Still, Chicago MC Rhymefest reigns as the king of re-imagining the King of Pop. Miller Jr.'s Web site Rappers I Know ( the former K-Otix beatman crunches up a number of Jackson 5 favorites, while MCs Kay and Oh No take turns throwing down some crafty, hard-edged rhymes.
On the Dem Damb Jacksons collection, available for free download on Frank W. The ARE also mined early Jackson material with style. A year ago, Mobb Deep's Havoc poignantly riffed on loyalty with his song "Be There," which sampled Jackson's "Got to Be There" with impressive results. It seems that underground rappers have a better sense of what to do with Michael Jackson tracks. Jackson is little more than a back-up singer on Akon's remake of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." At least Kanye West had the decency to just add more strings and drums to his "Billie Jean" remix and let Jackson sing his own damn song.
If it wasn't for that train wreck of a rendition Charlotte Church did with a sloshed Amy Winehouse on British TV a couple of years ago, we'd all hang our heads in shame over this version.įor what it's worth, will.i.am isn't the only one who doesn't do the Gloved One any favors with his tricked-out tunes.
At any rate, what shows up here is Jackson singing all the lyrics while will awkwardly wedges in some manly boasts.īy far the most egregious offense is the redo of "Beat It," which sets Jackson in a duet with a snarling Fergie. But then he and Jackson completely excise Paul McCartney from "The Girl Is Mine," making one wonder if this is Jackson's spiteful payback for all those years Macca made Jacko look like the bad guy for buying the rights to the Beatles' song catalog. Even after all these crazy years, the boy can still come with the sweet vocals. (Pretty Young Thing)" comes off best - if only because will has Jackson sing new lyrics that the Moonwalker pulls off with melodious ease. The Black Eyed Peas captain remixes three of the album's classic tunes (with Jackson wholly signing off), and by doing so, reminds everyone why Diddy is no longer the leader of the meddlesome, obsequious producer/performer pack.