years later, the 28 year-old me was still fun, but not as outgoing. That evolved into the 33 year-old me, which was pessimistic and always expecting the worse.

But reading that letter woke me up. The 18 year-old me would despise the uninspired 33 year-old version of me. That cocky 18 year-old would be greatly disappointed. He would be ashamed of becoming a man just coasting through life with no real goal or purpose. I decided that I wouldn't let that 18 year-old down, and decided to become “that guy” again.

That very night, I decided to re-publish my old journalism page on Facebook. I started sharing things online again; not just my old journalism articles and interviews but also asking for opinions on other random topics. I was starting good conversations, and within days my followers began to increase. I already had a pretty big audience. (Years ago whenever I'd interview a celebrity, his or her audience would in turn become my audience. “Oh, this AJ dude is pretty funny. And he talks about cool stuff. I'll follow him, too.”) But as the days went by, my numbers began to go up much higher. The same happened on Twitter, a website I had virtually abandoned.

I had some posts that damn near went viral, particularly when I shared my appearance on the TV-One show, For My Man. It was shared by a lot of people, and soon (about a day or two later) I got a Facebook message from one of the producers asking me to make another appearance.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It gets better. A day before I got there, they told me to bring a change of clothes because I'd be appearing on TWO episodes and they were DOUBLING my pay.

I'll say it again...

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But wait. There's more. My wife and I went to Knoxville last weekend to celebrate not just my TV spots and our two-year wedding anniversary, but my new job. In the midst of my social media blitz (That rhymes!) I was hired by a Memphis online newspaper called Higher Ground News. I've been selected to cover community news – local businesses, human interest stories, events, etc) so I won't be covering crime, politics or anything like that. (I got burned out on that stuff in my other journalism work). I'm also only doing 5 articles a week so I can work from home primarily (aside from going out for interviews and media coverage).

And we'll be moving back to the MEMPHIS area! It'll be nice to be near our families again. I of course give thanks to The Man Upstairs, but I also wish I could go back in time to thank the 18 year-old A.J. Dugger from 2004. I owe him big-time. He and he alone inspired my recent success.

So, A.J., The Duggerman from 2004 dancing around at Austin Peay, I thank you.

Sincerely,

Your future 33 year-old self. “Mr. TV-One.”

“Alerts From The Grave” --- A porn star receives text messages and emails from her dead husband. 

“The Dark Road.” --- A sibling rivalry is put to an end when two sisters endure a night of pure terror in the woods. 

“The Magician And The Beast.”--- A unique animal is the attraction for a sinister traveling magician. 

“Giggling in the dark.” --- A young couple hears weird laughter and noises coming from their basement.. 

“The Power Of The Punch.” --- A struggling female boxer is given breast implants that give her the strength of three men. But everything has a price... 

“Last Thoughts.” --- A womanizing politician is killed by his wife over and over in an endless loop; each death more brutal than the last. 

“7 pm.” --- After almost dying in a street fight, a young drug dealer struggles to get his life and family back on track. But can he? 

“Dirty Underwear.” --- A necrophiliac mortician gets a taste of her own medicine... 

“Mail-Order Bride.”  – A lonely old man finds a beautiful bride online, but he soon regrets his choice. 

“The Intruder.” --- A family is fighting for their lives against an intruder who may be a bigger threat than they think. 

"The Special Child." --- A youth counselor is concerned about a foreign child who has gotten everyone sick. 

“The Scarecrow.” – A young reporter's first news assignment is to write an article about a scarecrow that walks at night. ​