World-renowned music producer Teddy Riley has made the explosive claim that he was “set up” when The Estate of Michael Jackson and Sony Music hired him to produce music for the King of Pop’s first posthumous album, Michael, apologising to a fan via Twitter for his involvement in the project.
Riley, who worked on several of Jackson’s landmark albums between 1991 and 2001, recently vented his frustrations about the continued criticism directed at him by fans via Twitter.
On a number of occasions, Riley has used Twitter to strike back at disgruntled fans, defending himself for the work he did on the controversial album which was released on December 14, 2010 – 18 months after Jackson’s death.
This time, however, Riley has openly expressed his displeasure with the way things went down back in 2010, deflecting blame towards another producer, Eddie Cascio, along with Sony and the Estate, for having him work on several tracks which many allege feature a lead vocal sung by a Jackson sound-alike and not Jackson himself.
For those of you not familiar with the controversy, Jackson’s longtime friend, Eddie Cascio, and his collaborative partner, James Porte, claim that Jackson secretly co-wrote and recorded twelve songs in Cascio’s basement in the fall of 2007 – two years before Jackson’s death.
Those tracks are now infamously known as the Cascio tracks.
The Cascio tracks were completely unheard of until eleven months after Jackson’s death, when reporter Roger Friedman broke the news of the existence of the twelve songs.
“Bombshell exclusive,” Friedman wrote in an article published exclusively via his Showbiz411.com website on May 2, 2010. “Michael Jackson recorded a whole new album of material in the fall of 2007.”
Friedman wrote that according to one of his sources who’d heard the material, Jackson’s vocals on the Cascio tracks were “perfect.”
With the assistance of high-profile entertainment attorney Donald Passman, Cascio and Porte quickly struck up a deal with the Jackson Estate and handed the tracks over.
At that time, the Estate was preparing to release its first posthumous album of unreleased Jackson material as part of a 7-year 10-project deal with Sony Music valuable at up to $250 million.
A few months later, Teddy Riley was asked to remix a number of tracks being considered by Sony for that album, including a handful of Cascio tracks.
Between September and November 2010, Riley worked on the music in several Los Angeles-based studios including Marvin’s Room, Encore and The Boom Boom Room, bringing 50 Cent into the studio to rap on a Cascio track while engaging the Benjamin Wright Orchestra for new string arrangements on three Cascio tracks. Jackson’s This Is It guitarist, Orianthi, was also invited to contribute.
Early in the production sessions Riley and members of the Jackson family – including Riley’s close friend Taryll Jackson (Michael’s nephew) – raised concerns about the authenticity of the vocals on the Cascio tracks. They believed that an impostor – not Michael – was singing.
When those concerns were brought to the attention of The Estate, an investigation was launched, including the purported engagement of two independent forensic musicologists.
Estate attorney, Howard Weitzman, also gathered a number of Jackson’s former collaborators at Encore recording studio – including Teddy Riley and Taryll Jackson – to listen to the Cascio tracks and to give their opinion on the vocals.
The general consensus after that meeting was that the Cascio tracks had too many red flags and audio inconsistencies to be authentic. Estate co-executor John McClain expressed that he felt the Cascio tracks should be scrapped, as did Jackson’s family. Even Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was steadfast in her belief that the Cascio tracks were fakes and should not be released.
Eventually, this news started to leak via reports from Roger Friedman and celebrity news site TMZ.
However, despite everything that was going on around him, and despite himself acknowledging the issues with the vocals, Teddy Riley continued to work on the Cascio tracks – something he now seemingly regrets doing.
I didn’t do the funking song I just mixed it. My work speak for itself. Now go to the funking Cascios. I’m sure they got a twitter… I was giving a problem that involved my bestfriend and sign a contract to remix what I had. It was too late for me to turn back so I finished out the project. Now if you want me to apologize for that, yes I’m funkin sorry I did it. Now leave me the hell alone.
Teddy Riley via Twitter on September 2, 2013.
In the end, one of the Riley-produced Cascio tracks, “Breaking News,” was chosen by Sony and The Estate as the teaser for the Michael album, premiering at michaeljackson.com at midnight New York time on November 8, 2010.
As the full “Breaking News” track went live, members of the Jackson family took to Twitter to raise their voice against the track.
I am shocked that things have gotten this far. This is ridiculous… I tried so hard to prevent this craziness, but they wouldn’t listen. I KNOW my Uncle’s voice and something’s seriously wrong when you have immediate FAMILY saying it’s not him… They can’t give me answers, yet continue to move forward with lies and deception. Sounding like Michael Jackson and BEING Michael Jackson are two different things.
