A Reflection Inspired by Gerald Levert

Gerald Levert passes at the tender age of 40
There is a lesson in here for all of us


Gerald Levert, singer, songwriter and producer: born Philadelphia 13 July 1966; (three children); died Cleveland, Ohio 10 November 2006. Gerald was a member of the 90's R&B group, Levert; a member of LSG with bandmembers Keith Sweat and Johnny Gill and of course, recognized as a powerful solo artist. He was the son of O'Jay's singer, Eddie Levert.

Having sold millions of records and having built a fanbase worldwide, many are left wondering why Gerald, why at such a young age? But it is not his youth that should be our focus, but our own lives.

It is always death that makes me appreciate life so much. What did I do today to show God or to show myself that I am happy to be here? Did I quarrel with some friends? Did I gossip about some unnecessary mess? Did I sleep too long, thinking that next week was promised?

Whenever I pick up a newspaper, I often find myself reading the obituaries. I read about people’s lives. What did they do? Did they accomplish anything? Did they create fond memories with family members? Will they be missed? Was their life cut short, too short? Did they lead a long, full life? Are people glad that they are gone? I ask myself all types of questions while I’m reading. I guess I’m drawn to obituaries because it reminds me that no one knows how long they have to be here. No one knows. No one knows if they’ll live to 15 or 50. No one knows if they have until tomorrow to make a change. No one knows if they’ll have another day to apologize to their mother, to make up for lost time with their father, or to tell their brother that they forgive him. No one knows, but most of us continue to take chances.

We take chances hoping that we’ll be given another day --given another day to procrastinate, another day to not do what we’re supposed to do. We want another day to be angry, another day to playa-hate, another day of self-loathing, another day of someone else defining our joy. But when another day doesn’t come, what happens then?

Imagine yourself lying in bed. You’re totally relaxed. You inhale deeply, but realize that your heart has stopped beating. There is no air to fill your lungs. You have raised your right hand to your chest. You have formed a fist, hoping that your heart will jumpstart again. But it doesn’t. Your eyes are open and glassed over as death becomes you. In those final seconds that your brain continues to transmit thoughts, what are you thinking? Did you miss telling someone that you loved them? Did you miss too many of your child’s important days? Did you forget your dreams while you became the wife, the girlfriend, the husband, the boyfriend, the mother, the sister, or the daughter? Who did you forget to apologize to? Did you allow someone to make you a prisoner in your own life, when now you can see that God wanted you to be free? What are those images that your brain is flashing before your eyes? Do you like what you see?

I dedicate this writing to people like Gerald Levert, Aaliyah, Florence Griffith Joyner, Tupac, Notorious B.I.G., Leslie Pitts and so many others who died younger than I would have ever imagined. In their deaths, there is a lesson for all of us. In our own lives, do we like what we see?

In lieu of flowers, The Levert family would like donations to be made to: The R&B Foundation and forwarded to Andy Gibson c/o Trevel Productions, Inc., 13816 Cedar Road, University Heights, OH 44118.

Piracy, Promotions & Prison: Is it worth that much to get paid?

I am the first to say how much I love street vendors, especially my book vendors. Book vendors go the extra mile to get books on the street. There are lots of vendors who sell everything from body oils, hats, and t-shirts, etc. You name it and a street vendor got it somewhere in America.

When DVD’s first became popular, my brother showed me my first illegal DVD. I can’t remember the name of the movie, but the person who recorded the movie apparently had a handheld digi-cam. The screen shook the hold time that I tried to watch the story unfold. After rubbing my eyes and shaking my head, I finally asked my brother where he got such a bad copy of the movie and that he should get his money back. He told me that it was an illegal copy and with the dirty DVD’s you never know what you’re getting.

That was at least 10 years ago. During that time I was seriously writing screenplays and wondering how much money writers were losing when people purchased “pirated” movies. Whenever I would be in the presence of my brother and he would tell me of a new movie he purchased from a vendor, I would tell him, “You’re killing my royalties. Every time you buy a dirty DVD, you’re inviting the likelihood that someone is going to cheat me out of my movie rights.” He would just look at me like I was crazy. But was I?

10 years ago I was focused on writers making money, black actors and black producers making money off of their product. As hard as I know it is to get a black movie done, I was pissed off every time I saw ANYBODY pushing an illegal DVD. I really believed that dirty DVDs hurt the black artistic community MORE than anybody else. Now, in 2006, I’m still supporting the black artistic community but I work very closely with street vendors. So much, in fact, that a vendor that I was scheduled to work with was recently jailed for selling pirated DVDs. Whoa!

Unbeknownst to me, there is a nationwide crackdown on illegal DVDs. Furthermore, being convicted of selling pirated DVD’s now can have felony charges attached to it. Yes, felony charges over a MOVIE. People with priors can jeopardize their probation and their freedom for infringing on the copyright of these DVDs. Is it worth it? I don’t think so.

I like a sale as much as the next person but I think we should let our vendors know (if they don’t already) of the real threat of going to prison for selling pirated DVDs. For the people who want to continue to buy DVDs on a discount I have two suggestions: 1) Go to Wal-Mart and 2) Buy a book instead. If you are encouraging your vendor to get you the next Tyler Perry movie before it hits the theaters, you are a traitor to the very art form that you “so-called support” and you need to realize that black men don’t need to be encouraged to engage in behavior that could send them to prison. Despite media hype, their lives are worth so much more than that.

Question: If you buy dirty DVDs, will you stop now that you know that people are going to prison?