Slightly off-topic, Timbaland released a snippet of this cut he produced for Mike, as a part of his Timbaland Thursdays initiative. This track is a part of an L.A. Reid sanctioned Michael Jackson album, which was supposed to be released by the end of 2013. Tim speaks on it in the video clip below, which was shot in July 2013.

DJ Spinna Talks Michael Jackson + Prince Parties from HipHopSite.Com on Vimeo.

In part one of our interview with DJ Spinna, the legendary producer speaks with HipHopSite.Com’s own DJ Pizzo about the history of the legendary Soul Slam parties, which showcase the music of Michael Jackson and Prince.

01. Breaking News
02. Hold My Hand Ft. Akon
03. Hollywood Tonight
04. Keep Your Head Up
05. (I Like) The Way You Love Me
06. Monster Ft. 50 Cent
07. Best Of Joy
08. (I Can’t Make It) Another Day
09. Behind The Mask
10. Much Too Soon

Here goes the tracklist for MJ’s December 14th release, Michael. 50 Cent and Akon appear.

MJ’s new album drops December 14th. No word if the Will.i.am and Akon collaborations will be included, but the single “Breaking News” debuts Monday on his official website.

I didn’t realize the profound impact Michael Jackson had on me or in shaping my musical tastes until he died. Well, that’s not completely true. One year before he died, I certainly recognized his impact, retro-reviewing Thriller 25th Anniversary Edition for this very website, awarding it the @@@@@ rating that it deserves (despite a questionable Fergie remix). Yeah, this is HipHopSite, but nobody can tell me Thriller isn’t a perfect album.

When he died, I was shocked, but somehow unsurprised. It just seemed like the natural progression of things given his circus lifestyle, that he would die early in some strange way, like so many legendary figures before him. Prior to his death, we had forgotten how brilliant he was and instead were fixated on the controversies surrounding him (child molestation allegations, hanging baby out the window, etc).

I had to spin at TRYST that night. I was in a low mood, but I was scrambling to put something together to honor MJ and only had a few hours to do so. I wanted to do something different – I didn’t want it to be the same old thing with all of the songs in their original versions, so I used a lot of my favorite remixes and club versions. As I was putting the mix together, tears were coming from my eyes. The music was effecting me differently than it ever had – these weren’t just tears of sadness, but also of joy. Michael was finally free and his legacy could no longer be tainted. People would remember him for his brilliance instead of anything else. I hope this mix does him justice. Rest In Power, Michael Jackson.

DJ Pizzo – “Michael Jackson Tribute Mix”

Sources say that the estate of Michael Jackson has signed a lucrative deal with Sony Music Entertainment, which will include ten projects over a period of seven years, with a value that could be worth up to $250 million. A low ball figure for the deal guarantees at least $200 million, beating out previous record holders Jay-Z and Madoanna, who signed with Live Nation Entertainment Inc. for $150 and $120 million, respectively.

The new deal will include a brand new album due this November, with never before released recordings from MJ, most likely including previously recorded but yet unreleased collaborations with will.i.am and Akon. Other projects may include a video game, a video compilation on DVD, and a special extended edition release of “Off The Wall”. [Source: Y!]

Let me add that Kayvon is the best interviewer in the biz. – DJ Pizzo

Sure, Michael Jackson’s legacy has been sampled to death, carving out a number of hit records for various artists including Jay-Z (“Izzo”), Kanye West (“Good Life”), Nas (“It Ain’t Hard To Tell”), and tons more. What you may not be aware of however is how many times Michael has tapped these same artists to appear on his own records. Here are MJ’s top collaborations with hip-hop artists of all time. No bootlegs or unofficial releases are included in this list.

10. “Jam” (feat. Heavy D) – “Jam” was 1992 single from Michael’s Dangerous album, an album produced with Teddy Riley, as he stepped into the 90′s with the era’s disposable New Jack Swing sound. While the single’s ambitious video featured MJ on the court with the other MJ (Michael Jordan), it also marked the first time he would share mic time with a rapper: Heavy D.  Heavy was in his element here, at the time being looked at as the “safe rapper” to go to for projects like this, much different than Biggie’s mismatched appearance on “This Time Around”.

