OCCUPATION: Artist

HOME BASE: New York

HAT: Vintage

JACKET: Vintage

SHIRT: Vintage

PANTS: Vintage

BOOTS: Alexander McQueen

GLOVE: Vintage

What is your favorite fall trend? Over-sized coats with black slim pants.

Must have item for fall? Black boots.

What sneaker style are you rocking this season? Combat boots on the daily.

What is a cold weather don’t? Guys in shorts. 

Who inspires your style? Metal, aliens, Home Depot and Michael Jackson.

Vote on whether this week’s subject is “Stylin” or “Wildin” below…

Last clothing item you purchased? Black Lanvin Blazer

Favorite online shop? Oki-ni.

Favorite brand? Aston Mozie‘.

Favorite city? Lagos, Nigeria.

Dream job? A philanthropist. I live to give back.

Who is your dream date? Lady Gaga.

Last book read? Do You!: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success by Russell Simmons.

Trend proof style advice It’s not what you wear but mainly how you wear it.

Want to be featured in our weekly Street Detail blog? Email a head-to-toe picture of yourself to: streetdetail@complex.com

• CLICK HERE FOR MORE “STREET DETAIL” POSTS

Each day Complex scours the music blogs for 5 fresh songs that you should listen to in our 5 O’Clock Shuffle post. Instead of going crazy trying to keep up with your RSS feeds everyday, just head over to Complex.com to stay up-to-date on important leaks and releases.

Some people are back at work. Some people have the day off. Either way, everyone needs to check out today’s Shuffle playlist. Weekends are usually slow for new music leaks, but several notable tracks hit the blogs over the past couple days. We’re assuming you didn’t spend your days off hunched over the computer, so keep reading to catch up on all the hot new songs you missed out on…

SONG: “This Is It”
ARTIST: Michael Jackson
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• The late Michael Jackson’s aptly titled final song has finally hit the Internet. It’s not comparable to his classics by any means, but it’s certainly a lot better than what most people were probably expecting. The film of the same name hits theaters in a couple of weeks. Look for this one on its soundtrack.

SONG: “Do You Remember”
ARTIST: Jay Sean f/ Sean Paul & Lil’ Jon
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Seemingly out of nowhere, Cash Money has another star on its hands. The British pop singer (who currently has the #1 song in the country) may not seem typical for the label, but when you consider their obsession with all-things-income, it makes perfect sense. This new record may or may not be the second single from All Or Nothing.

SONG: “More Milli”
ARTIST: Drake & Birdman
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• It’s unclear where this track is going to end up. Most sites have billed it as a Birdman song, potentially a bonus cut from his upcoming Priceless album, but we’re obviously listening for the Drake verse. Drizzy doesn’t disappoint either, boldly declaring to sell a million copies of Thank Me Later in its first week. Well damn!

SONG: “Governmentalist”
ARTIST: Joss Stone f/ Nas
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Hey, it’s the white girl with the black-sounding voice. No shots though, we actually dig this track from Colour Me Free a lot. Even if you don’t regularly check for homegirl, the killer guest appearance from Nas makes it worth a listen. Her album drops on October 20 if you want to hear more.

SONG: “Medicine”
ARTIST: Plies f/ Keri Hilson
DOWNLOAD: [LINK]
• Believe it or not, Plies is one of the hardest working MCs in the game. He hasn’t been around that long, but he’s already prepping the release of his fourth album. We’re not sure if this will be on Goon Affiliated, but it’s a banger nonetheless.

Visit Complex.com every day at 5 PM for your daily “5 O’Clock Shuffle“ playlist.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

————————————————————————————————————————————————————

• CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE “CELEBRITY STYLE” GUIDES!

In the midst of all the chaos that makes up his schedule, Tip found time to kick it with Complex and watch some videos on YouTube, just like you and your friends do. Only our friend is Q-Tip and neither of us were high. Read on for Q’s commentary on his visit from Tupac on the set of Poetic Justice, Michael Jackson’s short film Ghost, and his favorite politician, Mike Bloomberg…

Interview by Andrew Rivera

CLIP #1: SCENE FROM POETIC JUSTICE

Q-TIP: Is this when I get my cap peeled? By the homies? [Laughs]. It was cool making this film. We were in Simi Valley and the Rodney King verdict came in that day. It took us forever to get back to LA because of the riots. So it was pretty intense being out there. We saw shit burning and people looting and wildin’ out in the streets and shit. It was crazy.

COMPLEX: How was working with Janet Jackson?

Q-TIP: Oh great, Janet is just you know, so professional. She’s been acting since she was a kid. It was just great. Tupac was there when we were shooting that scene and when we did the first kiss, ’Pac was like, “Yeah nigga, I know you gonna fuck up again, right?” [Laughs] And I was like, “You motherfuckin’ right, nigga!” I’ll never forget it. Then he was like “Damn, nigga!” you know how Pac was, and he was watching it and just left for a cigarette because he said he couldn’t watch it anymore.

