Where would Justin Timberlake be today if Michael Jackson hadn’t moved on legitimate?
In a new interview on the Revolt TV podcast Bea Champs, producer Pharrell Williams, along with NORE and DJ EFN, recalled his long career, including their “Superthug” collaboration, and was rejected by both Prince and Michael Jackson.
“Michael rejected us too,” Pharrell said after telling the podcast’s hosts how Prince switched to one of his tracks.
NORE intervened to share the memory of a call he had with Pharrell at the time. “You hit me and you said, ‘I just hit Michael Jackson a few times,'” he recalls.
“At the time, John McClain was his manager,” Pharrell continued. “I sent him almost everything you hear on legitimate album. That’s all Michael’s stuff. “
legitimate is now best known as Justin Timberlake’s debut album in 2002. But according to producer Neptunes, all but one of the songs were originally created for the King of Pop.
“All but one song was written for Michael,” he said.
Pharrell on Drink Champs said most of the tracks for Justified were originally created for MJ, and MJ’s manager dismissed them as “Michael doesn’t want to play over this shit, he wants the shit you give NORE” lmao
– Kibbutzy Collins (@atrak) December 19, 2020
But Jackson wasn’t interested. Instead, he wanted something more like Pharrell’s iconic 1998 play NORE
“John McClain said, ‘Michael doesn’t want this shit,'” Pharrell recalled. “He wants the shit you give Noreaga … he wants ‘Superthug.'”
Elsewhere in the interview, Pharrell spoke about his feelings about Drake vs. Beef. Pusha T.
See the full interview below.
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