Taryll Jackson via Twitter on November 8, 2010.
There’s many MJ vocal impersonators. Some better than others. But there is only ONE Michael Jackson… Why they would ignore the obvious, look the other way and rush a suspicious track that was NEVER on my Uncle’s radar is beyond me. I’m disgusted, disappointed and saddened… We know how much he valued his legacy and his fans. And cheating either is unacceptable. ‘Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.’
TJ Jackson via Twitter on November 8, 2010.
Prior to hearing “Breaking News,” most Michael Jackson fans dismissed the notion that the vocals would be fake.
But when the track went live on michaeljackson.com on November 8, 2010, all hell broke loose.
Because of his accessibility via social media, Teddy Riley became the target of the fan community’s frustrations, copping a bombardment of insults and scrutiny from people all over the world for his participation in what they deemed to be a fraud.
Initially, Riley defended himself and the songs, stating that he had confidence in the authenticity of the vocals.
This echoed an earlier statement released by Epic Records – the Sony record label set to commercially distribute the Michael album – regarding the controversial songs, insisting that sufficient research had been done and that the label was satisfied with their findings.
We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research, as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael, that the vocals on the new album are his own.
Sony Music’s Epic Records, November 5, 2010.
The record company had made their position clear. They were taking the word of Eddie Cascio and James Porte over the opinions of Jackson’s family and fans. Not even the wishes of Michael’s mother and children – the beneficiaries of Jackson’s estate – were taken seriously. Neither were those of Estate co-executor John McClain
As the onslaught of angry tweets continued to flow in Teddy Riley’s direction, the producer conceded that while he believed the vocals on the Cascio tracks were indeed Jackson’s, he couldn’t guarantee it.
I was called on this project by the Estate, Sony, and the [Jackson] family co-signed it. These songs are created by the Cascios. I did not original produce his vocals nor these songs. I was called in to mix and finish what I was given… The vocals [that] was given to me from the Cascios was all I had to work with… I’ve answered all that I can answer for MJ fans. The truth of this of it all [is that] no one knows [but] MJ and God… I have nothing more to say and I can’t prove anything.
Teddy Riley via Twitter, November 8, 2010.
Surprisingly, Riley’s concession went largely unnoticed by fans and the media alike.
Then, when Riley gave a series of subsequent radio and television interviews regarding the project, he went back to saying that the vocals were definitely Michael’s.
In addition to his media appearances, Riley’s name was included in a statement released by the Jackson Estate’s lead attorney, Howard Weitzman, in which Weitzman references the listening session Riley attended at Encore recording studio.
Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years – Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley – were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All of these persons listened to the a cappella versions of the vocals on the Cascio tracks being considered for inclusion on the album, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the lead vocals were sung by Michael. They all confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.
Estate attorney Howard Weitzman on November 11, 2010.
Weitzman’s statement was vigorously contested by Michael’s nephew, Taryll Jackson, and former Sony vice president, Cory Rooney – both of whom were also in that listening session, but whose names and opinions were omitted from the statement.
I have read the statement from the MJ Estate, and I have to say that it’s just more bullshit! I was in that room, and the majority of the people mentioned did not agree that it was MJ! Some felt it sounded like him, but all agree that there was nothing there that was consistent with any MJ habits like finger snaps, headphone bleeding, foot stomping or just simple things like his voice asking for another take. Both Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley sat with Taryll Jackson and myself and stated that they felt what we felt.
Cory Rooney via Facebook on November 11, 2010.
There are many inaccuracies and omissions in that statement. For one, I was also in that meeting and that was not the outcome. You will hear my story because this is way too important for my Uncle’s legacy. The truth will prevail.
Taryll Jackson via Twitter on November 13, 2010.
As the release of the Michael album approached, Teddy Riley appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, alongside the Cascio family, to defend the authenticity of the tracks.
Riley claimed that Jackson would be loving the controversy regarding the album, assuring Winfrey that vocals on the Cascio tracks were the real deal.
“Why do you say for sure it is him?” asked Winfrey.
Because you can hear the authenticity in his voice and you can hear, like, the natural part of him. And no one can really do a scream like that strong scream on the music that you hear, like Michael. I don’t care if you get anyone. They will never be able to duplicate Michael’s voice.
Teddy Riley via the Oprah Winfrey Show, televised on December 6, 2010.
