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A girl they called Flaca

lori

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lori

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http://nypost.com/2014/06/05/shell-always-be-my-older-sister-convict-who-grew-up-with-madonna/

Shell always be my older sister: Convict who grew up with Madonna

By Jane RidleyJune 5, 2014 | 8:36pm

In the early 80s, Lamont Clarke befriended a kooky girl with big dreams. Thirty years later, shes Madonna and hes in prison. After a Post photo conjured up those innocent times, he came forward to tell his story.

Clarke, 44, recognized his 14-year-old self in a recent Post article about Madonnas early life in New York he and his pals saw her as a big sister.

It was the spring of 1983, and Flaca, an up-and-coming actress, dancer and singer whose nickname was the Spanish word for skinny, had asked the teenage crew to join in a photo session at her building.

Just a few months after the shoot, she would be known all over the world as Madonna.

You guys are my family, she affectionately told the gang. Did you think Id leave you out?

As far as the streetwise teens were concerned, Flaca was their fun older sister a bubbly confidante who played guitar on the sidewalk and grooved to the music that blared from her beloved boombox.

They knew she had talent, but never imagined shed become an international superstar.

But it was only after The Post published an article about Cormans work that Clarke, now serving a prolonged prison term for robbery, saw himself in the pictures and recalled the shoot.

Im a humble guy and never told no one that I knew Madonna, Clarke, 44, told The Post in an exclusive jailhouse interview at the Eastern Correctional Facility upstate in Napanoch, NY.

But fellas kept coming to me with the paper and asking if one of those kids was me. I couldnt lie and told them the truth.

He hopes Madonna, whom he called Sis, will get in touch so he can hand her a personal letter explaining how much she meant to the gang and how much pride they take in her success.

I am happy for her because she is a beautiful person, says Clarke. She didnt judge or discriminate and helped all the people she could.

She had a lot of love in her heart, and shell always be my older sister.

Clarke, an orphan who was raised in poverty by his grandmother, first met Madonna in the early 80s after she moved to Alphabet City from her native Michigan. She rented a walk-up at 232 E. Fourth St., a stones throw from his tenement building.

They were introduced by a pair of brothers named Danny and Junito, who lived in Madonnas apartment building. There was a lot of racism with the whites, blacks and Puerto Ricans, but Sis didnt care about the color of your skin, says Clarke. She was this mad cool girl, and she fitted in.

At the time, Madonna was dating Bronx DJ John Jellybean Benitez, a friend of Dannys, who told the teens to look out for his girl when she came home late from the recording studio or after performing gigs at nightclubs. We policed the block, says Clarke, whose five-strong gang TFK was an acronym for Those Fking Kids.

Wed be out on our skateboards or playing skellies [a street game] and, if any outsiders came in, we was skeptical and on their case.

The youngsters quickly bonded with Madge, who would hang out with them for hours at a time on their rooftop and stoop. Sis kept the radio right there, by her side, recalls Clarke. If she didnt have her radio, she had her guitar and she was singing and dancing.

On summer nights, Dannys mom would call to us: Hey, go get your friend Flaca! Tell her to come sing for us.

Other times, they would sit on the floor in Madonnas sparsely furnished apartment and eat pizza.

We were tough dudes, and you didnt want no one to see your weak side, but Sis listened to me, says Clarke. I got into a lot of arguments with Danny, and shed say, Cmon fellas, and calm it down.

We were poor. We didnt have the latest fashion or the latest jewelry, but she liked our style. We didnt have much, but we had a whole lot because we had each other.

He believes she included them in Cormans photo shoot because she wanted to share the experience with her little brothers.

Although Madonna didnt talk much about her burgeoning showbiz career, they knew she was destined for bigger things.

We just didnt know how big, recalls Clarke. She was 100 percent committed to making it. Sis was successful on the inside, so currency was surely to come.

Madonna left the Lower East Side in the fall of 1983, around the time of the release of her self-titled debut album.

Clarke has bittersweet memories about her departure because he never got to say goodbye.

