{{{Story featured on BlackPlanet.com
MUSIC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
MICHAEL (32 Years, 9 albums) VS. PRINCE (26 Years, 25 Albums)
WHO IS THE TRUE KING OF POP
by Jelani Harper}}}

They grew up before our eyes, two not so dissimilar figures with a penchant for facial make-up and high notes, spin moves and chart toppers that grew and grew until their records, their very legacies, sprang to life to dominate popular culture as their own.
20 years ago they were intrinsically linked as the highest form of black music expression in the world; one the darling wonder of America, the other the dark prince seducing your daughter to get crazy in his little red corvette.

For one fateful turn of the seasons in 1984 their records battled with one another atop charts and living room discussions alike, vying for the very heart and soul of a nation leaving a race of people divided down the middle as the question raged: who was the true king of pop, Michael Jackson or Prince?
Jackson, for his part, has always had the numbers on his side. If this debate were merely a popularity contest and sales the deciding factor, Jackson would have won today just like he did 20 years ago when both men were at the apex of their fame. No solo artist has outsold the enigmatic singer whose magnum opus, Thriller, sold 25 million copies in the U.S. and another 20 million overseas. With over 59 million sales to his credit, Jackson achieved the rare feat of having seven of Thriller`s nine cuts reach the top 10 singles positions for two years straight while he grabbed an unprecedented eight Grammy`s in one fell swoop. Prince, whose most widely purchased album, the soundtrack to Purple Rain, peaked around 13 million, has never been able to outsell his more commercially viable counterpart.
But numbers don`t always tell the whole story. Or perhaps they do. One figure that Prince has always had in his favor is the fact that he`s churned out nearly a record a year since he debuted with 1978`s For You. While Jackson has only been able to record nine original albums in the 32 years since he came into the game as a solo artist with 1972`s Got To Be There (averaging nearly five years between releases). Prince is responsible for a staggering 25 full-length releases in his 26-year career. If you consider the fact that eight of those albums have gone at least platinum, Prince`s modest 36 million sales to date indicate he`s won the fans vote at the polls nearly as much as Michael.
So if the numbers game ends in a draw, there`s always the talent factor to consider. Michael would be hard pressed to catch up to Prince in the god-given musical ability department. For all his posturing, record-breaking tour sales and innovative work in the genre of music videos, the gloved one is essentially a singer. He doesn`t make music, but has a knack for grabbing the hottest producers at the time to create the studio magic millions have grown to adore. But outside of, Stevie Wonder, you would be hard pressed to find a more hands-on musician than Prince. His highness is not only an accomplished vocalist and dancer/performer in his own right, but he`s also a producer, a composer, and a pianist who is equally at home on the guitar, bass or live drums.
Twenty years later, their lives have turned down distinctly different paths. Michael, the more commercially successful of the two, went on to live his life as a recluse on his Neverland ranch, rarely sticking his head out except to record or perform. For his part, Prince has remained a figure in his humble beginnings of Minneapolis, Minnesota while continuing to oversee virtually every aspect of his music. Not only does he continue to record, perform and produce other artists, he was also a pioneering figure in the groundbreaking practice of selling music on the internet.
If sales and media hoopla are the measure, then Michael Jackson can keep his self-appointed title of King of Pop. But if dedication and devotion to the crafting of music are what`s really important, then this contributor says long live the Prince.

Absolutely correct. A lot of us have been saying this for years.

Michael is the king of pop, PRINCE IS THE KING OF MUSIC!

jolina said:

Wow! Well said, jolina.

We knew they couldn't ignore Prince forever! Let the comeback begin!

I'm glad they added the 'self appointed' title part.

---

ZsaZsaZsu said:

---I couldnt agree more,- When their bank accounts were full, mj builds a ranch/fairground and our man builds a recording complex/studio...nuff said ...(give or take the odd windmill...lol). its no contest!

thebumpsquad said:

Yeah they always call MJ out for being the "self-appointed King of Pop". That'll follow him around as much as follows Prince.

WHAT KIND OF DUMAZZ TOPIC IS THIS?? MJ V. O+>


GET A LIFE! I ALWAYS HAD THIS ARGUMENT IN HIGHSCHOOL, AND UNTILL MICHAEL JACKSON LEARNS TO PLAY THREE BLIND MICE ON THE KAZOO MUCHLESS 37 DIFFERENT INSTRUMENTS...CASE F,,KN CLOSED!!!


BOB!



-MONEYMADE

This is the most concise roundup of the issue I've read so far. Perhaps this should be added to the Org FAQ under 'MJ vs P' (just before the section on rib removal)

Just two little quotes from the man himself...:

"2 whom it may concern
U must come 2 your senses
There R no kings on this earth
- only princes"

"Boy, I'll sink u like the ship Poseidon Adventure
U're bumpin' dentures 2 be cocksure
There must be more coming from
your mouth than manure.
So with a flow and a spray, I say hey
U must become a prince before u're king anyway"

"My Name Is Prince,
I don't Wanna B King,
'cause I seen the top
and it's just a dream
Big cars and women
and fancy clothes
will save your face

but it won't save your soul"

HINT

'dre

Reply
Prince is the Musical God!
Their is no `ARTIST` on this planet that can ever come close to PRINCE`s Genius as a Musician, PRINCE is first an `Artist`, not a Salesman, or Marketing Genius...Micheal is for the KIDS!

Any man that can play more than a few dozen instruments, writes, produces for various other artists like: Chaka Khan, Mavis Staples, George Clinton, Pattie Labelle, Celine Dion, Madonna, TLC, No doubt, Beyonce, and countless others...is pure and sheer GENIUS!

