Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s Estate And Sony Music Reach Settlement Over Alleged Fake Songs

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Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s estate and Sony Music have reached a settlement with the MJ fan who sued them in 2014 claiming that they had posthumously put out songs that were sung by a Michael Jackson impersonator.

In a joint statement to Billboard, Jackson’s estate and Sony said that “Regardless of how the Supreme Court may rule, the parties to the lawsuit mutually decided to end the litigation, which would have potentially included additional appeals and a lengthy trial court process.”

This decision comes 8 years after a Michael Jackson fan filed a lawsuit against the late entertainers estate and Sony Music for allegedly using fake vocals sung by an impersonator on three songs from the posthumous 2010 album Michael. In 2018, a judge ruled that neither side really knew whether or not Michael actually sang on the three songs. However, they were not liable for the charges filed against them.

Last month, Sony Music pulled the three songs from streaming services. A spokesperson for Jackson’s website said that the decision to pull the songs “had nothing to do with their authenticity.”

“The Estate and Sony Music believe the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be – on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog.”

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Napoleon of the Outlawz Says 2Pac Turned Down Michael Jackson Collab Because the King of Pop Didn’t Show Up at the Studio Session

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A couple of weeks back, a story was unearthed that stated Michael Jackson denied a 2Pac collaboration due to liking The Notorious B.I.G. But that was shut down by Danny Boy of Death Row Records.

In a new story, 2Pac reportedly denied a song with The King of Pop due to Jackson not being presented for the studio session.

Napoleon of The Outlawz spoke with Cam Capone News and revealed Pac and MJ were set to work together. 2Pac was allegedly excited about the single and told his family, but Michael Jackson wasn’t present when he got to the studio.

“They said, ‘Oh he can’t come. They want you to lay the verse,’” Napoleon recalled. “He got up and left. And that’s Michael Jackson. He wasn’t man enough to come say hi to me and speak to me? I don’t want to get on his song.’”

He added, “He walked out on the opportunity because he was more about ethics and morals. Like we look up to you. ‘If you want me to be on the song, at least say hi to me.’ I don’t think ‘Pac was just doing stuff for money.”

You can hear it from Napoleon below.

via

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Questlove Believes Beyoncé Has ‘Made Her ‘Off The Wall” With ‘Renaissance’

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Questlove The Roots 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards
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Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance has been out for about half a day now and people can’t stop fawning over it. Lil Nas X has some pretty intense thoughts about the LP and now Questlove, perhaps the most learned music historian/appreciator in the industry, has declared that Renaissance is something special.

In a post on Instagram, The Roots drummer gives the album a 4.5 out of 5 rating and writes, “I still maintain that a good 4 weeks has to go by before you give a rating. I definitely have walked back many a high rating album some 20 years after the fact. I listened 7 times. Which is 8 times more than the last time I listened to anyones record from start to finish. She definitely made her ‘Off The Wall’ with this one (dance album of the year———this being 2022 we can’t give her decade accolades but so far the mix, quality, etc are so dope. This will hold high in her cannon. Love the growth: made classics in her teens, her 20s her 30s & getting better.”

Off The Wall, of course, is Michael Jackson’s 1979 album that is widely considered one of the best music releases of all time, so comparing Beyoncé’s latest to it is a tremendously high honor and not something it seems Questlove would do without good reason.

Three Contentious Michael Jackson Songs Have Been Removed From Streaming By Sony

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13 years after his death, Michael Jackson’s legacy continues to be disputed, debated, and discussed by fans both old and new. Recently, a new twist was thrown into the discourse as Sony Music, which manages the rights to Jackson’s music, has removed three of his songs from streaming services. The three songs, “Breaking News,” “Keep Your Head Up,” and “Monster” featuring 50 Cent, all appear on the 2010 posthumous album Michael and have been subject to controversy for years.