The only problem with Riley’s statement that ‘no one can do a strong scream like Michael Jackson’ was that the screams heard on the Cascio tracks – i.e. “aow!” and “hoo!” – were actually stolen from previously released Jackson recordings .
This was something that Jackson’s nephews TJ and Taryll addressed in statements via Twitter.
Deceptively merging shady vocals with MJ samples (from prior MJ records) will never fool me.
TJ Jackson via Twitter on November 8, 2010.
When the Michael album was eventually released on December 14, 2010, three Cascio tracks were included.
Two were produced by Teddy Riley – “Breaking News” and “Monster” – the latter of which featured a rap verse by popular rapper 50 Cent.
The third Cascio track included on the Michael album was called “Keep Your Head Up” – a song originally given to Riley to produce, but which chose not to finish.
I remember when Teddy and I were at Encore listening to ‘Keep Your Head Up’. We both knew it wasn’t my Uncle. [Teddy] stopped working on it because (and I quote) ‘it didn’t sound enough like Michael. Michael doesn’t swing like that.’ He also said he was only working on the Cascio records in hopes that he would eventually be given a ‘real Michael Jackson song.’ As he knows, I never agreed with that logic.
Taryll Jackson via Twitter on December 7, 2010.
Hitmaker Tricky Stewart, who never worked with Jackson during his life, completed the mix of “Keep Your Head Up” as it appears on the Michael album.
Since the Cascio fiasco first blew up, Teddy has endured a continued onslaught of negative remarks from Jackson’s fans online, and many insist he deserved it.
However, it seems that now Riley is hoping to turn the tables on Eddie Cascio, James Porte and anyone else involved with the creation of the Cascio tracks, claiming he will be addressing the issue soon.
When asked if he feels betrayed by Cascio and his team for the predicament he ended up in regarding the authenticity of their songs, Riley said in several statements:
It isn’t (fair), but it’s all good. I’ll be able to talk soon…
[Now] isn’t the time. I’m muted, but trust me MJ always gets his just due. He is my bestfriend, bigbro and confidant. Please believe! The truth will set us all free.
I was set up and it will all come out when [my] book comes. That’s all I can say right now.
My book will not be totally about Michael… Just a chapter of my total MJ experience. The times I had working with and without him. I love MJ so much and he knows that. What I’ve been through without him being there I regret, and thats what will be in detail. I hope everyone appreciate and respect that. Thank you so much for your concern. Michael loves everyone, especially his fans that protects him.
Teddy Riley via Twitter in September 2013.
Damien Shields is the author of the book Michael Jackson: Songs & Stories From The Vault examining the King of Pop’s creative process, and the producer of the podcast The Genesis of Thriller which takes you inside the recording studio as Jackson and his team create the biggest selling album in music history.
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Explosive! I hope the book sees the light of day. Perhaps he shouldn’t have said that part..
I am glad Teddy finally speaks up. People will still say it’s too late or find any other ways of criticising Teddy, but you have to understand the music business is a snake pit. So to speak up now could even be earlier than is actually good for him.
So I salute Teddy for clearing that up as much as he did now.
So basically this is all just so he can plug his book?
It sure seems that way. Why does he have to write a book to tell the truth. Is he hurting for money? Dude just go on TV, CNN or whatever. If this is all going to be in a book that you’re writing to tell the truth, who do you think is going to read it? The general public isn’t going to care about a Teddy Riley book. Now you’re using MJ to make a buck. Will it never end?
I must say I lost all respect for teddy riley when he started saying he believes Michael is alive. If he has the audacity to lie about that and lie about the cascio tracks being real, you bet he can lie about regretting involvement in them.
LMAO
He’s full of it. I have zero respect for this man
Man. fuck all you lil sluts who don’t respect this man. I will and gonna buy this book if i can find this book if i can find it if i know it will truly contribute to his work.
Yall, lil bitches need to respect real!
Respect is something he once had, from myself and other fans who actually have a moral compass.
Your unwavering respect and admiration of this man, in the face of him disrespecting Michael by insinuating Michael faked his death and led billions of people to mourn his loss, and allow his children and aging mother to believe he was dead and live apart from him, shows a person who is contributing to the disintegration of Michael’s character. The character Michael spent his whole life establishing.
If you respect someone who does that, then you don’t have any respect for Michael. You need to see where your head is.