COMPLEX: So are you saying ’Pac was envious?

Q-TIP: Nah, we were just goofing around. But all my boys from the ’hood were like, “Dude, what was that like? What’s up with you kissing on Janet?” [Laughs] But of course everyone is going to ask that.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CLIP #2: DIDDY DANCES IN THE PARK WITH Q-TIP

Q-TIP: It looks like it was me and Mase! [Laughs] My man, Sean. People who saw that video were like, “Damn, I wish I was there.” What’s crazy was that day it was supposed to rain and we wound up getting blessed with beautiful weather and he was hitting me up about the show. He was hitting me up the day before saying things like “I’m gonna be in Central Park, nigga! Get ready!” You know how he is, he’s just extra. So he says, “I don’t give a fuck! Get ready ’cause I’m fucking coming! You better come with your motherfucking A-game!” and all this crazy shit. So he came and he was just chilling and he caught the feeling.

COMPLEX: Wait, so you didn’t know that he was going to come up on stage and start dancing?

Q-TIP: No, he just caught the feeling. [Laughs]

CLIP #3: DEEE-LITE F/ Q-TIP “GROOVE IS IN THE HEART” MUSIC VIDEO

Q-TIP: Oh Deee-Lite? She was at the show that Diddy was dancing at.

COMPLEX: Did you invite her?

Q-TIP: She just came. I haven’t seen this in forever. [Laughs] I think that was ‘88 or ‘89?

COMPLEX: The big scene back then was house music. With new artists like Kid Cudi and Wale experimenting with house music and fast paced beats, do you see a comeback for house?

Q-TIP: Yeah there’s a lot of fast records. 120 BPM records. I mean things just comeback in the circle, you know? So if these cats doing it now, I say yeah, definitely there is kind of a re-birth. Even as a DJ I can see the tempos are just getting faster and faster and faster. My theory as to why its coming back is videos came into play in the ’80s and ’90s and there was a lot of dance music that was popular. Now that we have the Internet, whenever kids check out old school music videos it turns out a lot of those songs are tempo sounding, dance songs. You don’t really get anything that pre-dates ‘82 or ‘84 music videos. From those years on, there was just a lot of dance music so I think that whole retro vibe comes from that. Also, people just love to dance. People love to party, so there are a lot more DJs and that kind of music. Especially now where it’s easier to learn how to be a DJ with all this new technology. So the music falls right into play.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CLIP #4: MICHAEL JACKSON’S SHORT FILM GHOST

Q-TIP: Oh with Mos Def? [Laughs]

COMPLEX: Yes, has Mos told you anything about this?

Q-TIP: No, he keeps this quiet [Laughs] I don’t know why. When I found out about it I was like “Yeah, man.” and his response is always “Shut up!”

COMPLEX: You have a Michael Jackson birthday tribute show coming up, is that something you feel like you needed to do?

Q-TIP: Yeah, he’s just beyond measure. So you have to. Its gonna be a fun party. We’re gonna celebrate the man.

COMPLEX: Where were you when you found out about his death?

Q-TIP: I was in Norway. We were on stage performing and we got the text. After I got that text I had to stop the show and people thought it was a joke a first. I heard some people screaming and others were laughing like, get out of here. I just walked off stage and everybody realized it and they were all just stuck. So I went back stage and I called Janet and asked her if it was true and she was just like yeah, he’s not here anymore. It was just crazy.

COMPLEX: It was pretty crazy. People were yelling all these things about Michael and making t-shirts the day of or day after…

Q-TIP: You know what’s even crazier then that? I mean people die everyday but all the people of note that have died this year. It’s like, “holy crap!” dudes are just droppin’. It’s just a weird year, and of course what’s going on economically. Its just a different time. What I always remember was that the artists spoke on what was going on and lead the way in terms of the temperature and the barometer of the spirit and the emotion of the people. Hip-Hop and punk rock were the voices of opposition to any status quo or spoke on what was going on in an honest way. I feel like hip-hop has been emasculated. Like these niggas don’t want to rock the boat, they just want to do what they want to do, ride the wave, get whoever is hot, make the right song, make the right money and shut up.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CLIP #5: THE KNUX “FIRE (PUT IT IN THE AIR)” VIDEO

COMPLEX: How does it feel to see young groups like The Knux who are influenced by what you Tribe was doing?

Q-TIP: It’s an amazing feeling. If you would’ve asked me years ago if all this would be going on, I would’ve looked at you like you were a crazy dude. I’m still trying to understand it. I’m truly humbled by it.