9. “HIStory (The Ummah Remix)” – Wha-huh? Just how far do the arms of J. Dilla reach? Yes, Jay Dee was commissioned to remix Michael Jackson in 1997 for “HIStory”, the lead single for MJ’s greatest hits album of the same name. Unfortunately, while the honor was great, “HIStory” was not a hit for MJ. Still, it’s interesting to hear Michael over a beat that could have essentially went on A Tribe Called Quest’s Beats, Rhymes, & Life, with Dilla’s trademark snapping drums and hollowed out basslines.

8. “2 Bad” (Refugee Camp Remix) / “Blood On The Dancefloor (Refugee Camp Remix)” – In 1997, The Fugees were just coming off of their success with The Score, and Michael Jackson tapped them for his remix album, Blood On The Dancefloor. While Lauryn was not involved with the project, Wyclef got busy on a pair of remixes, the highlight being the lead single and title track, where ‘Clef took it back to basics sampling classic breaks for Michael to rock over. One can also surmise that this was the highlight of John Forte’s career.

7. “This Time Around” (feat. Notorious B.I.G.) – On paper, this seems like a natural contender for the best Michael Jackson hip-hop collabo of all time, however the end result wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. This was recorded and finished when both artists were alive, back in 1995. The problem with it is the overly pop production of Maurice Joshua that didn’t mesh with the type of records we were used to hearing B.I.G. on. Listening to it now, it sounds incredibly dated, however Biggie comes nice with his, shouting out Mike at the end of the verse. Who wants to put money on Diddy remixing the song for 2010 remix single?

6. “Butterflies (Trackmasters Remix feat. Eve)” – After the success of “You Rock My World”, Mike stuck to the script with the hip-hop remixes, again employing the Trackmasters to reinvent his sound for Invincible. The duo cheekily jacks Redman’s “Tonites Da Night”, as Michael sings “I want to be with you toooniiiight”, with Eve backing him up. Typically we’d frown on this kind of thing, but Mike sounds so cool on this vibey, smoothed out track.

5. “Billie Jean (Kanye West Remix)” – Of course if you ask Kanye, he’ll tell you this is the number 1 Michael Jackson hip-hop collabo of all time, but hey. It’s kind of hard to improve upon perfection, so when word got out that Kanye was remixing “Billie Jean” for Thriller’s 25th Anniversary reissue, hopes got sky high, but the final product was a bit of a let down. ‘Ye got rid of the song’s trademark bassline, opting instead for the symphonic string section sound found on Late Registration, as well as some hard-hitting drums. We’d expected Kanye to drop a hot sixteen bars, but apparently this is one case where he kept his ego in check, and remained silent.

4. “I Want You Back” – Jackson 5 (Z-Trip Remix) – Z-Trip’s remix of Jackson 5′s “I Want You Back” for the 2005 Motown Remixed compilation is the ultimate love letter to the song, as he essentially breaks down and reconstructs the song, with different drum patterns, extended bridges, and a cut section. It’s hard to imagine that this song could sound as strong without the familar piano intro, but Z pulls it off with ease.

3. “The Girl Is Mine 2008 (feat. will.i.am)” – One of the other tracks from Thriller’s 2008 reissue showed the potential of what MJ could sound like with current production. Rather than simply remixing Mike’s old collabo with Paul McCartney, will crafted an entire new song with a new hook, new lyrics, and completely fresh sound for the king of pop, proving that the comeback that never happened may have been possible had he lived.

2. “Unbreakable (feat. Notorious B.I.G.)” – Taking a page from B.I.G.’s “Unbelievable”, this 2004 posthumous collabo almost recreates Biggie’s original beat, but flips the script on it so it’s not a complete bite (much like Diddy did in his early Bad Boy days). Big’s verse was reused from Shaq’s (!) debut album title track “You Can’t Stop The Reign”, however we predict in time it will be remembered for his verse here. This track was one of the lesser known selections from Invincible, as something else reigned supreme that year….

1. “You Rock My World (Trackmasters Remix feat. Jay-Z)” – This is easily Mike’s best collaboration with a rapper, hands down. The song dropped in 2001, two weeks after the September 11th attacks, and two weeks after Jay-Z dropped his classic, The Blueprint. This was the lead single to his Invincible LP, and was incredibly relevent at the time, getting major spins from just about every radio deejay in every market. Jay-Z’s opening verse sealed the deal.

Honorable Mention: Akon – “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough 2008″ – While we liked Akon’s treatment of the song for the 2008 reissue of Thriller, this was actually a cover of the song, not a collaboration.

Dishonorable Mention: Fergie – “Beat It 2008″ – Really, bitch? Get your ass off this song.

