14 DAY TRIAL // Over 100 complete tracks that Michael Jackson recorded in his heyday back in the ‘90s, but also dating from recent years and including collaborations with prestigious pop artists of our times, are out there. The tracks have never been released, as the late King of Pop kept them on a personal computer in his rented Holmby Hills mansion, and estate attorneys are now trying to get their hands on them to have them logged, Billboard magazine informs.
Sister LaToya Jackson reportedly ransacked Michael’s house within hours after he was pronounced dead, presumably believing that all she found in it would belong directly to the family instead of to the estate. In her search, she also found almost 100 never released complete tracks that Michael kept on hard drives on his personal computer, and removed them. Attorneys for the estate are now trying to get the tracks back to have them logged and then release them.
“His sister LaToya has taken possession of computer hard drives that contain a trove of unreleased songs he recorded with A-list singers such as Ne-Yo, Akon, and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.” Billboard writes quoting Michael’s manager Frank DiLeo. Also according to DiLeo, “there were at least 100 songs – including many recorded at Jackson’s 1980s peak – that were never released, including a few ‘sensational’ tracks that were left off ‘Bad,’ the 1987 follow-up to his blockbuster ‘Thriller’.” the aforementioned publication writes.
will.i.am’s rep confirmed that, indeed, he had recorded several tracks with Michael Jackson in the years before his death – as fans must already know – but said he did not have duplicates to any work he did with the late singer. Ne-Yo and Akon were not immediately available for comment, as neither was LaToya, the one who presumably has the tracks in her possession right now. However, Akon confirmed on past occasions that he had worked with Michael, not once calling him a true genius and a pleasure to be around in the studio.
As regards the new tracks, the thorny problem right now is to have LaToya hand them over to the lawyers in charge of Michael’s estate, since she has no right to claim possession over them. “Jackson’s will gave 40 percent of his estate to his 79-year-old mother, Katherine, who wants more control and has raised doubts about the pair of high-powered executors currently overseeing his business affairs. […] ‘The estate lawyers will send out letters’ to recover the drives so that the contents can be logged, DiLeo added.” Billboard explains.
Last weekend, the first posthumous Michael Jackson song emerged, “A Place with No Name,” a cover of the 1971 hit “A Horse with No Name.”