COMPLEX: How was touring with The Knux and The Cool Kids?

Q-TIP: Oh, I loved doing that, that shit was a blast. Pac-Div was on there too, man, that shit was dope. What I tell all those dudes is to love the music and stay entrenched in the music and that will guide you to success. If you start focusing on all that shit success brings you, whether its money, drugs, girls or men, or whatever the fuck that’s external you start to lose your way. As long as you got people to keep you in check and you focus on your craft, I don’t think you’re going to have a problem. Just love what you do and be honest with it.

COMPLEX: Musically, who are you really feeling right now?

Q-TIP: Pac-Div, The Cool Kids, Kid Cudi, Consequence, Kanye, there’s this kid called Spree Wilson that I really like a lot, and this group called The Losers.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CLIP #6: MICHAEL BLOOMBERG FOR MAYOR COMMERCIAL

COMPLEX: You’ve been very vocal on your Twitter account about Michael Bloomberg. What do you say to those who give you criticism about it?

Q-TIP: It’s a free country and I have the right to express my opinion. I’m not degrading him or calling him an asshole or tearing him down personally. I’m just commenting on the bad job that I think he’s doing. When you get power the person that you’ve always been gets highlighted even more, and I think who he is, is showing through how he’s running the city, especially with the quality of life. He’s not running a city based on the quality of life of average folk, it’s the quality of life of well-to-do rich folk. He’s fashioning and shaping the city towards them. The thing about New York that makes it the satellite city to the rest of the world is that whole idea of a melting pot. With poverty and homelessness here, it makes me wonder, where is the social responsibility? Where’s the emotional and psychological responsibility that you owe to your city and its contingent? Its not there and he’s running it like a tyrant.

<strong>COMPLEX: So what do you do in that type of situation?

Q-TIP: This is where hip-hop needs to be again. I don’t want to see some benefit and he’s [Mike Bloomberg] there and he’s shaking hands with Russell or shaking hands with 50 Cent or something like that. We’re the rebels, you know what I’m saying? If 50 wasn’t there or I wasn’t there or Russell wasn’t there, we would still be in the hood! I’m lucky because I’m in that tax bracket that he’s trying to cater to. So I benefit, I guess, but then not really. If I want to continue to do business here, have my family here and raise my kids here, I’m gonna want my kids to be cultured and really feel like they can go everywhere and not be intimidated, but he’s sectioning shit off in a really scary way. Its a police state basically. It started with Giuliani and he’s carrying the torch.

Death is a time for sadness. Unless you’re one of Michael Jackson’s far less talented and beloved brothers, in which case it’s time to milk the moment for all it’s worth. The Jackson 5’s 40th anniversary reunion tour, which was to be an A&E docu-series, obviously won’t be happening now that the superstar brother is dead, so the Jackson family is instead moving forward with an A&E show that will show the world just how fucked up it is (over the loss of MJ).

Not that such use and abuse of the dearly departed is anything new. Whenever there is celebrity and tragedy, somebody will be there to gain money and exposure from it. Check out some of the most memorable exploitations of dead celebrities by the people who supposedly loved them.

Exploiter: Sean “Puff Daddy P Diddy” Combs
Exploitee: Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace
• The Exploitation: It turned out there was life after death, only it was Puff squeezing every ounce of celebrity he could out of Biggie’s memory with tribute songs until he’d successfully transformed himself from dancing hype man into the main attraction. Sadly, Diddy’s celebrity still isn’t ready to die.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: Courtney Love
Exploitee: Kurt Cobain
• The Exploitation: It’s hard to pinpoint the widow’s peak of cashing in on her husband, who committed suicide in 1994, but we’re gonna go out on a limb and say that the Nirvana singer, who despised the corporate selling-out of rock, wouldn’t have been too pleased to see her license his lyrics, sketches, and signature for limited edition Converse sneakers. In fact, we think he probably would have up-Chuck Taylored.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: Yoko Ono
Exploitee: John Lennon
• The Exploitation: The performance artist widow has made hundreds of millions of dollars off Lennon, who was slain in 1980, with questionable art-meets-commerce moves (and we don’t mean licensing his songs to Nike and JCPenney for commercials or even slapping his signature on Ben & Jerry’s Imagine Whirled Peace ice cream). No, Ono’s on some real blood money shit: She put a picture of his blood-stained glasses on the cover of her 1981 album Season of Glass; she also reportedly sold replicas of the bloodstained glasses and shirt he was wearing when he was shot; in 2009, she exhibited the blood-stained paper bag his belongings were returned to her in, as well as a photo of the bloody glasses, at New York’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame, where people could pay to see “Lennon: The NYC Years.” Bloody exploitative if you ask us.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: Lil Eazy-E
Exploitee: Eazy-E
• The Exploitation: Despite endlessly name-dropping his famous father, who died of AIDS in 1995, Lil Eazy hasn’t been able to follow in his footsteps (or even put out his debut album, The Prince of Compton). Not that we could blame him for throwing the family name around when Game was repping Compton with Eazy-E tatted on his forearm and a butterfly on his face.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: Afeni Shakur
Exploitee: Tupac “2pac” Shakur
• The Exploitation: Nobody loves a man like his mother, especially when he’s a prolific icon who left behind an extensive catalogue of unreleased money-makin’ material. Since Pac’s murder in 1996, his mom has sold millions of records and launched the Makaveli Branded clothing line. On the bright side, she put posthumous proceeds into the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation charity. On the other hand, she’s to blame for rumors that Pac is alive and thuggin’ somewhere south of the border.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: INXS
Exploitee: Michael Hutchence
• The Exploitation: After Hutchence’s accidental 1997 death by autoerotic asphyxiation, the band dicked around, resurfacing with Rock Star: INXS, a 2004-’05 reality TV show in which 15 contestants douche bags competed to replace him. We’re sure dying by his own hand (get it? he was masturbating) was considerably less embarrassing for Hutch.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Exploiter: T L C
Exploitee: Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes
• The Exploitation: Like the boys of INXS, surviving TLC group members Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas coped with the loss of their friend in a 2002 car accident by hosting R U the Girl, a 2005 reality television show in which singers competed to record and perform a single with them. The winner did not get to replace Left Eye or wear her favorite condom eye patch, however, because you gotta show some respect for the dead.

