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Well, I Left My Jag In Kansas City

Hey Soul Mates,
that's one of my all-time favorite movie lines. On occasion in real life, I've been able to say it. That bit of dialogue is from Silver Streak. My buddy Mike told me to say something about Richard Pryor. That man was funny. How about that?

I always looked forward to going to his movies as a kid: Bustin' Loose, Wholly Moses!, Brewster's Millions, The Toy and See No Evil, Hear No Evil. Plus, if you got to see his latest movie, you were "cool." We'd watch the rest on TV: Car Wash, Bingo Long, Greased Lightning and The Wiz to name a few [I know one of Bryan's all-time faves is Moving]. Just last month, I caught his big scene in Uptown Saturday Night on BET. These are not necessarily classics, but Mr. Pryor's performances were all enjoyable and there was a feeling of rebellion in watching him work. As a kid, it was like you were given a peek into the absurd, adult world through his humor. He was showing us how messed up America was, but also how to navigate the pitfalls. His characters were always up against it, but he usually managed to come out on top.

I can remember hearing news from older kids in the hood about Richard shooting up a car or setting himself ablaze. A wild life. I didn't really get to hear any of his recorded work until the last 10 years or so. And it is still hilarious. I just got through listening to his self-titled debut and That N**** Is Crazy. Of course, Richard was a direct influence on several of my favorite performers: Eddie Murphy, Dave Chappelle and Ol' Dirty Bastard. He's been missed for a long time. Thank goodness for recordings and video.

I'm feeling a little better. The throat is still very sore. But we practiced last night and it felt good to run through the songs. We are looking forward to Wednesday's show with DeBarge. Showtime is 8:45 for us.

Oh, the blogs on the Grammy noms and my year end Top 10 are on the way. Stay tuned.
Love, Power, Peace

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