Michael Jackson and his skin color: a complex relationship
"Black or White": Michael Jackson had a complex relationship with his skin color, noticeable in the evolution of his music as his appearance. Those who knew him well assure that he has always preserved his black identity, while transcending racial issues.
Over time, her skin lightened, her afro hairstyle gave way to a wavy perm, and cosmetic surgery planed her flat nose. Part of R&B and funk, his music has slipped towards pop and variety. Among his best friends were Elizabeth Taylor and Nancy Reagan ... Obviously, the "King of Pop" was confusing the issue. "I have the feeling that during his career, Michael Jackson simply transcended the problem. of the race. It is neither in his work nor in his life ”, analyzes Bill Bottrell, who had co-produced the song“ Black or White ”and collaborated with the artist between 1986 and the beginning of the 90s.
“I watched him with his friends. They came from all walks of life. He surrounded himself with many African Americans, but also white people, like me, ”continues the producer.
On the cover of the album "Off The Wall", which propelled his solo career to the heights in 1979, ten years after the release of the first Jackson 5 record, Michael Jackson still has frizzy hair and his skin is noticeably darker. than the brick wall behind him.
“There were really two phases in his career,” notes commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson, a figure in the American black community. "There was first a connection and identification with African Americans, whether in music, dance, lifestyle and performances," he notes. “It was mostly black music. It was the 'black Michael Jackson'. ”
With "Thriller", the highest-selling album in history, in 1982, he became the first black artist to have a video clip broadcast on repeat on the MTV music channel. He is therefore one of the most famous people in the world, regardless of their race.
“It was beyond skin color. It was the message of his music and people loved him for that, ”says DJ Spinna, producer of musical events based on hits by Michael Jackson.
The fact remains that as her glory grew, the star appeared more and more white. He said he had vitiligo, a disease causing depigmentation, but accentuated his whiteness with forceful treatments and make-up. To the point of becoming the whitest of black celebrities.
From Sammy Davis Jr to Oprah Winfrey to Barack Obama, famous black people have often been accused of losing touch with their roots. Michael Jackson found himself carried away by the current of a predominantly white music industry finally marketing artists of color. At the same time and at the antipodes of its production, rap appeared, a musical genre offering a new definition to being black.
“In the second phase of his career, he became more and more ambivalent for African Americans. His music, his appearance and his fans have become more and more eclectic. African Americans no longer identified with him, ”says Earl Ofari Hutchinson.
"He drew his inspiration from people of all races, from personalities he admired and from his friends", relativizes Bottrell, who had worked in the studio with Michael Jackson on the albums "Bad" in 1987 and "Dangerous" in 1991.
When the singer found himself accused of pedophile behavior in 1993 and then in 2000, his relatives joined forces. “On Jackson's behalf, they said, 'Don't believe what you hear, I still identify with the black community. I'm black, that hasn't changed, and I need your support, ”Hutchinson recalls. However, he says, "many now saw him as a creation of the white world."
All these contradictions seem to come together in the title "Black or White", one of the hits from the album "Dangerous", and in its explicit refrain: "as long as you are my darling, it doesn't matter if you are white or black" .
Contrary to his habit, Michael Jackson had not written the song when he arrived at the studio, recalls Bottrell. He had improvised and the recording was done in one take. "She sort of came out of him," sums up the producer. "He clearly had the theme in mind when he started singing."