DOCTOR: Dr. Jan Adams
CELEBRITY PATIENT: Donda West
MALPRACTICE:: Kanye’s mother passed away from complications during plastic surgery. We’re not saying it was all Jan’s fault, but nothing says guilt like walking off the set of Larry King—oh, and those other eight lawsuits.
END RESULT: Hey mama…R.I.P.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital
CELEBRITY PATIENT: Leslie Ash
MALPRACTICE: The English actress contracted a dangerous infection due to a treatment she received for a punctured lung and cracked ribs from a fall at home. She claims she fell off her bed and hit a table while making love to her husband. Infections, beds, tables…wait, what kind of actress is she again?
END RESULT: We like to make jokes, but seriously she could barely walk around after the whole incident, it wasn’t good.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: Joyce E. Abraham (Anesthesiologist) and Dr. David M. Godat
CELEBRITY PATIENT: Ron Springs
MALPRACTICE: Before actually undergoing surgery, former Dallas Cowboys RB Ron Springs went comatose while receiving anesthesia.
END RESULT: Ron Springs sadly never woke up, and passed away.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: Joseph Lee and Matthew Lotysch
CELEBRITY PATIENT: John Ritter
MALPRACTICE: Not performing an ordered chest x-ray that could’ve saved John’s life. This was made even worse by the fact that David Spade was cast as the cool uncle on 8 Simple Rules show. Way to go and fuck up afternoon TV, guys.
END RESULT: Jack Tripper, R.I.P.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CELEBRITY DOCTOR: Dr. Joseph Dello Russo
PATIENT: James Dell’Ermo
MALPRACTICE: James Dell’Ermo went blind because of “complications” during the procedure. We can sympathize with Dr. Dello Russo. We’ve damaged plenty of eyes, but that was just poor aim on our part.
END RESULT: James earned $2.1 milli in the subsequent lawsuit.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and Dr. Neelakantan Anand
CELEBRITY PATIENT: Ed McMahon
MALPRACTICE: Doctor’s failed to diagnose Ed’s neck fracture and discharged him without taking any x-rays of the incident. We could sit here and make a neck joke, but come on it’s too easy.
END RESULT: He later passed away from cancer. You’ll be missed, Ed.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: Dr. Phil Carroll Astin III
CELEBRITY PATIENT: Chris Benoit
MALPRACTICE: Prescribing all sorts of powerful and addictive prescription pills to Chris (not to mention a ton of other people). The bad doctor is doing 10 years in prison for moving weight. We’re pretty sure he was Chris Andersen’s pusher.
END RESULT: Chris Benoit committed suicide after murdering his family. Ouch.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DOCTOR: Baxter Healthcare Corp.
CELEBRITY PATIENT: The Quaid Family
MALPRACTICE: His twins received a massive overdose of the drug Heparin (1,000x to be exact) because the companies packaged the doses wrong. Four words Baxter Corporation: DON’T…FUCK…WITH…QUAID!
END RESULT: Don’t worry, the kids are fine.

