Recorded between 1989 and 1991, these songs have little chance of being widely distributed, as the rights holders of the King of Pop do not want this.
By Télérama
Published on December 14, 2024 at 12:08 p.m.
Michael Jackson rapping with LL Cool J? This is something new… And for good reason: this is what we can hear on new recordings of the king of pop, recently discovered in a storage unit in Los Angeles, reports the Hollywood Reporter. Twelve previously unreleased songs were found by Gregg Musgrove, a 56-year-old father and former Californian highway police officer.
This amateur treasure hunter had gone to search the place after one of his acquaintances had acquired it. The latter then knew that the storage unit had belonged to Bryan Loren, a music producer who had worked with Whitney Houston, Barry White, Sting and, therefore, Michael Jackson. Gregg Musgrove comes across several cassettes. To ensure that they contain unreleased songs, he goes to several fan sites of the singer. Billie Jean. Rumors indicate that some of these pieces exist, although we have not been able to hear them. Others have already partially leaked but, in all cases, Musgrove has some Michael Jackson songs that no one has listened to until now.
A text on the accusations of sexual assault against him
Among the notable songs found on these cassettes, one is titled Don’t Believe It (“Don’t believe it”) and seems to mention the rumors of sexual assault of which the singer has been accused for almost 25 years. Another of the pieces, Truth on Youthwould therefore be a collaboration with rapper LL Cool J, in which Jackson himself tries his hand at rap.
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In addition to unreleased tracks, we can hear on some of these tapes the singer of Thriller chat, laugh and joke, giving context to these recordings. The title Seven Digitsexplains the singer, owes its name to the “seven-digit number” that we give to lifeless bodies once they arrive at the morgue.
Will we one day be able to hear these unreleased tracks? This is where it gets complicated. The singer’s rights holders, contacted by Musgrove, indicated that they did not wish to purchase these cassettes. However, the former officer, although the owner of these physical media, does not have the copyright which would allow him to distribute the pieces publicly. Little chance, therefore, of hearing a rap verse from Michael Jackson anytime soon. The former police officer will undoubtedly be able to console himself with a nice sum, since he plans to sell the tapes at auction.