I feel the same way. Anyone in touch with reality will be able to tell you that he died on June 25th. Several reasons pointing to it’s authenticity. Everything from the events, everything covered in the trial, Michael’s character, our legal and medical system, among other things which make it clear this death wasn’t faked.
I also know what you are referring to regarding Teddy’s comments regarding Michael’s death. For him to say that, was incredibly offensive, disrespectful, ignorant, manipulative, and incredulous.
He obviously has other motives. He knew when he said that, that he was working on a book, and he wanted to seem as if he had some type of knowledge or theory which would lead people to believe he may possibly addressed in his book.
I really respected him…even considering his entanglement with the Cascio tracks…however after the death nonsense he spewed, I completely lost respect for him.
Thank you Damien!
I’m glad he is finally coming forward, even though it’s very late and I feel we deserve more info (for free – not in some money making book).
I hope the whole truth will come out soon – along with an extensive apology from Cascio and SONY -and an official retraction of the fake songs.
Can anyone tell me what Earphones bleeding means?
Barbara, it’s when the music coming out of the vocalist’s headphones is picked up by the microphone he or she is singing into when recording in the studio.
M3k: Thx for explaining that. I didn’t know either. But how/why is that indicative of Michael’s music? Was it intentional? If so, why did he do it? The finger snaps, clapping, stomping, etc are easy to understand. They explained that to us on the Westlake tour but I still don’t get how the bleeding indicates Michael?? Sorry to be so dumb abt this.
Michael had a tendancy to listen to his music really loud. like, without headphones, he’d listen to it so loud the floor would shake. because he wanted to feel the music. I have read things like that over the years about this. I think michael said something about it himself once, about people complining about how loud it was too. now, but that I’m just pulling out of my memory can’t remember specifically where I read or heard it. I also know that on the Accapella version of You Rock My world, you can hear the music on his headphones and you can tell he is listening to it very loudly. I don’t know about other recordings, becuse I don’t have them accapella, but I know this is true for that one.
That’s all you can say a Book , you’re too funny , The book means bestseller = Money
The Best thing you can do to gain respect is to ask your dear friends Cascio’s that they gave you money for this fiasco first day , is to show Michael’s on the studio recording fake tracks like Mr Barry Gibb did with “All in your name”.
Mehdi Essaid Essougdali.
Keep Your Head Up
http://www.56.com/u77/v_OTM2NTYxNzg.html
Monster (Voice Over) – NOT MJ singing
http://www.56.com/u59/v_OTYyMzg2MDg.html
It seems Teddy was under contract & was legally bound not only to produce several tracks not knowing there was going to be fake vocals to mix but also bound from speaking openly about the Cascio Fiasco. By the sounds of it, he will be free from this contract shortly and be allowed to speak out.
Teddy Riley has started to reveal the dark and destructive truth that destroyed the MJ Fan Community after this fraudulent album was released. Hopefully he will apologise for the part he played, and the way he spoke to fans in the aftermath. And hopefully once Teddy reveals the truth, fans show him forgiveness for his actions. I will. The true fans have been shouting this truth since the first vocal notes of BN were heard. To have someone who worked on these tracks finally spilling what really happened is huge and long overdue and a very welcome development. I applaud Teddy for his revelations and bravery in doing so, as this is going to get ugly.
Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons. We know these words well. And again and again we see them proven true and Michael vindicated.
Next stop the corrupt and lying Estate.
Thanks Damien for again bringing us the Truth.
If anyone didn’t buy this album cos of these tracks I think your missing out on some of his best work best of joy is awesome as is another day if anyone wants a copy ie burn of the album free let me know happy to share with fans
I definitely didn’t buy it because of the Cascio fiasco. If you have a wav version of Best of Joy that would be appreciated. Do you have some sort of mediafire link or other like a YouTube account I could PM you about?
I think it’s wrong to cheat Michael’s heirs by making copies of albums or tracks off albums for others who choose not to buy them. Let them contribute financially to Michael’s legacy like the rest of us. If they don’t want the Cascio tracks, then pay to download the others from iTunes or Bandit.fm
I have an open mind about the Cascio tracks, regardless of what I feel about them personally… mostly because I like the songs concerned, in fact I like the whole Michael album. My favourites are others than the Cascio material, but I certainly wouldn’t want to miss out on the rest because of doubts about the three of them. Can’t imagine not having ‘Hold my Hand’ or ‘Hollywood Tonight’, ‘Behind the Mask’ or the incredible ‘Another Day’ etc.