While house arrest might seem like a dream come true for a blogger, in reality, this is the stiffest punishment anyone has ever received for leaking music (not to be confused with downloading music, which the R.I.A.A. loves to punish). But that’s not to say there haven’t been consequences for being the first to put unreleased music out there. So before you publish that next blog post with an exclusive track, check out these 5 Notable Consequences For Leaking Music, and realize that what you gain in hits might cost you elsewhere…

LEAKER: Radio stations KBBT in L.A., KMEL in San Francisco, WUSL and WIOQ in Philadelphia
WHAT THEY LEAKED: Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson’s single “Scream”
• The radio stations were playing “Scream” on the hour almost two weeks before its official release. They were eventually served cease-and-desist orders and faced legal action, but one station’s program director made it clear that “on a release as big as Michael Jackson’s, there’s no way we’re going to wait if we receive a leak.” Ballsy.

LEAKER: Intern Adam of Nashville’s 107.5 The River
WHAT THEY LEAKED: Britney Spears’ single “Womanizer”
• The radio personality recorded and posted a 40-second preview of the song that Jive played for the station during a conference call. He was promptly fired and slapped with a $250,000 fine. FIRST! FAIL!

LEAKER: Unidentified music journalist
WHAT THEY LEAKED: Three songs from Animal Collective’s Strawberry Jam album
• When the first batch of records from the album leaked, watermarking technology allowed Domino Records to trace the files back to the leaker immediately. AC’s publicist wrote a threatening letter to other journalists, letting them know that the person responsible “got in more trouble than you care to hear about and was almost fired.” We’re not sure if the scare tactics worked, or not.

LEAKER: English retail worker
WHAT THEY LEAKED: Mastodon’s Blood Mountain album
• The underground metal band’s record label traced the leak back to a retail employee and had him fired. Mastodon was “not concerned with record sales,” but was more upset that “such a shitty copy” was leaked.

LEAKER: DJ Chuck T & DJ Empire
WHAT THEY LEAKED: Lil’ Wayne’s Tha Carter III album
• In the years leading up to Wayne’s album release, DJ Empire released a steady stream of mixtapes featuring exclusive songs from Tha Carter III sessions. Despite the fact that all these songs were given directly to Empire by someone within Wayne’s inner-circle, Weezy finally snapped, going off on a bizarre, “fuck mixtape DJs” tirade in an interview that left some spinners in the community pissed off. DJ Chuck T retaliated by leaking the final version of TC3. The leak turned out to not hurt Wayne’s sales at all, and the martian moved more than A-Milli the first week. We’re guessing Chuck T was probably taken off Universal’s promo mailing list.

Young Jeezy gives Michael Jackson one of the trillest tributes we’ve seen so far. [Nah Right]

Enjoying the new Real World season? Check out this interview with cutie Jonna. [Coed Mag]

Another day, another lawsuit for Lil’ Wayne. [Flisted]

Things that are always fun: looking at pics of these scantily clad hotties. [Double Viking]

Penélope Cruz isn’t sure if she’ll ever get married. How about us, ma? [Lossip]

Need a cool and affordable way to display your best kicks? Look no further. [Daily Drop]

British babe Sienna Miller has always been a favorite and this is why. [Holy Taco]

The strength of this Russian woman’s vagina is frightening. [PopCrunch]

There is no show of grief too big for a fallen king. Yesterday, hundreds of thousands of fans gathered at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to say goodbye to the “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, at a public memorial. An online lottery selected the 17,500 people (of the 1.6 million who registered) who could actually attend the star-studded event, which featured tributes from Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, John Mayer, Usher, Lionel Richie, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, Al Sharpton, and a whole bunch of other famous folks.

It’s no surprise that M.J., one of the most popular/notorious men on the planet, had such a massive memorial. That’s what happens when you’re a transcendent entertainer or politician. In the wake of Michael Jackson’s tribute, Complex looks back at other super-sized services for the fallen famous…

Kurt Cobain
• Date of Memorial: 4/10/94
• Estimated Attendance: Approximately 7,000 mourners gathered for a public vigil held at a park at Seattle Center. Near the end, Cobain’s widow, Courtney Love, arrived and gave her husband’s clothes away to grieving fans.
• Interesting Fact: In a pre-recorded message, Love read portions of Cobain’s suicide note to the crowd and broke down, crying, and chastising Cobain for being selfish.

President John F. Kennedy
• Date of Memorial: 11/25/63
• Estimated Attendance: In addition to the 250,000 people who lined up to view J.F.K.’s casket and pay their respects, 1,200 invited guests attended the funeral Mass in St. Matthew’s Cathedral, among them 220 foreign dignitaries from 92 countries.
• Interesting Fact: In the near-freezing cold, some people waited as many as 10 hours on a line that stretched 40 blocks up to 10 persons wide to view the casket.

