I am not a DJ; I don't mix records nor facts. So here are a couple of things right off the top. The silencing of Whitney Huston was a loss to humanity. Secondly, Kurt Cobain, in the opinion of most, was on his way to becoming one of the greatest rock stars of all time. With that said, what kind of entertainment are we in when "Millionaire Talent" is dying over less than a $100 product? Still, out of all the things we have to talk about, the focus appears to be on the controversy over a flag in New Jersey being lowered in her honor.
Cindy Lauper said on the red carpet of the Grammys that Whitney couldn't be there because she had "too many demons to deal with." If you ask me, lifeguards spending more time on shore, reporting on a drowning rather than helping in the rescue, may prove to be the actual "demon" quality. I've seen drugs affect communities from Hollywood to High Hell. The streets are filled with high school dropouts who have become street chemists, producing chemical solutions just to meet their "needs."
Most recently, Dr. Drew said in an interview on CNN that there is a "switch in the human brain that can be turned on" and that "this disease is a chemical imbalance." So the question is: have drugs become the great American equalizer? Let's take prisons for example. I was just talking to my comrade DJ 3rd Eye, who is locked up in Norfolk, MA, who was telling me that the determination of addicts is SO deep that prisoners can flip a used Snickers bar into damn near straight cognac.
However, it is not only "illegal" drugs that are doing the damage. As in Michael Jackson's case, Whitney's doctors were also prescribing her legalized poisons to deal with an already out of control addiction. Singer El DeBarge said that 24 hours prior to her death, he was at a party (with her) when she hugged him and whispered in his ear "I want to stay clean. If we just join together, we can stay clean." It is clear she knew the only true cure for addiction was finding someone that cares.
The contradiction here is that having more people around you doesn't necessary mean more love. The money and fame, which caused us to pay attention to Whitney, weren't enough to save her life. Most people who have a lot of money and power don't always have someone working for them who is also willing to tell them the truth. Are we really surprised Whitney may have lost her life to drugs? There is a saying that "a thread always hangs before it tares."
According to recent interviews with Bobbi Kristina's ex-boyfriend Zach, who "lived with the family" and dated Bobbi for over 2 years, said that "it was obvious in the household that that [drugs] was happening." In fact, a few days ago, comedian John Henson, host of the television show Wipeout, joked on TMZ that "I feel really bad that Whitney died at 48, because I took the 'under.'" In the "Super Bowl" of drug addiction, how many of you secretly took the "under"? How soon we forget the Otis Reddings, Billie Holidays, Marilyn Monroes, River Phoenix, Anna Nicole Smith and even the Amy Whinehouses of yesterday. How long before somebody cashes in on the "over-under" of Lindsay Lohan (I personally hope "never")? The true prescription for the disease of addiction is support.
I've seen the same drugs in the hands of street fiends with dirty, bitten-down fingernails as I have in hands wearing 4 million dollar rings. From the "supplies" to the "get highs," the flow of addiction is an internal enemy that we have set loose on ourselves that can only be defeated when we care enough and love hard enough to be the person in the addict's life who is consistent at "blowing their high." The best tribute we can give to Whitney or anyone else addicted is the "truth." Love is the real drug of choice, but it's just not so easy to get your hands on it these days. Her vocal coach Gary Catona said in an interview that Whitney confided in him about how much stress she was under, and that he tried to get her voice back. Maybe more effort was put into rescuing her voice rather than her soul.
At Whitney's funeral, Steve Wonder sang his hit song "Love's in need of Love." There are a thousand "loves" in this world who don't have celebrity status that this disease of addiction is affecting. In the words of The O'Jays, we must always seek a "message in our music." Today, the music notes of the world have decreased an octave and the bells for Whitney have finally tolled in her swan song.