The late Michael Jackson left behind a wealth of unreleased music before his 2009 death, and some of it has recently turned up in the most unlikely of places. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a former California Highway Patrol officer named Gregg Musgrove is now in possession of cassette and DAT tapes comprising 11 unheard songs, although it’s unlikely they’ll be made public anytime soon.
The story unfolded when a friend of Musgrove purchased a storage unit in Van Nuys, Ca., formerly belonging to music producer and frequent Jackson collaborator Bryan Loren. Musgrove inventoried the material and discovered it comprised recordings made roughly between 1989 and 1991, prior to Jackson’s Dangerous album.
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They include “Don’t Believe It” (perhaps referencing the endless Jackson-related rumor mill at the time), “Seven Digits” (so named for the ID tag given to bodies in a morgue) and “Truth on You,” on which Jackson raps in tandem with LL Cool J.
And while the Jackson Estate does not claim ownership of the physical tapes, they still own the copyright to the music, which means it cannot be released without their consent. “The Estate of Michael Jackson was presented with DAT copies NOT master recordings of Michael’s music, and we confirmed that the actual master recordings were in fact already located in the Estate’s vaults,” an Estate representative told The Hollywood Reporter. “It should be clear to all that ownership and rights of exploitation to the recordings remain vested in MJJP Records and that nothing commercial or otherwise can be done with the DAT copies.”
That said, Musgrove is still pursuing a sale of the items, which he believes could be valued in the seven-digits.
The Jackson Estate and Sony Music have put out two full-length collections of unreleased music since the legendary artist’s death: 2010’s Michael and 2014’s Xscape. Several other songs have leaked in partial and complete form, while others allegedly feature vocals by people other than Jackson himself.
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