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Actor and comedianBill Bellamyhas an epic personal database of memories to share from an incredible pop culture era:the ’90s.
“I’m on stage [at the VMAs], I give the award toMichael JacksonandJanet Jackson, and I’m on stage with Biggie,” Bellamy, 58, exclusively tells PEOPLE of sharing the moment with the late rapper, also known as theNotorious B.I.G.
On that night in September 1995, Michael and Janet won three music video awards, known as Moonmen at the time, for their “Scream” collaboration that year.
“It was funny because it turns out it was Biggie’s first time meeting Michael Jackson, too,” he laughs after mimicking the “Big Poppa” singer’s signature voice. “‘Can you believe it man, it’s ‘Scream,’ man.'”
“So me and Biggie was acting like kids, cuz we’re in the game, but they’re in THE GAME!” Bellamy continues of meeting the brother-and-sister duo. “It was just surreal.”
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“That’s what’s going to happen when people read my book. They’re going to remember where they were, they’re gonna go, ‘Oh my God, I remember that, I was in high school, I was in college, I was 8 years old.'”
“That’s like me saying to my parents, ‘I wish I could have seen Elvis [Presley] live,’ " Bellamy compares of meeting the late “King of Pop,“who died in 2009at age 50, but missing out on the possibility of meeting the “King of Rock n’ Roll,” who died in 1977.
Bellamy would later become friends with Janet Jackson, now 56. “What Janet was doing at that time was incredible for females,” he says, noting the “baton” pass fromMadonna, 64, who began her reign in the mid-1980s and through the ’90s as hip-hop culture further emerged to the masses.
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“I had to learn different genres,” he notes of his wide-ranging musical knowledge. “I had to listen to rock bands, I had to listen to grunge — I had to listen to alternative, hip-hop.”
Like Kurt Cobain, another artist gone too soon, who Bellamy had the chance to interview.
“Kurt Cobain, to me, was the anti-rockstar rockstar,” Bellamy says. “Like he was his own vibe and he made an impact in such a short window that could never be be duplicated. That’s what was so cool about his impact. He came in the game really, really, really strong and changed it and opened up the doors for all different types of bands to get an opportunity to express their feelings and their angst in their music.”
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“I mean it was like being at a university — it was like being at an all-white university that played a lot of rock music and you know, and [like an] all-white radio station, you know, the corporate guys think they know music and they’re dictating what bands get played and you know, when I came in they were making a change where they were opening up the doors to different types of music. Because if you go back, you will realize Michael Jackson was one of the first African-American artists to really start getting airplay.”
“I was groundbreaking because I came in at the precise moment to push the agenda. To get more hip hop,” Bellamy says of his contribution to the pivotal era.
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Along with Jackson, Bellamy says that basketball icon Michael Jordan was also a huge influence on him while coming up in the ’90s — and Bellamy is actually the cousin of Los Angeles Lakers legendShaquille O’Neal.
The stand-up comedian, who is also quite tall at 6'4, shares two children with his wife,Kristen Bellamy: Baron, 16, who is already 6'5 and following in Shaq’s footsteps with basketball, and Bailey, 20, who is currently studying at an Ivy League university. Bellamy has been married to Kristen, 42, for just over 20 years.
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Speaking proudly of their union, Bellamy says he waters his relationship with even more dedication than he has put into his successful career. “It’s work. It’s compromise. It’s understanding. It’s listening. You know, you have to be selfless when it comes to that.”
Bellamy sheds more light on his secrets to a balanced personal and professional life in his book, which he says has a little something for everyone to enjoy, but especially for those who hold an appreciation for the ’90s.
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He teased ofTop Billin’to PEOPLE in November, “My memoir will be a nostalgic ride for the reader. They will have an amazing, in-depth experience of the ’90s through my eyes. Sometimes life will bless you with an opportunity — it’s what we do with the opportunity that is the blessing.”
Adding to PEOPLE on Friday of the business behind that blessing, theBack On the Stripfilm star said:
“You’ll see the twists and turns in the game, you know, decisions you’ve gotta make to make it, things you gotta say no to, things you gotta say yes to. It’s a business. It’s show business. You gotta be on your A-game to stay in it.”
source: people.com