I’d like to personally commend you for a balanced and reasonable point of view, and especially for not endorsing the free exchange of songs that, as Michael Jackson’s personal intellectual property, should be used to benefit his Estate and his heirs as he laid them out. Anything else is stealing from Michael Jackson, period.
And there is no certainty about the provenance of the Cascio tracks, only doubt–you’re absolutely right about that as well. There is no evidence that the Estate believed them to be anything but genuine. The illogic and risk of knowingly releasing fake material assist that argument considerably. Yet there are many who would use those three tracks as a basis to rant eternally, and to sabotage this and all Estate projects.
Mark & Kerry: Just want to say that I agree with both of you. I love the Michael album. I couldn’t stop playing it when I first got it and still play if often. Frankly, this whole article makes me sad. Even if you believe the Cascio songs were contrived, there are 9 other songs on the CD that ARE Michael’s and are fabulous! The only real loser here is Michael because the album tragically tanked. I cannot imagine the Estate taking this kind of risk with all the scrutiny this album was sure to generate. The weak performance of Michael along with the low sales of Bad25 – which we all KNOW is MJ so who should we blame for that? – could jeopardize future releases and then we as fans will get nothing! All this fighting, attacking, accusing that now permeates the MJ community would break Michael’s heart.
I leaked a snippet of a different lyric version of Monster. It has lyrics from Jason Malachi’s song Critical.
https://soundcloud.com/kaien-ragan/monster-different-lyrics-version-snippet
No, you didn’t leak shit. I made that snippet 1-2 years ago to prove how the voice on Monster is the same as the voice on “Critical” by Jason Malachi.
Stop acting like you are leaking stuff online, and stop acting like you have “rare” stuff. I have seen enough of your fake stuff online.
I am sorry. I didn’t know that you made it. I will delete it. Like I said in the comments on Soundcloud on my stuff, I say that I don’t know if the stuff is real or fanmade.
Frankly, I am furious yet! Not only cause Michael
didnt want ANYTHING with that mafia company of $ony and
those mafia lawyers…
I am furious cause they threw Michael good name, hard career
and real legacy to the toilet just for money, bloody
money! They didnt give a da** for Michael in past
and they didnt do it in the recent past!
Anybody could see those songs arent Michael at all! And some
fans -cause they didnt care for Michael and his hard
work- run to buy THAT THING!!! No respect and real
love at all! Michael wasnt or isnt just a CD, a DVD or a concert,
he was and is bigger than that but some only see the
product and nothing more! Shame and sadness!
About Teddy… neither he nor me arent kids and we know
clearly how the world works! He never cared for Michael
and he only wanted fast and hot money in his, evidently empty,
pockets! He didnt give a da** neither for Michael, his kids, fans
or his hard work!
Teddy, dont come with me with the “set up” story! I dont buy
your NEW version of the story! You were sastificed, now
you changed the story cause what?! Remorse or simple
cause real fans NEVER forgot what you did and forgave you
and in a horde of angry you spat THE TRUTH about that album???
If you were so tired, upset or angry … why did you go
to everywhere telling how happy you were??? If you couldnt do
other thing cause the agreement, did you donate the bloody
money or you just wasted it in a hot night??? Are you looking
for publicity?! Is this some kind of revange cause Timberland
issue?! Ay Teddy, ay!!!
Ah, and I forget the “book” issue… Really Teddy?! Which is the difference between Eddie and Frank Ca$cio and you?! Stop abusing Michael name and get a life! You want to say the whole truth, tell it for free in a TV channel, radio or simple finish what you began in twitter… A book?! Ag…
#Justice4MJ #StopMJFakeEstateMafia #SonyStillSucks #MJInnocet
This comment is a good example of the hysteria that makes any future releases by the Estate, and therefore any expansion of Michael’s musical legacy, very very difficult. There is no reasoning with a line of argument that itself displays such paucity of reason.
Meanwhile, Teddy Riley’s remarks at this point are typically cryptic at best. We can hardly conclude at this point that he is about to confess to working on fake tracks (though this blogger certainly seems hopeful that will happen.) For all we know he’s going to reveal that he’s simply unhappy with skeletal material he was given to work with. Given that he’s still being harassed by some fans three years on about a project that he claimed was a joy and a privilege at the time, it’s not that hard to understand that he may have come to be “funkin” sorry he ever worked on it.
Amen!
