"I really believe that God chooses people to do certain things, the way Michelangelo or Leonardo da Vinci or Mozart or Muhammad Ali or Martin Luther King is chosen. And that is their mission to do that thing. And I think that I haven't scratched the surface yet of what my real purpose is for being here. I'm committed to my art. I believe that all art has as its ultimate goal the union between the material and the spiritual, the human and the divine. And I believe that that is the very reason for the existence of art and what I do. And I feel fortunate in being that instrument through which music flows .... Deep inside I feel that this world we live in is really a big, huge, monumental symphonic orchestra. I believe that in its primordial form all of creation is sound and that it's not just random sound, that it's music. You've heard the expression, music of the spheres? Well, that's a very literal phrase. In the Gospels, we read, "And the Lord God made man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul." That breath of life to me is the music of life and it permeates every fiber of creation. In one of the pieces of the Dangerous album, I say: "Life songs of ages, throbbing in my blood, have danced the rhythm of the tide and flood." This is a very literal statement, because the same new miracle intervals and biological rhythms that sound out the architecture of my DNA also govern the movement of the stars. The same music governs the rhythm of the seasons, the pulse of our heartbeats, the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of ocean tides, the cycles of growth, evolution and dissolution. It's music, it's rhythm. And my goal in life is to give to the world what I was lucky to receive: the ecstasy of divine union through my music and my dance. It's like, my purpose, it's what I'm here for."

-Michael Jackson, Ebony (1992)

Never has there been one single person who has experienced more scrutiny, criticism and pressure for consistently performing their craft at their highest level, which also happens to be the highest level. Michael was forced to be with all of us at all times, even in his most private of moments, because of our unquenchable desire to orbit around greatness, even if he gave us all of him in his music. He was a perfectionist who allowed what seemed to be flaws at the moment shine through in his music, a rare breed who would rather concern himself with the problems of others. Michael Jackson legitmately attempted to make every single place he went to better after he had left, and more often than not, was successful. We wanted Michael to be at his apex at all times, even when he physically could do no more. The thing that seperated Michael from everyone else however, was that he would never decline the challenge. Michael Jackson died thinking the world hated him. Michael, the world needed you, and we could never demonstate how much we actually loved you.

"Everyone has a job to do while they are here. Mike's was done before he knew it...or was it? He taught me to know what yours is, and even when you're done, don't act like it."
- Joe Budden

Happy Birthday Michael J. Jackson, The King Of Music.