James+Brown

James Brown James Brown has always been an icon of mine. He was able to knock the entire USA population off its feet with a talent no one had seen before. He was a historic imprint that lasted through though the years as an inspiration. I was drawn to him by the similarities I had with him and yet, how different we are at the same time. Brown was a famous performer while I’m just an average kid. He and I do, however, have some similarities. We are just like everyone else in the world, individually different, but with subtle similarities. Brown and I are similar in the fact that we affect everyone around us. Brown was so famous that he would be recognized by anyone he met and everyone wanted to be like him. When people saw him they would act like they were seeing one of the eight wonders of the world, and in some ways Brown was a wonder in his own right. I affect people in a slightly different way. I may not have the same kind of fame that Brown had, but I influence people in a different way. Since I was very young I have had a very unique aspect of the world around me, and when I share my ideas with the others around me, it makes them stop and think about how this way of seeing things may seem to them. Like Brown, I’m able shine a new light on the people around me and give them something they can really sink their teeth into. Death. We have all experienced it and wished it could be prevented. Brown and I have both seen some important people in our lives die. I never really got to know my great-uncle Howard, and I guess I never really appreciated him until he was already gone. He had defended our country in World War 2 and was never mentioned by anyone but my family. Brown lost someone we all remember; it was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement. Brown stood up for the rights that black people deserved, and he was on of the many people in the U.S. who had to deal with his death so abruptly. We both suffered great lose in our time, but we have endured and we will stand for what we believe in, whether our intentions aren’t always the best. Brown and I grew up in very different environments, which probably why our ways of handling problems are so different. I admit, Brown and I both have a bit of a temper, but it is the way that we deal with that anger that singles us out. Brown was a very hotheaded person, and since he grew up in such bad conditions he has been known to hit first ask questions later. I deal with anger by bottling up my emotions and releasing it in high concentrations in a controlled environment. Brown lived a very poor life as a child and had to gamble and steal just to get by. This gave him a strong perception of the world around him. I, on the other hand, wasn’t exposed to any kind of resentment toward other until middle school. This gave me time to see the hospitality that people are able to show. Although I may not seem like it, I’m more like James Brown than people let on.  I am very enthusiastic about Brown’s work, but sometimes I ask myself, “Why was I so awed by such an angry, violent person?” Then I tell myself, “This ‘violent person’ stunned thousands and showed the world just how powerful music can truly be.” Brown was one of the musicians in the ‘60s that understood the troubles of others while he unleashed a brand of music no one at that time had seen before; funk. When I see such an influential person in full swing, I understand that I have a lot to learn from those who may be overlooked. By:Leo Berman

   Bibliography: "Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 60." //Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 60//. 2007. //http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC//. Web. 19 Nov. 2009.