Celebs in Atlanta and beyond mourn King of Pop's passing

The charges were dropped once Jackson's security guard arrived on the scene and the store owners discovered the identity of their famous customer.

"He wasn't bitter," said Young, who knew Jackson since he was a child. "He knew it was all a part of the price of fame."

Too high of a price, according to Atlanta-based rapper and author Chuck D.

"Our celebrity-driven culture held him up and then tore him down," he said by phone Thursday. He learned of Jackson's news while on a flight to Los Angeles. "To see him chased by the paparazzi, lumped in with Paris Hilton, that just made me angry. This man created a standard of excellence. He wasn't famous just for being famous."

Jackson's musical legacy has few peers, the former Public Enemy frontman said: "Beethoven, James Brown, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Michael Jackson. He's in that class."

Atlanta native Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith once shared a stage with Jackson.

"His fans cheered for us. I'll tell my grandkids that," said Smith, who, as one-half of the early 90s rap duo Kriss Kross, opened for Jackson on the European leg of his "Dangerous" tour.

Jackson, dead at 50, cast a large shadow over the Atlanta music scene -- an influence with no peer and a source of many fond childhood memories.

"He made me fall in love with music," Ludacris told BET. The first time he ever dressed himself, the Atlanta rapper and actor recalled, he put on a red jacket and white tube socks pulled high -- just like his idol.

Mableton crooner Ne-Yo said in statement, "I will do my part to keep the melody alive.

"Michael Jackson will live forever through the thing that he put all of his life energy into: his music," he said.

Rapper Bow Wow was in disbelief when he learned of Jackson's death.

"It didn't sound right," he told BET. "The first person I talked to was J.D. [Atlanta producer Jermaine Dupri] and Janet [Jackson, the late entertainer's sister], to reach out."

Janet Jackson has been shooting "Why Did I Get Married Too?" in Atlanta with director Tyler Perry. It's unclear whether Jackson was on the set Thursday.

News of her brother's death dominated the Atlanta airwaves Thursday night, even on country stations.

"Your heart just sinks when you hear about it," said 94.9/The Bull deejay Lance Houston.

At least four Atlanta radio stations -- V-103, Kiss 104.1, Hot 107.9 and Majic 107.5 -- dumped their regular playlists Thursday evening and went all Jackson.

V-103 morning hosts Wanda Smith and Frank Ski were on air for a Jackson retrospective.

"It feels like a piece of me has passed away," Smith said.

Rickey Smiley, a comedian and syndicated morning host heard locally on Hot 107.9, called the news "devastating."

"I'm really just numb," he said. "I really just want this to go away. I wasn't prepared for this."

"For a lot of black folks," he continued, "this is so personal. He's our Elvis."

Smiley said he grew up listening to Jackson 5 albums with his grandmother. He plans to dedicate his Friday show to Jackson's musical legacy.

"I'm going to play some of his songs and let people call in," he said, "express what Michael Jackson meant to them. Give people a chance to grieve."

Silas "Si-Man" Alexander, the night jock at Majic 107.5, said Jackson's music resonated with everyone.

"Rockers with nose rings. Little old ladies. Young kids," said Alexander, who worked at a Milledgeville record store when Jackson's "Thriller" album was released in 1982. "It would just keep on selling. Nobody has had that broad of an appeal ever."

Alexander still plays Jackson's music when he deejays at parties.

"I play ABC by the Jackson 5 every week at [Sandy Springs club] Taboo," he said. "Any Michael Jackson song and it's on and poppin'! And this is 2009, still going strong."

Actress Jane Fonda responded on Twitter to her friend's passing.

"I am stunned," said the Poncey Highlands resident. "My friend, Michael Jackson is dead. He lived with me for a week on 'Golden Pond' set after 'Thriller.'"

Also on Twitter, former Atlantan John Mayer said, "I think we'll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to 'Thriller' on the record player."

Ambassador Young said Jackson should be remembered for his genius.

"But he paid the price for his genius," Young said. "When you're that prominent and that talented, it's so hard to find true love."

Young last saw Jackson two years ago in Las Vegas. Jackson, he said, wanted to discuss a "long-range" business plan that would give artists more control over their music.

"I was a sounding board," Young explained. "Through most of his life, he had been exploited and manipulated by adults. He wanted to take back that control. His grasp of the music business blew my mind. He was talking about billion dollar transactions."

Throughout the meeting, Jackson's children played in the room around the adults.

"He was a good father," Young said. "I remember him telling them, 'Play time is over now. It's dinner time.'"

More local reaction to Jackson's death:

• "I was shocked to realize, when I first met him, how down-to-earth he was," said singer Monica Arnold. "I remember him telling me that 'Angel of Mine' was one of his favorite songs, and then he began singing a few lines of the song. I recorded that song when I was 14 and all I wanted then was for someone to notice and respect me. And here he was, some years later, singing my song to me."

• "I don't know what to say. I loved him," said singer India Arie. "He was truly a special soul. As a person in the music industry, I've seen a glimpse of how rewarding but also how hurtful it can be, especially for sensitive souls. I actually think he was too special and fragile for the world he was in."

• "He was a very unique child, and a very special spirit as a little boy," said former Motown publicist Lynn Jeter. "And he was shy, but a jokester. He was only truly shy towards people he did not know. When I first heard the news, I thought immediately about his kids. What will happen with his kids? His loss now means that we must reflect. We will not be here forever and we must know our musicology and about those who laid the foundation. And now the baton must be passed."

-- Staff writers Rodney Ho, Richard Eldredge, Mashaun D. Simon and contributing writer Sonia Murray contributed to this report.