Micheal is great, he dances, and sells 40 million records in 1984, doesnt make him The King Of Pop-ular Music...Most of Mike`s hits were written by others...he`s was marketed as a full on entertainer, who has the dance moves of James Brown and the charater of Elvis Presley...just the influence of both won the world over...but PRINCE is James, Jimi, Richard, and Mozart rolled into 1!!!

Prince`s has recorded over 25 albums in 26 years...with some of the most amazing lyrics and Instrumentation on a song...Prince has crossed all boundaries in Rock and Soul Music...brought the worlds of FUNK, Classical and Gospel together and gave us something fresh, exciting, and daring everytime, both on record and stage and whether `we` loved of hated it...PRINCE still stood for what he believed in...and that was HIS MUSIC!!!

No one can ever defeat PRINCE as an all around TRUE ARTIST and MUSICAL GENIUS!!!

I`m sorry, but MICHEAL HE GOT YOU BEAT!!!
and The 2004 Grammy Opener, was just a rehearsal, for whats about to come for the next 20 years of PRINCE.

Where will Micheal be?

NPD313 said:

[B] Amen brother... Best regards to the Mutherfkr with the High voice!! DA MUSICAL GENIUS/GOD!!

MONEYMADE

Prince is and always will be "the Man".
Nobody can and will never be able to compete with him.

and thank you for posting this article.

The article says Jackson's & Prince's albums first started to battle each other in the charts during 1984, but they forgot to mention that five years earlier, in '79 (or was it early 1980?), Prince's song "I Wanna Be Your Lover" knocked Jackson's "Off The Wall" out of the #1 spot on the R&B charts.

Today at work, I showed one of my co-workers the USA Today newspaper which had Prince on the front page. You know what her response was? "So, is he going to take Michael Jackson's place now?" What the hell did that mean?!?! She said, "Well, all I've ever known about Prince is that he does weird things." Whatever! I guess that's one of the best reasons for Prince to make a commercial comeback. A lot of people have misconceptions about him. Would be cool to reveal the truth!

Twiztid said:

Which may be why MJ (I don't like that...I think of Jordan!) named his son Prince. ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha...you fill in the rest

This article is very ignorant.

Michael's not a musician? He's solely written and produced some of his most beloved work by himself (and if any of you heard the original demo of Billie Jean - before Q "co-produced" it - you'd hear that it WAS Michael who came up with that killer bass).

NPD313 said:

Serving time in Prison(albeit in his own special housing unit!!) for child molestation!!

Something Prince will NEVER b found guilty of doing, cos he has other far better things 2 do in his life!!!

MattyJam said:

Jasziah said:

As far as I'm aware OTW never made #1.

yadda yadda yadda..


The thing is most die-hard Prince fans aren't knowledgeable when it comes to MJ. I see the 'most of Michaels hits were wrote by others' comments and i piss myself laughing. Check your history, Michael was writing classics way back when he was with the Jacksons. Infact most of Mike's best songs are the ones he has penned himself.

As for Michael not changing his act in 20years, well to the world at large, Prince vanished 10 years ago. What was he doing the other night? a comeback with a Purple Rain medley, those people neither know or care about the work Prince has put in the last 10 years or so.

Some would say that was tired, lame and boring and not particularly artistic or inspiring. Not me though. I love a bit of nostalgia sometimes. It was exciting, same as MJ's suitcase containing the fedora, sparkly jacket and white glove gets people freaking.

my
[This message was edited Wed Feb 11 4:18:17 PST 2004 by Marrk]

Universaluv said:[quote]

thebumpsquad said:

Yeah they always call MJ out for being the "self-appointed King of Pop". That'll follow him around as much as follows Prince.



Both of them made that same mistake coming up with a silly name.

Marrk said:

Well I think you know what you can do with your two cents.
Mike has written a few songs. Prince has written thousands and he never wrote anything as awful as "BAD" and he did not disappear for a decade he was signed to two different record labels, toured, put out records during the last decade.

laurarichardson said:

You and i both know that, Tell a non-fan not me!! i've been along for the journey as a fan for the last twenty years. you got me wrong, i wasn't dissing Prince.It's a fact the majority of the public (not Prince's Fans!!) think he disappeared after TMBGITW.

BTW, Prince has written just over a thousand songs, and i dare say he has wrote plenty that are far worse than 'Bad', But i'll agree with you 'Bad' is complete rubbish.

That's all i'm saying.


[This message was edited Wed Feb 11 5:36:17 PST 2004 by Marrk]

Marrk said:

---
Well we will have to agree to disagree about "BAD".(LOL)
As far as Prince disappearing to me he only disappears if he stops performing or people stop buying those high tickets.

Can Michael even play an instrument, besides a boys little flute. There would be no competition between the two on a live stage, Prince would put him to shame. Prince gets my vote.

They are 2 greats in their own right. Oh, and what's with this "self proclaimed" crap?? When and where did MJ say himself that he is "king of pop"???...what a load of media BS...i think it's his fans that gave him that title.

Good read.

I am of the opinion that Prince has to rank as possibly one of the 5 best contemporary music artists of the 20th Century, amongst peers such as Stevie Wonder and James Brown. At No.1 tho I would have to say comes FZ - Frank Zappa - and though I don't listen to him a lot, I don't think anybody has done near to what FZ has done.

But Prince is right-up there without question - comparing him to MJ is only really interesting to those who have no idea in the first place - any fan knows that there truly was never any contest to begin with.