This all makes sense to me now. I was really upset because Teddy promised me so convincingly that he would speak to the fans for me. He never even showed up. The whole thing left me with a bad taste in my mouth. My conclusion was that he was a flat out liar with no regard for fans. Michael loved us, and would never have done anything like that. Teddy literally kicked every single Michael fan to the curb. This happened around 2011 when we were trying to do an anniversary event for Invincible. I recall doing daily shows to promote the album that actually crossed with the Murrey trial. I was really and truly stressed out because of all that was happening, then Riley, who I thought would be able to calm some of the tension down just up and out lied to me.
I am so glad I did not have him on the show. As for his book, God forbid that I should be part of anything he does, especially duping the fans. I guess since Michael can no longer be his cash cow, we are the next best thing. Others may do as they choose but I will not be a party to anything that has his name on it. I have never tried to talk to him since he lied so easily, (and sweetly too) and I will not seek to do so. To me, he may as well said ‘eff’ the fans…my purpose is just the opposite.
It is interesting that not the message but the messenger gets all the attention.
Kill the messenger when the message is unfavorable and deflect from the real issue.
Why dont we look at what Teddy Riley is saying.
It is actually nothing different from what a substantial part of the fans and many non fans who are knowledgeable about Michaels voice and music , who have extensively analysed the songs, have said since day one . Including some who were at the listening session.
On Blog talk radio a few months ago, even Joe Vogel, who initially defended the Cascio tracks, talked about the untraceable origins of the songs, the refusal of Eddy Cascio to talk about them ,while everyone else who contributed to the album gave full insight in the demos and the production process.
Hence his reluctance to include them in the next edition of his book.
Yes Teddy Riley is an accomplice to a very questionable decision but he is not the instigator. Yes he should take full responsibility for his part. but so does each and everyone who participated, backed up, promoted, reviewed as authentic, and most of all created this situation.
And the instigators are in my opinion Eddy Cascio. the executors of Michals estate together with sony. They deserve the blame first and formost and should face serious repercussion .
Those who were falsely accused of sabotaging the release should be rehabilitated.
But most important is that the truth about these songs have to come to light.
Considering what is at stake, my estimation is that Teddy will be smeared and effectively silenced and we will never hear of it again.
Joe Vogel is fully complicit in everything that went down with the Cascio bollocks. He was on the front line, comparing those bullshit songs to some of Michael’s greatest work. Backtracking now isn’t going to help him. He has absolutely no credibility amongst Michael Jackson fans.
Teddy Riley’s tweets sound as cryptic as he usually does. It seems the writer of this piece made a judgement and jumped to conclusions. It isn’t really clear what Mr. Riley means. Rather than take others’ interpretation, I think I will wait until he speaks more about it. In the meantime, I am going to play my “Michael” album, especially as there are 7 songs on there that there is no doubt they are Michael. No doubt some here commenting will cast aspersions on me that I am not a true fan. I guess now in the MJ Community the only “true” fans are the ones that bash the estate executors no matter what they do or don’t do. It seems now that leaking songs and sharing them all over the Internet is how “true” fans support the artistic work of Michael and his collaborators. I wonder if people realize that it not only hurts the Estate (Michael’s children) but Michael’s collaborators and their families, as well. It is actually stealing, something that shouldn’t be bragged about.
It’s pretty pathetic all of you hating on Teddy Riley, have you forgotten so soon that he and Michael were friends for 20+ years, wth everyone of you know Michael was being threatened, controlled etc. Is it not possible that Teddy was also going through these threats, Michael worked with and loved Teddy like a brother, you’re going to hate on him because he said “based on the evidence I’ve seen, I’d have to say yes, he’s alive” guess what about 90% of MJ fans believe he’s alive, why?? Look at all the inconsistent things around his death, look at how many times Jermaine has screwed up, he even says himself that Michael is alive and is being protected, Michael Jackson was NOT stupid, you find it hard to believe that he figured out what was going on and left, because they really were trying to kill him. You all talk about the album “Michael” like it’s a curse even though most of the songs are Michael, hold my hand and behind the mask are great songs. And Teddy’s writing a book, to make money off MJs name 0.0 how many others has done that yet y’all pat Joe vogel on the back, my friend Michael Jackson by Frank Casio plzzzz Teddy Riley i love you man, good luck with your book <3
“You all talk about the album “Michael” like it’s a curse even though most of the songs are Michael…”
Most of the songs are Michael?
Very Deep Article. I didn’t know the controversy was so big in ’10 my goodness..
(Must correct earlier comment where I said Michael had 9 non-Cascio trax. It’s 7.)