A quick peek at the Billboard and Itunes charts shows dramatic sales numbers for virtually all of MJ’s albums, many of them selling over 100,000 copies within the last week, with retailers struggling to keep them in stock. That being said, it is a certainty that all of this vaulted music will be remixed, finished, and released probably over the next twenty to thirty years (i.e. 2Pac).

Akon stated that he and Jackson had been in the studio together, but had only completed one song, “Hold My Hand”, which leaked online last year. Meanwhile, Black Eyed Peas frontman, will.i.am, stated that he had a handful of songs recorded with Jackson, but was unsure what he was going to do with them, releasing them or just keeping them in the vault. Of the recordings, will told the BBC that they “demanded all the people to the dancefloor”. – DJ Pizzo

Very dope tribute record to Michael Jackson, perhaps the best one yet. This one packs a brilliant track built around “Billie Jean”. J.R. sticks to the script. – DJ Pizzo

Little Brother frontman, Phonte Coleman, weighs in on MJ’s death. He brings up a lot of valid points about the allegations made against Mike. Preach on, brother:

I haven’t been compelled to blog in a long time.

In an era where everybody is twittering and text-messaging their lives away, a well-thought out essay that extends past 140 characters is quickly becoming a thing of the past.

But when our universe lost its brightest star on June 25, 2009, I felt a deep, overwhelming sadness that I haven’t experienced in many years and I felt moved to say….something.

My hero, Michael Joseph Jackson, is dead.

Honestly I’m still trying to process it, almost like the loss of a much-loved family member. I mean, hell, to many of us Michael WAS family. Much like Nike, or Coca-Cola, or McDonalds, Michael Jackson wasn’t so much a person as he was a living, breathing, American institution; a ubiquitous force that has seemingly existed forever and one that we couldn’t imagine a world without. Seeing Michael onstage was less like watching a musician perform and more akin to witnessing a magician at work.

But contrary to his otherworldly stage presence and magical aura, the man we called The King of Pop proved to be a mere mortal. And now my hero, Michael Joseph Jackson, is dead.

What isn’t dead, unfortunately, is the cloud of false accusations, unsubstantiated rumors, myths, slander, and outright lies that surround his life and his legacy. The greatest myth regarding Michael Jackson is that he was a pedophile who preyed on young children.

It is my belief now, just as it was 16 years ago, that the charges brought against Michael during his 1993 sexual abuse case were false. The allegations made by Jordan Chandler (the accuser) and his father Evan Chandler always seemed suspect to me for a few reasons:

1. Ask the average parent whether they’d want justice or money for their abused child and more than likely they’d say justice, if for no other reason than to protect their child (and other children) from a future attack. The fact that Evan Chandler was willing to essentially let Michael off the hook for a few million (reportedly 2-3), made their case seem like a well-orchestrated extortion attempt. In regards to the case, Evan was later caught on tape saying, “If I go through with this, I win big time. There’s no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever…Michael’s career will be over.” Notice that homeboy ain’t mention jack shit about his son. So much for being a concerned father…

2. Generally when victims of abuse come out with allegations against someone, other victims come forward to corroborate their story (i.e. the Catholic Church scandal, where a few parties came forward and it later led to thousands).

Very rarely do child molesters stop at just one kid, or even two for that matter. An alleged pedophile with only two accusers is kinda like an alleged serial killer with only one body. Or an alleged sneaker addict with only two pairs of Jordans in his closet. It just doesn’t make any logical sense, nor does it coincide with the recurring psychological characteristics of most people who fall into those categories.

In the case of Michael Jackson vs. the Chandler family, not a single corroborating witness could be found to help prosecute the case and after raids were conducted on several of Jackson’s homes, no hard evidence of sexual abuse was gathered.

Michael later settled the Chandler case out of court, not as an admission of guilt, but at the behest of his lawyers and financial advisors who warned him that a criminal trial could cost him millions of dollars in legal fees, as well as the loss of hundreds of millions in touring and endorsement revenue. With the Chandler case finally over, Michael continued to tour and released his greatest hits package “HIStory” in 1995. Ten years later though, he would face another trial that, in my opinion, would be the one to literally and figuratively, kill him.