The controversy stems from some fans’ belief that the songs do not feature Jackson’s vocals. Instead, they think that the songs were completed by a session singer, undermining the claim that the album consists of “previously unreleased vocal tracks performed by Michael Jackson.” In fact, one fan even sued Sony and Jackson’s estate over the contentious tracks, claiming they violated consumer laws and amounted to fraud. Vera Serova’s 2014 class-action lawsuit calls the three songs an “elaborate artistic fraud masterminded by co-defendants Eddie Cascio and James Porte.”

Some members of Jackson’s family have even weighed in on both sides. His mom Katherine and sister LaToya both maintained that the songs were either faked or didn’t sound like him, but a court eventually ruled that there was no case because of lack of evidence. It has since been appealed.

However, according to American Songwriter via Stereogum, the three tracks weren’t removed because of their doubted veracity, but because “the continuing conversation about the tracks is distracting the fan community and casual Michael Jackson listeners from focusing their attention where it should be: on Michael’s legendary and deep music catalog,” according to a statement from the estate.

Michael Jackson Once Turned Down A 2Pac Collab Because Of Loyalty To Biggie Smalls

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Michael Jackson

Quincy Jones III, the son of legendary producer Quincy Jones, revealed on BET’s oral history of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, that Michael Jackson was supposed to feature on the album, but declined due to his relationship with Biggie Smalls.

The oral history was published earlier this month to coincide with what would have been Shakur’s 51st birthday. In the article, Quincy Jones III, also known as QD3, recalled that he had set up a meeting at Neverland Ranch to talk to Michael about featuring on 2Pac’s song, “Thug Passion,” which featured a sample from Jackson’s 1983 song “Human Nature.”

Michael said he couldn’t do the song because he “liked Biggie.”

“So I set up a meeting at Neverland. I go up there and told Michael about it. And do you know what Micheal said? He liked Biggie.”

MJ and Biggie Smalls had collaborated the year before on the song “This Time Around.”

“Thug Passion” ended up not being on The Don Killuminati, but would go on to be released on the 2000 Death Row compilation album, Too Gangsta For Radio.

Elsewhere, QD3 talked about 2Pac’s process when it came to making music.

“‘Pac would take all my beats including the ones I would never play for people,” QD3 said. “I learned a lesson that you gotta be spontaneous more and he taught me how to just think and just do it. ‘Pac would get irritated when you sat there and fiddled with sounds almost like you were disrespecting his time a little bit.”

He added: “I would say he was manic. There would be moments that called for quiet voice and candles and all that and he would be screaming and smoking Newports. He was on fire with this manic push. He was always pushing. You could tell he wasn’t comfortable in some way and there was something that was making him uncomfortable.”

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Michael Jackson Estate Accuses Latoya Jackson’s Ex-fiance of Robbing Jackson’s Estate Following His Death

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Michael Jackson

Almost exactly 13 years after his death, Michael Jackson‘s estate has accused Jeffre Phillips, the ex-fiance of the late singer’s sister LaToya Jackson, of stealing some of the singer’s personal effects following Jackson’s death in 2009.

Phillips was apparently staying at Jackson’s estate as a guest in 2009 when the singer died. He had reportedly been staying there for just over a week and stayed about the same amount of time after Jackson’s death. Phillips allegedly stole many of Jackson’s personal effects including his iPhone, clothes, driver’s license, prescription pills, handwritten letters, electronics including video cameras, computers, laptops, and hard drives, as well as a briefcase that contained some of Jackson’s personal and business paperwork. He allegedly also stole the pajamas that Jackson was wearing at the time of his death.

Phillips was dating LaToya Jackson at the time although the pair did not get engaged until 2013. They broke up in 2015.

So far, it does not appear that formal charges have been filed against Phillips.

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Chris Brown Pays Homage To Michael Jackson Amid Comparison Rumors

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Chris Brown

In a recent interview, Chris Brown shot down comparisons to Michael Jackson. Instead, he paid the utmost respect to the late king of pop. In recent years, the debate over who’s the best between Michael Jackson and Chris Brown has heated up. Brown recently appeared on the radio show Big Boy’s Neighborhood and put the […]

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