Amid the Madness at the Apollo’s Michael Jackson Tribute

Harlem’s 125th Street has always moved with it’s own infectious beat as it balances the intense culture and history (The Apollo Theater, Sylvia’s) with the vulgar street commerce.  So it was at today’s tribute to the King of Pop, where hundreds gathered on the north side of the street to remember Michael Jackson and his musical legacy, while fifty feet away vendors lined the south side of the block, their tables overflowing with hastily designed t-shirts, posters, buttons, mugs, mix CD’s, what have you.  “Michael Jackson!  Ed Hardy!  Get it here!” Under normal circumstances, and with most other public figures it might have come off as especially crass.  But Michael Jackson never strove to be anything but the greatest-selling mass appeal musical artist of all time, so the mingling of commercialism and genuine grief seemed befitting.

But enough of all that noise.  To the north side of the street!

We found Adrienne (27)  near the front of the line rocking her vinyl “Thriller” single and official Michael Jackson At The Grammy’s action figure.  She opted to skip work to say her goodbyes.  “My boss will get over it.”  She is probably the only person in America who still has the glove for her MJ doll and she should be commended.

Self-proclaimed biggest fan Naima (20) has been die-hard since the release of “Bad”.  Of the ceremony itself: “I hope they do a good job with it.  I hope they show his dance moves, his feet, his white glove. Him on stage, when he was so real. I hope he can dance in Heaven.” (Ooh! Dance off in Heaven with Pina Bausch! Get your tickets now!)

The good vibes, however, couldn’t mask an undercurrent of cynicism and, occasionally, outright anger.  Theodora X, a New York native and a proud member of the Nation of Islam, seethed at the media coverage.  “He was OUR SON.  He wasn’t no ‘Wacko Jacko’.  To hell with the White Man’s media!” (We later found Theodora hilariously nested among the White Man’s media, in a scrum of cameras under the Apollo’s marquee, waving her arms excitedly.)

By 2:00 (the official starting time for ceremonies), the line had stretched all the way back to 127th street with fans waving memorabilia, signs, and pictures and dancing along with boomboxes.  RocOpera (32 - above L) treated us and the line to a scarily-exact version of “Human Nature”.  For him, the power of MJ came from “the feeling, the love he put behind his music.  Look at this line! There’s Black, there’s White, there’s people from Japan.  Michael Jackson was loved all over the world.  In his death, he brought us all together.”