One day, Junito was sitting on the stoop and the dude looked down, he recalls. Sis broke out, he said. Sis left.

I tried to cushion the shock, saying that maybe shed be back. Maybe one day shed come in a limousine, and the door would open, and shed say, Get in, and give us tickets to her show.

As a kid, you hope for that kind of thing. But none of it ever happened. We just went on with life.

The gang broke up in the mid-80s, after three members moved out of Manhattan. One has since passed away, and Clarke, who started his 20-years-to-life sentence in 1999 for second-degree robbery of a factory, has lost touch with the others.

I got into the negative lifestyle, hustling on the streets, admits Clarke, whose rap sheet included firearms possession. Im not dead, but Im buried alive here in jail.

The father of one is eligible for parole in 2017 and, if Madonna agrees to a meeting, hopes to catch up with her and her family for old times sake.

I dont want anything from you, Sis, but I hope you get to read this article, adds Clarke, directly stating his message to Madonna. Loyalty over royalty. I know the love you had for us kids is still true.

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adreeyen Rising Star

adreeyen

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Omg, Madonna is so fucking cool. I love this story so much. Sis, Flaca, I love these nicknames! I wish I personally knew Madonna in the eighties so I could see the pending superstar that everyone else saw.

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davejr. Collaborator

davejr.

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I almost cried while reading this..i hope M agrees to meet him soon..

I hope she names her new album, Flaca.

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lori Collaborator

lori

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A letter to Madonna from Lamont Clarke

There were a lot of things left unsaid when you left. As a kid, it is sometimes hard to express your feelings. But what we shared is priceless.

It felt like we had a special bond because of our past issues, even though we never spoke on it. We were happy together. Nobody judged, we watched each other’s back. I used to sit while eating pizza and think how comfortable and humble you were sitting with the radio. You were already successful on the inside, so currency was sure to come. You’re not just loved and respected for your music, but how you deal with life and help others. You’re well-grounded, Sis. Sincere efforts are always rewarded.

I never reached out to you before now. But [the picture in the New York Post] was a sign from God. If I had reached out to you [before], the people around you would have hurt my pride. I couldn’t deal with that — people not knowing me but judging me, saying: ‘Forget him. That’s the past and he wants money.’

I know family members do things like that, but I’m not that type of family member. Rich or poor, you’ll always remain my sister. The time we shared was real love. No money was involved. I love you for who you are, not because of who you’ve become.

If it’s possible, I would love to see you after these 30 years. A warm, sincere hug would do a lot these days. I’m very happy and proud of you. You did it, Big Sis.

Love, Lamont, your little brother.

http://nypost.com/2014/06/05/a-letter-to-madonna-from-lamont-clarke/

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Cindystime Contributor

Cindystime

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Gosh, even the crappy New York Post can produce something amazing once in a while. This really warmed my heart. The interesting part is about her playing the guitar and singing. That's more proof that she didn't just start playing the guitar as a gimmick in 2000.

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Icykiller Community Regular

Icykiller

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Por un beso de la flaca yo daría lo que fuera!... Anyone thought of the song? LOL! Cool story, I hope they meet, in private, with no cameras and no one finding about it. Just them.

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Pressston Rising Star

Pressston

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Wow this is everything. THIS is why i love Madonna. I hope she comes across this article and especially the letter he wrote for her, where he says he loves her for her heart and not for her money and all, i'm sure she will appreciate this. You can feel he has real love for her, for the person she is inside. Now this is one of my fav ever Madonna related story, thanks a lot for posting this.

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Humberto77rj Collaborator

Humberto77rj

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We could make her listen to him. Let's use instagram and twitter.

Isn't she the one that tells us that we can do anything!!!!??

So...any ideas???

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karbatal Veteran

karbatal

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Beautiful story. And shows a very different Madonna in the early years. All those tabloids are saying that she was fucking her way, fucking for a recor deal, and using men, they never talk about her dear friends, those times being called "Flaca" and going to the rooftop to sing and dance!

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