Michael’s songs were faked.
Michael’s producers were fakes.
Michael’s death was a fake.
The Estate is a fake.
Michael’s children were faked.
Michael’s marriages were fakes.
Now Joe Vogel is a fake.
And on and on it goes ad nauseum…and this all honors Michael’s legacy how exactly?
The whole sh*t about that tracks being fake needs to stop! He did record some songs in 2007, it’s not his usual voice but it’s HIM and Teddy Riley is just another opportunist. He is basically begging us to buy his sh*t book! why do we spend money on it, Tedd!?
LOL, no. There is amazing amounts of proof that the Cascio tracks are fake. At 2.24 to 2.30 in the Cascio song Fall In Love, they used music taken directly from Jason Malachi’s song Bigger Man. I have six Jason Malachi acapellas and with them that proves that in is Jason on the Cascio tracks. In Black Widow, the Cascios took samples from Heartbreaker, Unbreakable, the unreleased song On My Anger, and Scream. Go listen to Monster, then listen to Invincible. They used words from Invincible plus Jason’s vocals to make sentences in Monster. The song Burn Tonight has the same female from Jason’s Mamacita and words from Jason’s Tell It Like It Is. Ready 2 Win has the Oh My Friend adlib taken from Jason’s live performance of A Hero Fell. Water has vocals that say “Tell the angels no” from Heaven Can Wait. Soldier Boy has vocals taken from They Don’t Care About Us and Jason’s Dee Jay demo. All Right and Keep You Head Up both have adlibs and vocals from Earth Song. The demo of All I Need has the same stone pounding noises from Jason’s All That You Need Is In You. In some of Jason’s songs, you can hear James Porte’s voice. Stay has the same guitar notes from Childhood. Exotic Dancer which is registered as a Porte demo has the same instrumental as The Pussycat Dolls song Buttons. Why would MJ use someone else’s music? You have absolutely no proof that that MJ ever recorded them. The proof that they are fake greatly outweighs your outlook on the songs. Plus, Jason said on a forum he was doing something related to MJ in 2008. No fan or the estate can prove that they are real. The final judgement will be coming soon. I’m sad to say this but they are definitely fake.
Also, some fans are thinking about starting a lawsuit against the Estate for the Cascio songs. One theory is that since some fans posted Jason’s songs as Michael’s songs Eddie must of thought that since people believed that the songs were actually Michael’s, why not make new songs that the Estate will believe are real since many people thought Jason’s vocals were Michael’s.
Also, the “You’re dirty. You’re nasty.” lyrics from Black Widow are taken from Superfly Sister.
“At 2.24 to 2.30 in the Cascio song Fall In Love, they used music taken directly from Jason Malachi’s song Bigger Man.”
“In Black Widow, the Cascios took samples from […] the unreleased song On My Anger […]”
“The song Burn Tonight has the same female from Jason’s Mamacita and words from Jason’s Tell It Like It Is.”
“Ready 2 Win has the Oh My Friend adlib taken from Jason’s live performance of A Hero Fell.”
“Soldier Boy has vocals taken from […] Jason’s Dee Jay demo.”
“The demo of All I Need has the same stone pounding noises from Jason’s All That You Need Is In You.
“In some of Jason’s songs, you can hear James Porte’s voice.”
What a load of BS. It’s horrible what people have been making up for themselves.
I lost all respect for Teddy Riley the second he claimed that the Cascio tracks were Michael’s voice. I’m not buying that story about having to fulfill a contract being the only reason why he chose to finish the Cascio tracks. What about his appearance on Oprah? What about later statements where he still claimed that it was Michael on the Cascio tracks? He didn’t have to keep lying!!! Not even while making the tracks. Cause even though he signed a contract to produce some songs, he could easily have said his opinion about the voice in the songs. UNLESS he didn’t want to loose the gig and the money that came with it!!! Plus (quoting Taryll): ’He [Teddy Riley] also said he was only working on the Cascio records in hopes that he would eventually be given a ‘real Michael Jackson song.’ So let’s get real! I strongly doubt that Teddy has any regrets!!! He did it all on purpose because of his own greedy plans!
The book is just another stunt to make money! Telling about his book hoping to make big bucks! If Teddy regrets, he should come forward on media for FREE! He owes Michael and the fans that much at least!
I hope the truth will come out loud and clear. I expect apologies from Sony, Cascio and everyone else who worked on those Cascio tracks knowing that it’s not Michael! Plus I expect Sony to retract the current ‘Michael’ album from market and produce a replacement with Michael’s songs only.