Babe Ruth
• Date of Memorial: 8/18/48
• Estimated Attendance: Over 75,000 fans went to Yankee Stadium, the “House That Ruth Built,” to view the body of the baseball legend. Another 75,000 gathered in and around Manhattan’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral to attend his funeral service.
• Interesting Fact: Among Ruth’s pallbearers were fellow Yankee great Joe DiMaggio, boxing champion Jack Dempsey, and New York Governor Thomas Dewey.

Elvis Presley
• Date of Memorial: 8/18/77
• Estimated Attendance: More than 100,000 fans, press, and celebrities lined the streets from Graceland to Forrest Hill Cemetery to see the funeral procession of 14 white Cadillacs.
• Interesting Fact: In exchange for $18,000, one of Presley’s cousins, Bobby Mann, secretly photographed the corpse. The picture appeared on the cover of the National Enquirer, making it the largest and fastest selling issue of all time.

John Lennon
• Date of Memorial: N/A, multiple memorials were held
• Estimated Attendance: Thirty thousand people gathered in Liverpool and over 100,000 amassed in New York’s Central Park, near the scene of the Lennon’s shooting, to share in their grief.
• Interesting Fact: At his widow Yoko Ono’s request, millions of people observed ten minutes of silence on December 14, 1980 to remember Lennon.

Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace
• Date of Memorial: 3/18/97
• Estimated Attendance: Thousands of people filled the streets of Brooklyn as the slain rapper’s funeral procession rolled through his borough after a private memorial ceremony at Manhattan’s Frank E. Campbell Funeral Chapel. Former mayor of New York David Dinkins, Arista Records Chief Clive Davis, Lil Kim, Lil Cease, Mary J. Blige, Busta Rhymes, and Queen Latifah were among the 350 people in attendance at the memorial.
• Interesting Fact: The Brooklyn crowd, which erupted when somebody played “Hypnotize,” was so worked up over the loss of Biggie that clashes with police led to the arrest of ten people.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Date of Memorial: 4/9/68
• Estimated Attendance: Due to size constraints, only 1,300 family, friends, guests, and congregation members attended a restricted memorial at Ebenezer Baptist Church. An additional 60,000 people gathered outside and attended a second, public service held at Morehouse College, Dr. King’s alma mater.
• Interesting Fact: After the memorial services, thousands took part in a three-and-a-half-mile silent procession through Atlanta.

Pope John Paul II
• Date of Memorial: 4/8/05
• Estimated Attendance: After the Pope died, nearly 4 million people crammed into Rome to pay their respects, with 300,000 people filling St. Peter’s Square.
• Interesting Fact: The arrival of mourners in Rome doubled the city’s population.

Princess Diana
• Date of Memorial: 9/6/97
• Estimated Attendance: Over 1 million people watched the four-mile procession to Westminster Abbey (2.5 billion people watched on TV). Five representatives from each of 110 charities Diana had supported attended and Elton John sang a reworked version of his song “Candle in the Wind” for her.
• Interesting Fact: The day before Princess Di’s memorial services and burial, the world lost Mother Teresa, another beloved humanitarian. Diana was buried with a rosary that Mother Teresa had given her as a gift.

James Brown
• Dates of Memorials: 12/28/06, 12/29/06, 12/30/06
• Estimated Attendance: Brown was such a popular figure that three separate memorials were held for him: Thousands of fans showed up to a public viewing of Brown’s body at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, where he made his professional debut in 1956; family and close friends attended a private memorial in North Augusta, South Carolina; finally, his band, the Soul Generals, played music while more than 9,000 fans danced at a memorial in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia.
• Interesting Fact: Michael Jackson, who attended the memorial in Augusta, was rumored to have said, “My greatest inspiration,” after kissing Brown’s forehead.

Michael Jackson was the most influential pop icon in modern history. So it’s no surprise that when he passed away last week, many political leaders from around the world delivered written condolences acknowledging his unparalleled impact. Some reporters even questioned President Obama’s lack of a formal response, noting that MJ had a long history of using his star power to influence humanitarian efforts.

In fact, MJ holds 13 different titles in the Guinness Book Of World Records, one of which names him as the most philanthropic pop star of all time—donating over $300 million to charities. So in honor of the King of Pop, here are some of MJ’s most high-profile encounters with the political world…

MJ Receives Presidential Public Safety Award From President Reagan, May 14, 1984
• At only 25, Mike’s name was ringing like his manager’s phone. Here he accepts an award for basically allowing his classic hit “Beat It” to be used for a campaign against drunk driving. Also, I can only assume that Reagan must have felt that the moonwalk really complimented his Star Wars program.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

MJ writes “We Are The World”, 1985
• With assistance from Nicole Ritchie’s dad, MJ wrote one of the most well-known hooks of all time and recruited 45 musical all-stars to hop on the track. Revenues exceeded $100 million and were donated to the humanitarian organization “USA for Africa,” which specifically helped to alleviate hunger in Somalia. ‘09 remix, anyone?

