Prince and Michael Jackson are two names that modern history is incomplete without. Putting aside the scandals and controversies, both artists simply made terrific music, the kind of which has lasted well past its point of origin. Meanwhile, it turns out that Prince and Michael shared an ongoing rivalry that went well beyond pop chart domination. According to some reports, the two legends even took their feud to physical and occasionally dangerous extremes. Indeed, it looks like we won\u2019t be putting aside those scandals and controversies after all. Here are the Top 5 incidents between Michael Jackson and Prince.
1. James Brown and MJ Invite Prince Onstage
The year was 1983 and Michael Jackson was on top of the world, still reeling from the success of \u201cThriller.\u201d While not on the same level (or even close), Prince was on the brink of major stardom thanks to songs like \u201c1999\u201d and \u201cLittle Red Corvette.\u201d Rumours of a rivalry were already starting to swirl.
Enter funk legend James Brown, who was a massive influence on Prince and Michael alike. The hardest working man in show business, Brown was performing a concert when he invited MJ onto the stage for some song and dance. Predictably, Jackson killed it with his impeccable vocals and classic dance moves like the Moonwalk.
Then MJ whispered something in Brown\u2019s ear. According to artist and producer Quincy Jones, it was this: \u201cCall Prince up \u2014 I dare him to follow me.\u201d
To which James Brown responded, \u201cWhat?\u201d MJ whispered again and Brown responded, \u201cWho?\u201d After Jackson\u2019s third attempt, Brown stepped to the mic and told the crowd that someone named Prince would be joining them onstage.
Seizing the opportunity, Prince hopped onstage and whipped out his best Jimi Hendrix impression on the guitar. Taking off his jacket to reveal a bare chest, he started howling into the mic and executing some sexy dance moves of his own. He then exited stage right and leaned against a prop lamppost, unceremoniously falling into the crowd and bringing the lamppost with him. Back onstage, James Brown scooped Prince\u2019s jacket off the floor and walked over to return it.
Needless to say, the incident didn\u2019t exactly bode well for Prince. On the recently released recordings, MJ could be heard mocking The Purple One: \u201cHe made a fool of himself. He was a joke\u2026People were running and screaming. I was so embarrassed. It was all on video.\u201d
2. Prince Tries to Run MJ Over with his Limo
File this one under \u201cunconfirmed rumour,\u201d though producer Quincy Jones swore it was true in a GQ interview. Apparently, Prince was so mortified by his performance at the James Brown concert that he waited in a limo outside the venue, with every intention of running MJ over. At least, that was MJ\u2019s take at the time.
It\u2019s not exactly clear as to whether Prince made an actual go at the hit-and-run or not, but his intent to mow Michael down is now the stuff of pop lore. Regarding MJ\u2019s interpretation of the incident, Quincy Jones said the following: \u201cHe knew. Michael knows s**t. He was there. He said that was his intention.\u201d
3. A Potential Duet Goes Bad-ly
By the mid-1980s, Prince and Michael Jackson were both veritable megastars of near-equal footing. Whereas MJ was known the world over for his iconic dance moves and immaculate songs, Prince was widely regarded as an elusive instrumental genius, who\u2019d cultivated his own brand of modern funk-pop.
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While the two might have secretly hated one another, that didn\u2019t stop producer Quincy Jones from trying to mend the gap. And what better way to do that than with a collaboration? First, he approached Prince for the benefit song \u201cWe Are the World,\u201d which MJ co-wrote and ultimately performed on. The Purple One promptly rejected the offer.
Next, Jones suggested that Prince and Michael Jackson perform together on the song \u201cBad,\u201d for an upcoming album of the same name. Likewise, they would both appear in the adjoining music video, which depicted faux gang warfare and predictably exceptional dance choreography.
According to legend, Prince was initially somewhat receptive to the idea\u2026until he saw the lyrics. Specifically, the opening line \u201cYour butt is mine\u201d turned him off to the entire idea.
In a 1997 interview with Chris Rock, Prince offered up his take on the whole affair: \u201cYou know that Wesley Snipes character ? That would have been me\u2026You run that video in your mind. The first line in that song is, \u2018your butt is mine\u2019 so I was saying, \u2018Who gonna sing that to whom? Because you sure ain\u2019t singing it to me, and I sure ain\u2019t singing it to you.\u2019 So right there we got a problem.\u201d
Actor Wesley Snipes put forth a different narrative in a 2017 interview when he said, \u201cMe and Prince were auditioning together, and I blew Prince out of the water\u2026Michael had told Prince that he had the role, and then he met me and kicked Prince to the curb. Imagine that.\u201d
Whatever the case, Prince did not participate on \u201cBad,\u201d which went on to become another hit single for MJ. You know it.
4. Prince Goes Full Voodoo on MJ
This incident reportedly took place when Prince and Michael Jackson were still in talks to perform a duet on \u201cBad.\u201d According to Quincy Jones, Prince showed up at MJ\u2019s Hayvenhurst house wearing an overcoat and holding a big white box. On the box was the label \u2018Camille,\u2019 which was apparently Prince\u2019s nickname for Michael.