What is really sad – the amount of fans, or “fans”, who still can’t tell the difference between MJ’s voice and any other tenor voice. See comments above.
It’s like they can’t tell apart photos of MJ and his lookalike E’Casanova (sp?).
Okay. I don’t like Teddy after the fact he said many things to support the fake tracks,
he even was angry about certain MJ family members questioning the tracks, he could
stay SILENT on his twitter instead – was it in his contract, to b*tch about MJ’s nephews?
But I want Cascios and their fraud exposed some more. So Teddy can speak all he wants –
once his contract expires. I promise not to hate on him.
What was truly fake in MJ’s life – his “friends”. Man was and is betrayed too many times.
And fans who still do not know Man’s unique, one-of-a-kind voice – well, they deserve FAKE tracks.
Well said. Especially about fans not being able to tell when it’s Michael’s voice, tone and his specific mannerism of singing and pronouncing words (note how on fake tracks the singer says words that start with the “t” like “talk” for example… that word alone is wayyyy off..Michael doesn’t pronounce words like that). I’ve listened to MJ’ s voice (since i was 5) probably the longest after the voice of my mother… and that is for sure been over 25 yrs … so one gotta be pretty deaf not to hear even slight differences that would be significant tell-tale signs which tracks on “Michael” album are real and fake. What helps the confusion is the psychological tactic that was used of putting real and fake songs together. This way “they” thought nobody will suspect. Hey it’s new MJ album…people will eat it as rarity and never suspect…..smh…smh…Shame. Some people are not THAT deaf.
Funny thing is we are so focused on Teddy that we lose sight of the real problem…the record label. It sounds like they used Teddy for their gain. Teddy does deserve blame for his involvement in this mess. But don’t think you’ve made a statement if you boycott his book but buy music from the record company.
I’m slowly thinking that Cascio’s collaborative partner, James Porte (Bobby Ewing) must be the singer. Not only those 12 songs were gonna be released in 07, but there were also 3 extra tracks: Angel in Disguise, Exotic Dancer, and Shine that were performed by James Porte. He’s even the background vocals for Michael’s songs and when I listened carefully, I hear similar Michael voices. It must be James who sung all 15 Cascio tracks.
someone should get a huge petition going for sony to recall the album fix and remove those 3 songs “breaking news” “monster” and “keep your head up” sure they sound good but the tracks aren’t michael, keep the rest of the album cause the voice is michael and replace the Cascio songs with a few unreleased and demo songs like. “hot street” “a place with no name” “shes trouble”
from what i saw on wikipedia there is hundreds of unreleased songs recorded from thriller -unbreakable that sony and MJ estate could release UNTOUCHED , but they decide to be assholes doing what they want fucking up Mj’s legacy.
just because MJ owed them money doesn’t mean they could take it out on his fans.
(michael sign a contract with sony saying his unbreakable album would sell more then it did he owes a few million to sony and his estate)
as a fan i heard over the years that MJ has songs that out does any one that has been released that they are that good would bring you in tears of joy but michael himself was a perfectionist and always thought it was missing something or wasn’t good enough which was always BS his stuff his demo’s and unreleased songs like “escape” “no friend of mine” and “12 o clock/ do you know where your children are” are great songs
(no friend of mine is blue gangsta without rap part Michael recorded entire song worth)
to end this post i hope the Michael album gets re called back to get fixed because if those 3 songs arent michael then they shouldnt be on the album at all
Rest In peace
King of Pop Michael jackson
I’m thinking of taking legal action against Sony for mis selling me a michael jackson album which contains 4 fakes (best of joy, monster, hold your head up and breaking news) are there any other fans here who have taken legal action?
Chris
‘Best of Joy’ is not fake – that is clearly Michael Jackson singing. He recorded the song in 2009 and wanted to premiere it at the final This Is It concert.
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lol why am i just finding this now…like you couldn’t tell it wasn’t real MJ yeah right.. he actually worked with MJ when he was alive.. Teddy=sell out
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Very disapointed in Teddy Riley! New Jack Swing No More I’m done with it!! For him to try and sell Michael Jackson out that way is No good! Why would he do that?! Any music without Michael’s OK is NOT OK! Out of love and resect I will not listen to nor watch anything of MJ done after June 25th,2009! This Is It!!! Nope haven’t it! And I Never will! Go to Hell Teddy!!