Martin Bashir’s heinous, Machiavellian documentary “Living With Michael Jackson” aired in 2003. It was in this documentary that Mike (albeit foolishly) talked about his fondness for sharing his bed with children, and was seen holding hands with a young boy. Shortly afterwards the young boy from the documentary, 13 year-old Gavin Arvizo (a cancer survivor who had all his medical bills paid for by Michael), accused him of sexual abuse.

When Mike’s case against Arvizo hit airwaves in 2005, I must admit that I had my doubts. Much like the Chris Rock joke, I too shook my head in disbelief and said “ANOTHER kid!?! Mike, what the fuck?!! How could you be THAT stupid?!?!” As the case unraveled though, the financial motivations of the accuser’s family became much more apparent.

Similar to the Chandler case from ‘93, the prosecution couldn’t produce any credible witnesses to corroborate Arvizo’s testimony against Michael. Many of the prosecution’s witnesses were either former employees of Michael who had financial disputes with him, or had criminal convictions themselves. Arvizo’s testimony contradicted previous statements he’d made to officials saying that nothing ever took place between him and Michael, and Arvizo’s mother Janet Arvizo, an eccentric woman with a prior conviction for welfare fraud, single-handedly killed the case with her flippant remarks on the witness stand and overall bizarre courtroom behavior.

Actor Macaulay Culkin came forward in Michael’s defense and testified that no inappropriate behavior ever took place during their many times together, as did many other associates who had spent time at Neverland. Ultimately, Michael emerged from the Arvizo case with a Not Guilty verdict on all counts, but it proved to be a pyrrhic victory. The damage was already done. In the court of popular opinion, The King of Pop was an unrepentant child molestor.

When defending Michael Jackson against his detractors, I am often asked if I would let one of my sons sleep over at his house. The answer is no. Shit, I wouldn’t let my sons sleep over at YOUR house. But that doesn’t make you a pedophile, it just makes me a concerned and protective dad who doesn’t leave his kids around people I personally don’t know well enough to trust.

When it came to children, the only thing Michael was guilty of in my opinion, was naivete. While cuddling in the bed with children isn’t technically illegal, it does violate several social norms; norms that a man who dresses funny, lives at an amusement park and refers to himself as “Peter Pan” would certainly pay a higher price for breaking. When I hear the tales of Michael laying in bed with those children, watching movies, tickling, and engaging in general horseplay, it sounds less like the work of a pedophile and more like the actions of a man trying to experience a childhood he never had.

During his investigation for the Arvizo trial, Michael was examined by Dr. Stan Katz, a clinical psychologist who concluded that Michael didn’t fit the profile of a pedophile but instead that of a regressed 10 year old, an analysis which I agree with wholeheartedly. I mean after all, only a person with the simple, unsuspecting mind of a child could truly believe they could sleep in the same bed as their pre-pubescent buddies and not pay a price for it.

Still, the most saddening myth surrounding Michael’s life is that he was ashamed to be Black. During the mid 80’s, in the midst of his ever-changing skin complexion and facial features, popular opinion in the Black community was that Mike was a sellout. This was an opinion that would unfortunately haunt him for the rest of his life, but a closer look reveals quite the opposite.

As echoed by my man Scorpeze of the house music duo Windimoto in his excellent blog, Michael Jackson never tried to disown or separate himself from his Blackness at any point in his career. In fact, he was probably the most openly pro-Black pop entertainer of his time. Michael Jackson ashamed to be Black? I mean, this was the same guy who:

-portrayed Black people as kings and queens in ancient Egypt (“Remember the Time” video)

-called Tommy Mottola (his then label boss) a devil and a racist

-sang “white man’s gotta make a change” live on the Grammies in ’88

-sang about a beautiful African woman in “Liberian Girl”

-featured an African chant at the end of “Wanna Be Startin Somethin”

-donated over $25 million to the United Negro College Fund

-sang “I ain’t scared of no sheets” in “Black or White” and upped the ante by morphing into a BLACK PANTHER at the video’s end

-wrote a song called “They Don’t Really Care About Us,” with a Spike Lee-directed video that featured prisoners raising the Black power fist

-uhhh “We Are The World” and USA for Africa, anyone?

What about this man wasn’t Black enough? Was it his battle with vitiligo and how it caused skin discoloration? Was it his excessive facial surgeries, due I’m sure in no small part to the teasing and ridicule he faced about his looks as a teenager?

Why did we turn our collective backs on a man who always reminded us that he never forgot who he was, or more importantly, whose he was?

