In a prior interview, Quincy Jones, reminisced about how beloved icons, Michael Jackson and Prince, couldn’t stand each other back in the day. Jones gave a first-hand account, detailing just how bad their decades-long beef really was behind the scenes. In particular, he recalled two wild incidents he witnessed between MJ and Prince that will crack you up, although back then it was no laughing matter…
Before we get into the details of this bizarre beef, here’s one old school school fun fact Quincy Jones revealed: MJ wanted his hit song, “Who’s Bad,” to be a collaboration with Prince. That would have been MAJOR, but also disastrous, because by that time MJ and Prince already had serious beef, which is where Quincy’s story gets really interesting.
WHY PRINCE ‘TRIED TO HIT MJ AND LA TOYA WITH HIS LIMO’
Quincy Jones says he witnessed Prince trying to hit MJ and MJ’s sister, La Toya Jackson, with his limo. According to Jones, Prince did so gangsta style – by waiting for them in the parking lot after James Brown’s concert! Wow, we couldn’t make this stuff up if we tried:
Quincy Jones – “Have you ever seen the video of them [Prince and Michael] at James Brown’s gig? [Prince] always had this thing with Michael, they would CLASH (laughs). But [at that time] Michael had 25 years of experience, Prince had 5 years. So, Michael went up there [on stage with Brown], sang for about 15 seconds, then moonwalked for about 15 seconds. And then he whispered in James Brown’s ear to ‘Let Prince come up.’
Jones continued:
Prince jumped up on the back of his bodyguard, took his gloves off and threw ’em at them [Michael and his crew], then they threw ’em back at him…and then [Prince] came up and tried to challenge Michael. That’s not the way you do cameos, man. You join the family, you don’t fight with each other or try to compete with each other. He made a fool out of himself that night.
So Prince] waited for them [Michael, Latoya and their crew] after the show in his limousine and he tried to run over La Toya and Michael (laughs). That was some drama Mama! There was ALWAYS some drama. Michael loved drama!
WHAT HAPPENED WHEN JONES CALLED A MEETING WITH PRINCE AND MJ
Quincy Jones then explained what happened when he called a meeting with Prince and Michael Jackson to try to convince Prince to be in MJ’s “Bad” video:
“We had a meeting at Michael’s house. I said ‘Michael let’s invite him out and try to talk him into this.’ I had envisioned a fight breaking out in the video, you know some drama, that’s all…and then Michael and Prince coming up to each other and [squashing it]. That’s what videos are all about- tension and release.”
“So Prince comes out and I say ‘Michael you sit on that side. I’ll sit on the other side. And let him sit there so he doesn’t feel like we’re ganging up on him. He [Prince] came in with a big box of stuff, he’d just finished “Under The cherry Moon…directing it- He had this box of stuff, it was WEIRD man. He had some Tootsie rolls and some cuff links and stuff like that…a lot of stuff, Michael thought it was voodoo (laughs). And then he said ‘I’m sorry to keep you all [waiting] this long..and then he called Michael ‘Camille’,” explains Jones.
This was crazy…and hilarious! Through it all, Prince and MJ respected each other’s talents, and years later they thankfully squashed their beef.
-ILoveOldSchoolMusic, old school news with a new point of view. Come join our ILOSM fam’ on Facebook and Instagram @iloveoldschoolmusic