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

MJ Honored by President George Walker Bush as “Artist Of The Decade”, 1990
• In his second visit to the White House, MJ gets props from the former head of the CIA for being named “Artist Of The Decade”. You know whose phone got tapped after this ceremony.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

MJ sings “Heal The World” at President Clinton’s Inauguration, 1993
• Jackson, a supporter of the Democratic Party, looked out for Clinton and delivered this memorable performance at Mr. 42’s Inauguration. But when it came to groupies, Bill definitely gave MJ a run for his money.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

U.S. Congress Honors Michael Jackson, 2009
• In a rare show of formal recognition, members of the U.S. Congress held a moment of silence in honor of the legend’s untimely death. R.I.P.

RELATED:
• The 10 Best Michael Jackson Tribute T-Shirts
• Michael Jackson’s Sexiest Video Co-Stars
• Wake N’ Watch: Michael Jackson’s 3D “Captain EO” Movie

PRINT LIBATION
Click Here To Buy It Now at Print Libation, $30
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

NEFF LONG LIVE THE KING *Available next Tuesday at selected retailers
Click Here To Buy It Now at Neff Headwear, $20
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

TRENDY SHIRT MICHAEL JACKSON
Click Here To Buy It Now at Trendy Shirt, $13
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DIAMOND MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE
*Available July 3 at Diamond Supply Co. 507 N. Fairfax Los Angeles, California 323.944.0117

————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

OVER THE STRIPES THE KING
Click Here To Buy It Now at Oki-ni, $82
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ONE WAY NORTH JACKSON TRIBUTE
Click Here To Buy It Now at One Way North, $24
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

CAKED OUT WHO’S BAD
Click Here To Buy It Now at Caked Out, $24
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

NY123 BAD
Click Here To Buy It Now at NY123, $18
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

DISTURBIA CLOTHING BAD
Click Here To Buy It Now at Disturbia Clothing, $27
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

ZAZZLE MICHAEL JACKSON TRIBUTE
Click Here To Buy It Now at Zazzle, $22
————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

BONUS: WTF? ITEM
ONION BAG x NIKE 08/09 USA HOME SOCCER JERSEY MJ TRIBUTE
Click Here To Buy It Now at Onion Bag, $90

The King of Pop kept a roster of sexy ladies on deck that rival those in any of today’s rap videos, so we couldn’t help but dig into the archives in his honor. Join us as we take a look back at MJ’s 8 Hottest Female Leads…

VIDEO: “Thriller” (1983) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Ola Ray
FUN FACT: Ola was Playboy’s Playmate of the Month in June 1980. To which we say, “Ola, ola, AY!”

VIDEO: “In the Closet” (1992) [Watch That]
FEMALE LEAD: Naomi Campbell
FUN FACT: Originally a duet with Madonna, the planned collabo was deaded when MJ deemed her lyrics too provocative. Now that’s a video we’d love to see…

VIDEO: “Dirty Diana” (1988) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Lisa Dean
FUN FACT: One-hundred girls auditioned on film for the lead “legs” role, but MJ instantly chose Lisa, the first girl he reviewed. Forgive him, bookshelf-ass wasn’t as big a trend in the ’80s.

VIDEO: “The Way You Make Me Feel” (1987) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Tatiana Thumbtzen
FUN FACT: Tatiana was rumored to have been fired from the Bad Tour for kissing MJ on stage. Wonder what their babies might have looked like…

VIDEO: “Remember the Time” (1992) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Iman
FUN FACT: The model married British rocker, David Bowie, the same year the single was released.

VIDEO: “You Are Not Alone” (1995) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Lisa Marie Presley
FUN FACT: Calling it “being sucked up in the moment,” Presley later said she regretted the video. Lisa Marie: You are not alone.

VIDEO: “You Rock My World” (2001) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: Kishaya Dudley
FUN FACT: The half-Japanese/half-Black beauty reps BX and has choreographed for several popular musicians. John Blasian!

VIDEO: “Say, Say, Say” (1983) [Watch It]
FEMALE LEAD: LaToya Jackson
FUN FACT: We’re not sure why Michael hired his older sister to play his love interest in this outrageously corny Paul McCartney duet… that Mac & Jack Wonder Potion will make you do some crazy things.

Since his passing on Thursday, the MJ tributes have been coming out in full force, culminating with last night’s BET Awards. In fact, we couldn’t help but notice that the evening’s host, Jamie Foxx, wore a nearly-identical Thriller-inspired outfit, complete with that classic red jacket and white glove (UPDATE: several astute readers have pointed out that Jamie’s outfit was inspired by “Beat It,” not “Thriller”. Our bad!). Who captured MJ’s essence the best? Vote for your favorite below…

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

The Post has a storied history of creative Jackson headlines. Read on for a look back at 5 of the notorious paper’s shots at the King of Pop. Oh, and again, R.I.P to the best who ever did it!

