This is the first movie that I’ve been able to see and review on my blog so I’m happy. If you’re in my generation, then your introduction to Quincy Jones was through Michael Jackson. (See picture below.)
My knowledge of Quincy Jones is from Michael Jackson on; however, in watching this two hour documentary, I realized that Michael Jackson was ONE pinnacle of his career. There was SO MUCH more that I didn’t know about Mr. Jones, including how many children he has (There are 7 children: 6 girls and 1 boy). Jones is from the South Side of Chicago and grew up with his brother, a hardworking father and a schizophrenic mother who was dragged out screaming in a straitjacket in front of him and his brother. His father couldn’t care for them so he sent them to live with his grandmother, a former slave. He literally says in the documentary, which was put together by his daughter Rashida and Alan Hicks, that he and his brother ate whatever their grandmother could find and cook. RATS INCLUDED! Yes, y’all, rats! They ate rats. This man was literally at the bottom of the barrel in life and crawled his way up.
Quincy was a name WAY before Michael Jackson and that is why people from my generation on should watch this documentary. The genius of this man is endless and nothing in the doc is predictable. AND he’s honest about ALL of what he’s done in his life. For example, he cheated on his first wife and instead of making excuses about it or glazing over that, he explained where he was in his life at the time AND admitted he was wrong.
What I love about documentaries is that, in your mind, there’s always this thin line between reality and fantasy because we are always watching someone else’s fantasy. When you watch a doc, you have to remind yourself that this is someone’s actual story. The man coordinated WE ARE THE WORLD, a song he put together to raise money for Africa. I should also warn you that in this doc Quincy almost dies like four times. Not a joke, he literally almost doesn’t make it four times in this doc (which caused he so much anxiety even though I know he’s still alive).
What makes this doc so unique? Glad you asked. The doc has a unique way in weaving the past with the present. Not many docs I see can do that flawlessly. For example, Andre Young AKA famed producer Dr. Dre had a podcast interview with Quincy (yup, a surprise to me too because I didn’t know he had a podcast)where he starts to talk about his past in Chicago as a child and progressively we take a brief trip back into time with footage and pictures of Quincy with other geniuses like Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra (who gave him a ring he never takes off), and, yup, Michael Jackson.
We need more documentaries like this. Documentaries that teach us about what we think we know.
Where can I find this documentary?
Netflix!
Should I watch this?
Beautiful crafted doc. It is two hours long so make sure you block out this time in your day, make sure you’re awake and make sure you have snacks.
BLACK WATCH 