This essay is my plea to all people who consider themselves a fan of Michael Jackson, but especially to Black people: Don’t let them talk about our Brother. Don’t let his naysayers convict him of crimes that were never proven. Don’t let people reduce the memory of one of our greatest heroes to that of a weird guy who wore a shiny glove and molested little boys.

When Elvis Presley died, did the media remember him as an overweight, drug-abusing racist who dated a 14 year-old, or was he eulogized as The King of Rock and Roll?

When Woody Allen dies, do you think the media will focus on the controversy behind him marrying his own stepdaughter, or on the films “Annie Hall” and “Manhattan” and how great they were? (Ditto for Jerry Lee Lewis, the rock and roll pioneer who married his 13-year old cousin.)

When people accuse Michael of being a pedophile or a child molester, ask them to provide hard evidence. Ask them to provide an opinion rooted in fact, rather than one based on gossip, hearsay, and conjecture. Chances are, they won’t be able to. The Black community has done a great disservice in not reciprocating the love that Michael Jackson showed us when he was alive. The least we can do in honoring his death is ensure that his legacy is remembered properly for future generations.

Was Michael Jackson a weirdo? Of course he was a weirdo.

But maybe if you had been in the public eye since you were 7, had grown ass women throwing themselves at you since you were 13, suffered physical abuse at the hands of your father, watched your father and older brothers engage in sex with groupies on tour as a child, were called “Big Nose” and “ugly” by both family members AND fans, developed a skin disease that took away the one thing you repeatedly expressed your pride for, and spent the last half of your life as the most famous person on Earth, you’d probably be a bit of a weirdo too.

I am not attempting to paint Michael Jackson as a saint, as no man ever lives up to such a lofty title. But to me, the phrase “no good deed goes unpunished” seems to sum up Michael Jackson’s life more than ever.

Why would people try to tear down a man who constantly used his power, money, and influence to help others?

Why would people express such disgust and contempt for a man who constantly sang of love and peace, and used his talent to entertain, uplift, and inspire millions?

Tell em that its human nature, I suppose…

Rest in Peace, Brother Michael. I love and miss you dearly.

Phonte

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And now, the video for The Game and company’s MJ tribute, “Better On The Other Side”… – DJ Pizzo

]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/video-the-game-feat-chris-brown-diddy-polow-da-don-usher-mario-winans-boyz-ii-men-better-on-the-other-side-mp3/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/video-dwele-human-nature-mj-cover/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/video-dwele-human-nature-mj-cover/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:04:26 +0000 http://hhsblog.covelop.org/?p=448

Multi-talented one-man-band, Dwele, pays homage to Michael Jackson in this YouTube clip. And that’s how you let the beat build, bitch. – DJ Pizzo

]]> http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/video-dwele-human-nature-mj-cover/feed/ 0 http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/new-joints-ras-kass-mike-jacks-mp3/ http://www.hiphopsite.com/2009/07/01/new-joints-ras-kass-mike-jacks-mp3/#comments Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:55:33 +0000 http://hhsblog.covelop.org/?p=443 [cont.]]]>

Ras Kass will return to the game after a long hiatus with his new “Quarterly” mixtape, dropping sometime within the next month. “Mike Jacks” is the latest in a series of MJ tributes we’ve seen over the last week, where Razzy pulls an Ice Cube, playing “Jackin’ For Beats” over various beats from the King of Pop. Rather than using the actual samples, Ras uses various MJ sampled tracks, such as Jay-Z’s “Izzo”, Kanye’s “Good Life”, Nas “It Ain’t Hard To Tell”, etc. This is cool, however Ras spends more time speaking on himself, with the references to Michael being subtly delivered. What this does do is put into perspective how many hip-hop hit singles are built around these samples. - DJ Pizzo

Download: Ras Kass – “Mike Jacks” – (MP3)

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“This Michael Jackson video tribute mix was recorded live from the DJ mixer during PB Wolf’s VJ set @ the Echoplex in Los Angeles. It was prepared and performed a few hours after hearing the news of his passing on 6/25/09 and is in NO WAY COMPREHENSIVE of all of Michael’s brilliant work. The show which also featured Daedelus, was for the launch of Friends Of Friends. This is part 3 of 3.”

With PB Wolf’s entry into the Michael Jackson tribute mixes, he takes a different approach by mixing videos together, including the ultimate sell-out clip of MJ altering the lyrics to “Billy Jean” to peddle Pepsi. Ah, the 80′s. - DJ Pizzo

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