NEW MIXTAPE: The Best of Michael Jackson (2.5hrs)

DOWNLOAD THE MIXTAPE HERE or get the iPhone version (lets you skip through tracks).

These best of mixtapes that I do really started when I made The Best of Kanye West in January 2011. That experience was kind of precious for me because it got my feet wet but mainly because it was one of the most talented artists I like. If that was precious, then how precious would it be to do a best of MJ, the king of pop, the moonwalker, you know who he is. Hell, every country in the world knows who he is. A few comments I have on the legendary Michael Jackson:

• First off, this is one of my favourite artists, possibly my most favourite. When he passed, I took time off work to consider remixing his music, because it had never been done with success (with the exception of Quentin Harris’ “Whatever Happens”). But Will.I.AM, Akon, and other big dudes couldn’t remix any of his work to make it worth listening to. I somehow succeeded and right from my laptop, got my remixes viral to a point where friends of mine from Detroit were playing my joints in Barcelona and got an insane reaction. I’m really happy because I managed to somewhat respect the legacy. Take a listen to those remixes here.
• I read that Jam Master Jay had a little encounter with MJ’s monkey, Bubbles. I believe they were all meeting up after the success of “Rock This Way” in a hotel room in Cali, to consider working together. Everyone think JMJ was a happy smiling DJ, but he was really street (in fact, the first time he met DMC, JMJ had guns in both hands). Long story short, everything was going well, until Bubbles playfully jumped on JMJ, who reacted by throwing Bubbles on the ground, followed by MJ freaking out for his monkey. I read that in Ronin Ro’s bio of Run DMC.
• The Moonwalk – The Motown 25 awards show in 1983. From what I hear from people that were old enough to remember that, it was all people were talking about the next day. A single dance that infatuated the whole planet.
• Artwork illustration by Jordan England. This guy did my Jay-Z and Biggie covers. Isn’t he incredible?
• The overall feeling of world dominance… In my bedroom as a kid, my brother clipped out articles on MJ and taped them all over the wall. This is what kids with no money do when they can’t afford posters or the sick red jackets with the zippers. I’d wake up everyday, see pics of him, try to dance like him, and knew all his music. I remember watching his live videos of people fainting and crying for him in 87′ just because they were at his concert. Like Chris Brown said “He makes people faint. Who does that?? The president doesn’t even have that effect”
• Back to how the world obsessed over MJ. Corey Feldman is an overall shitty actor/visionary – His gestures are all like MJ, except they’re garbage. Really, really, funny video – highly recommended. Check it out. Special shout out to the lady they zoom in on at 1:13.
• He was the first black artist on MTV. And a lot of cultural barriers were broken with his videos and music. My family got real excited that somebody in pop music would put Gandhi in a video. I had some idea but did not fully understand how political the black or white video ending was. All the details are explained in this video.
• That’s exactly it – you could rock his music with your family and everyone’s happy, whether they’re 8 or 80. People have tonnes of bad things to say about him, but the stage is his sanctuary, and the work with Quincy+Motown has something so pure to it, so much sweetness, feeling. I can’t deny I crack a smile watching his videos sometimes, because even though there’s tonnes of sadness to his life, his presence is really happy and even sweet when he’s singing.
• Swag…Holy. The definer of swag, if you ask me. The Moonwalk? Smashing up a car and then turning into a panther? Walking down the street and every sidewalk square lights up? Being able to dance like a machine? It goes on and on. Coolest dude I’ve ever seen.
• Rockwell’s “Somebody’s Watching Me” … So weird how MJ’s not credited on this one and he really, really saves and makes the track a classic. He’s not even in the video, and this all occurred during his prime in 84′.

Tracklisting

1. M-Rock’s Intro
2. ABC ^
3. O.P.P. – Naughty By Nature *
4. I Want You Back ^
5. Izzo – Jay-Z *
6. Jump – Kriss Kross *
7. It Aint Hard To Tell – Nas *
8. Right Here (Human Nature Duet Demolition Mix) – SWV *
9. The Girl Is Mine But You Don’t Know Her Name (M-Rock’s Legends Mix) ft. Paul McCartney
10. This Place Hotel ^
11. Enjoy Yourself ^
12. I Wanna Be Where You Are ^
13. It’s All About the Benjamins – Puff Daddy ft. The Notorious B.I.G. *
14. It’s Great to Be Here ^
15. Man In The Mirror
16. Scream ft. Janet
17. Remember The Time
18. Another Part Of Me
19. In The Closet
20. Dangerous
21. Jam
22. Smooth Criminal
23. Black Or White
24. Blame It On The Boogie
25. The Love You Save
26. Rock With You
27. Say Say Say – Paul McCartney +
28. Billie Jean
29. Off The Wall
30. Burn This Disco Out
31. The Way You Make Me Feel
32. Leave Me Alone
33. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
34. Soul Makossa – Manu Dibango **
35. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
36. Thriller
37. Shake Your Body Down To The Ground ^
38. Get On The Dance Floor – Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock *
39. Get On The Floor
40. Salsa House – Richie Rich *
41. Whatever Happens (Quentin Harris Remix)
42. P.Y.T. Demo (M-Rock’s King of Pop Mix)
43. Somebody’s Watching Me – Rockwell +
44. Can You Feel It ^
45. Dirty Diana
46. Beat It
47. P.Y.T.
48. Good Life – Kanye West Feat. T-Pain *
49. Hey Lover – LL Cool J ft. Boyz II Men *
50. All That I Got Is You – Ghostface Killah & Mary J Blige *
51. Maybe Tomorrow ^
52. Butterflies
53. Breakadawn – De La Soul *
54. I’ll Be There ^
55. HIStory (J Dilla Remix)
56. You Rock My World
57. Melodie
58. Baby Be Mine
59. I Can’t Help It (Todd Terje Remix)
60. Lady in My Life
61. She’s Out Of My Life
62. Call On Me
63. You Are Not Alone (M-Rock’s Fam Mix)

+ Features Michael Jackson
* Samples Michael Jackson/Jackson 5
^ By Jackson 5
** Samples Michael Jackson

I’m on the hip-hop stage at Boogie Inc’s event with Blackberry DJs “The Martinez Brothers” on July 6, at Sunnyside Pavillion here in Toronto. They’re some of the biggest and most technical house DJs in the world and they’re also a lot of fun on stage. REACH.