AUGUST 23, 1993
• When MJ was accused of child molestation, the Post took the opportunity to play up his Neverland ranch.

JUNE 14, 1993
• It’s called a rhyme scheme, and it’s a literary device. This is hi-brow stuff, folks.

JULY 7th, 2002
• It worked the last time…

NOVEMBER 21, 2003
• When Jackson finally did get busted for child molestation charges, the Post used his iconic album BAD title to drive the idea home.

AUGUST 27, 1993
• This one doesn’t even make sense, guys.

It’s kind of a fake Star Wars, but fuck it…did we mention that George Lucas also co-wrote and produced Captain EO? Yeah. A note to so-called “superstars”: until you have a movie airing at the biggest amusement park in the world for a decade…you’re not touching the King! Rest in peace to the greatest that ever did it.

PART 2:

R.I.P. Michael Jackson. [CNN]

Details on Kanye’s next music video. [Nah Right]

Jessica Hart solidifies her place as one of our favorite supermodels. [CoedMag]

Humans have been making music for roughly 35,000 years. [Flisted]

We never get tired of looking at these hotties. [DoubleViking]

Check out this history of the NBA Draft and signature sneakers. [Nice Kicks]

Here’s some advice for the next time you get caught cheating. [Holy Taco]

• CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL JONAH HILL COVER STORY!
• CLICK HERE TO BROWSE THE MICHAEL JACKSON-THEMED GALLERY!

Watch the behind-the-scenes video below…

RELATED: KATY PERRY’S JUNE/JULY 2009 COMPLEX COVER STORY

Recording artists are constantly being judged for their fashion choices, but at no point is an outfit more important than when they’re going before a judge in court to face the music. For instance, the same baggy thug apparel that gives a rapper street cred makes them look like a disrespectful miscreant to a gavel banger.

Yesterday, when R&B singer Chris Brown appeared in Los Angeles Superior Court to be arraigned for the alleged assault of his pop star girlfriend Rihanna, he made a smart selection: tight fitting dress clothes topped off with a sweater. Note the black—it’s slimming, which makes him look too skinny and frail to whup on a woman. Well done, Chris. Of course, not everyone is so wise. Check out five artists whose court look was just plain criminal…

Moses Michael Leviy, a.k.a. Jamal “Shyne” Barrow
• Charged with: First-degree assault and reckless endangerment, a.k.a shooting the club up
• What he wore: Dapper suits with fitted baseball caps
• What it said: “I’m ready to start a New Era—in prison.”
• Verdict: Guilty. Sentenced to 10 years.

Michael Jackson
• Accused of: Child molestation
• What he wore: A suit with pajama pants.
• What it said: “Let’s get this over with. I have a slumber party to get to, and you know how kids hate it when you’re late.”
• Verdict: Not guilty. Extremely suspect, but not guilty.

Phil Spector
• Charged with: Murdering nightclub hostess and actress Lana Clarkson in his mansion
• What he wore: A series of crazy hairstyles and ill-advised suits
• What it said: “OK, even if I did it, just look at me—I’m clearly insane.”
• Verdict: Guilty of fashion crimes. All else is TBD.

Radric “Gucci Mane” Davis
• Charged with: Violating terms of his probation (failing to do 600 hours of community service and using alcohol and drugs) after an assault conviction
• What he wore: A “Gucci Mane” T-shirt
• What it said: “My ‘Gucci Mane’ suit is still at the tailors.”
• Verdict: Guilty. One year in jail, continued probation.

Dwight “Beanie Sigel” Grant
• Charged with: Attempted murder, aggravated assault and weapons offenses
• What he wore: A sharp suit and hat combo straight out of Goodfellas
• What it said: “As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.”
• Verdict: Hung jury. Pause.

Opening Ceremony has its web site/shop up and running. Now you can blow money from anywhere in the world on fashionable things you never knew existed. [Opening Ceremony]

The Y-3 runway runway went down on Sunday night. Check these images of the show. As always, some bangers, some wtfs. [Slam x Hype]

Original Fake x Neighborhood. We probably could have seen this one coming. [High Snobiety]

Charlie Sheen to debut new line at the Magic Tradeshow tomorrow. Bigger than hip hop. [Slam x Hype]

One of the installations that’s turning heads in the eco-friendly exhibit is an LED floor created by designer Sensacell, which spans 250 square feet using 1,000 illuminating panels. Just like the famous street in Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video, the pressure sensitive floor glows with every step. The more foot-traffic that comes through, the brighter the panels get. See a video below.

[Trendhunter Via Gizmodo]