In the words of Quincy Jones: \u201cThe box had all kinds of stuff\u2014some cuff links with Tootsie Rolls on them. Michael was scared to death\u2014he thought there was some voodoo in there. I wanted to take it, because I knew Michael was gonna throw it away.\u201d
5. Prince Slaps Some Bass in MJ\u2019s Face
If you thought the Prince and Michael Jackson feud was over by 2006, you thought wrong. In an interview with Esquire, Rolling Stone contributing editor Steve Knopper recalled a story once told to him by Black Eyed Peas leader will.i.am. Here\u2019s what Knopper had to say:
\u201cWhen Prince was doing his Vegas residency around late 2006, Michael was living in Vegas. Will was a guest artist at the Prince residency, but he was also friends with Michael. So Will arranged it for Michael to be a guest in the audience at Prince\u2019s show. No one knew it really, but Prince knew it.
\u201cThere was a point during the show where Prince was playing bass and he came out into the audience with this giant bass\u2014he knew where Michael was sitting\u2014and he walked right up to Michael and started playing bass in Michael\u2019s face. Like aggressive slap bass.\u201d
\u201cThe next morning, Will went over to Michael\u2019s house for breakfast, and they\u2019re talking about Prince and the show. And then Michael goes, \u2018Will, why do you think Prince was playing bass in my face?\u2019
\u201cMichael was outraged. And then started going on. \u2018Prince has always been a meanie. He\u2019s just a big meanie. He\u2019s always been not nice to me. Everybody says Prince is this great legendary Renaissance man and I\u2019m just a song-and-dance man, but I wrote \u201cBillie Jean\u201d and I wrote \u201cWe Are the World\u201d and I\u2019m a songwriter too.'\u201d
The Backstory
Despite the obvious parallels, Prince and Michael didn\u2019t exactly follow the same trajectory on their way up the pop charts. For Prince, an early hit single was proceeded by a string of signature but somewhat underground albums, paving the way for his breakthrough blockbuster \u201cPurple Rain.\u201d It was an early apex to a long-running and famously idiosyncratic career, which underwent various ebbs and flows throughout the subsequent decades. All the while, The Purple One was fiercely virtuosic, prolific, and independent, playing as many instruments and handling as many production duties as was humanly possible.
For Michael, early success as a child singer and actor led to almost immediate success as an adult solo act, when he unleashed \u201cOff the Wall\u201d in 1979. He would top that with his epoch-making follow-up \u201cThriller,\u201d which remains the best-selling album of all time. Unlike Prince, Michael took years to release his music, relying on a broad arsenal of personnel when it came to everything from songwriting to instrumentation to production. It resulted in songs, production, and dance moves that were quite simply second to none. Far more than an entertainer, Michael Jackson was a cultural juggernaut of unparalleled proportion.
While they might have cultivated different approaches and aesthetics, Prince and Michael Jackson were still often viewed as direct competitors. For example, Prince\u2019s \u201cPurple Rain\u201d could easily be seen as his answer to \u201cThriller,\u201d in the same sense that The Beach Boys\u2019 \u201cPet Sounds\u201d was an answer to The Beatles\u2019 \u201cRubber Soul.\u201d Furthermore, both Prince and Michael delivered infectious and dance-friendly pop music and became absolute icons in the process. On these levels alone, some sort of unspoken rivalry seemed only natural to one degree or another. As it turned out, however, Prince and Michael Jackson\u2019s feud was much more serious than alternating chart hits.
What began as occasional rumours or biographical tidbits leaped into the limelight a few years ago, with the release of a previously unheard Michael Jackson recording. Made in 1988 when Jackson was working on his autobiography, \u201cMoonwalker,\u201d the recording features the King of Pop speaking openly about his animosity toward The Purple One.
Talking to an interviewer, Jackson said, \u201cI have proven myself since I was real little. It\u2019s not fair. He feels like I\u2019m his opponent\u2026I hope he changes because boy, he\u2019s gonna get hurt. He\u2019s the type that might commit suicide or something\u2026I don\u2019t like to be compared to Prince.\u201d Later in the recording, Jackson described Prince as \u201cone of the rudest people I have ever met,\u201d who\u2019d been \u201cmean and nasty to my family.\u201d
Jackson\u2019s biting comments might lead one to wonder: what was the\u00a0real\u00a0story behind his rivalry with Prince? Gathering known incidents and loose gossip, we present a breakdown of their famous feud. As you\u2019ll soon discover, it was far more intense than one might expect, involving voodoo, potential hit and runs, and some bass to the face. Here are the highlights.
FAQ
Who was first Michael Jackson or Prince?Michael Jackson was already an established singer and actor by the time Prince released his debut album, 1978's For You. Both talents were prodigies from a young age.
Are Michael Jackson and Prince brothers?Prince and Michael Jackson are not related to one another in any way.
What did Prince and Michael Jackson die from?Both Prince and Michael Jackson died from drug overdoses. MJ passed away in 2009 due to a lethal combination of painkillers, including anesthetic propofol and the anxiolytic lorazepam. Prince passed away in 2016 after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl.
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