Between Michael, Janet and the Jackson 5, pop music’s first family casts a long shadow. But that hasn’t stopped Austin Brown, son of eldest Jackson sister Rebbie Jackson, from shining. Since releasing his debut, “Highway 85,” via indie South 5 Records earlier this year, the 27-year-old singer-songwriter-producer has been drawing critical praise, crowds — and inevitable comparisons.
At a recent show at Webster Hall in New York, there were unmistakable traces of his uncle in Brown’s soaring falsetto, sharp dance steps and boyish good looks. But he didn’t mention his family name to the enthusiastic crowd, and much of his online press and promo doesn’t either. “It’s a blessing and a curse — I’m not trying to be anybody else,” Brown told Billboard afterward. “I can’t help the way I sound, I can’t help the way I look, I can’t help the way I dance. I just create naturally.”
Like the Jackson generation before him, some of Brown’s earliest memories are onstage. “I must’ve been about 3 years old — my mother was in Japan on an amphitheater/club run,” he recalls. “She brought me out the first night to dance with her, and I ran off crying. I freaked out. But after that I would do every single show with her and just dance for a few minutes and do my thing. That was when I first realized I liked the stage.”
Brown says his late, legendary uncle took notice of his moves as well. “He taught me different ways of dancing — that was one of my main memories I shared with him. He taught me different ways of dancing, how to dance on tempo, how to go off beat and then catch yourself. He taught me how to go off the top of my head — I don’t like to think when I’m performing.”
Source: Billboard / MJ-Upbeat.com
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