Seventeen years ago today, we lost The King of Pop, Michael Jackson. I, like many of you, am a huge Michael Jackson fan. I mean, one of my big “return” pieces was a retrospective on Off the Wall. I’ve even written under my government name bout the silly comparisons/”rivalry” people try to make between him and Prince. So, my love for him, I think it’s pretty apparent. However, unlike some Michael Jackson fans, I welcome posthumous releases. Maybe that doesn’t make me a purist, but I’m okay with that.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Many of the post-2009 Michael Jackson releases aren’t “perfect” Michael Jackson songs. That is, they’re not “perfect” because Jackson himself didn’t add every little finishing touch onto them before he passed away. In fact, I liken MJ’s post-2009 releases to Tupac Shakur’s post-1996 releases. Admittedly, they can be all over the place. For instance, when speaking of Pac, things sound like a melodramatic Eminem album one track (example: “Runnin'” with that out-of-place chipmunk chorus) and like a Strictly for My N.I.G.G.A.Z. outtake the next.

However, even if the releases aren’t completely completed by Tupac or what have you, they serve the purpose of introducing Pac to new audiences and keeping his name in peoples’ mouths and paying homage to him. The same can be said about Jackson’s releases, demos re-releases, etc. since 2009. Well, except for the questionable 2010 album Michael and the controversy of whether or not Jackson sang on every song. However, I’m not going to delve into that on the anniversary of his death outside of this mention. If you want to know more about it, the link’s there and Google’s free.

Four years after Michael, we got Xscape, which aimed to introduce Jackson as Jackson was to new audiences while still keeping his name continuously out there. Granted, he’s Michael Jackson, so he doesn’t really “need” help staying popping in the streets or what have you. But, sometimes, you (or rather, your estate) have to remind people who you are (or were). Xscape aimed to pay homage to a visionary and add additional respect on his name in an era that, while respectful towards Jackson post-death, would still let the errant MJ joke fly. That was all while also giving fans–old and new alike–something they could enjoy and appreciate.

Upon release in May 2014, Xscape was viewed as a solid, albeit not earth-shattering, posthumous release and a marked improvement over its 2010 predecessor. With vocals recorded between 1980 and 2001, Xscape was buoyed by songs such as “Love Never Felt So Good” and “Slave to the Rhythm.” Additionally, Jackson tried his hand at interpolating America’s “A Horse with No Name” on “A Place with No Name.” This is, for me, a pretty underrated cut. This is due to “Place” taking the framework of the America song and making something a bit darker and slightly more chilling. On Xscape, we also got cuts such as “Blue Gangsta” (which feels right at home with classics such as “Smooth Criminal”) and “Do You Know Where Your Children Are.”

“Children” is a song that, topic-wise, would feel slightly “corny” by any other artist. I mean, it’s a song titled after those 1960s-1980s 10PM commercials that’d, well, ask if you knew where your children were. However, Jackson makes it work because it’s gritty without being graphic, honest without being over-the-top, and fits into the overall legacy of Jackson being an advocate for children’s rights. Plus, it’s a song that, personally, gets me in my feelings and makes me want to hug my own kiddos. If you, if you’re a parent, don’t feel at least a twinge of “let me give my kids some extra love” after this one, I’ve got to look at you a bit weird.

I like the solo version of “Love Never Felt So Good” over the Justin Timberlake-aided duet, but that’s just my preference.

The duet is fine, but it’s like that Michael Jackson song Drake features on. Drake could’ve delivered his greatest verse ever. Even if that were the case, I’d only be there for Michael, not Aubrey. Also, given how Drake’s been about Michael Jackson in the last few years? The less we say about that track, the better. Getting back to “Love Never Felt So Good,” the Jackson-only version made me, as probably intended, revisit Off the Wall upon hearing it. The JT version just reminded me of one thing, pardon the shadiness. JT tried, but could never really hold a candle to MJ. Say what you will about Jackson doing poppier songs at times versus always leaning into R&B or what have you, but Jackson’s voice was multifaceted and sonically? Well, sonically, he could sing the alphabet and it’d sound awesome.

Yes, that even includes his Tyrese impersonation with “2000 Watts,” as much of an oddity as it is lyrically. I’m including it here because, while it’s something of an outlier in Jackson’s discography, it’s one of those things that grew on me…though I still laugh at its somewhat absurdity.

But I digress.

As I’m pulling myself out of a rabbit hole, “Slave to the Rhythm” is a Dangerous-era demo reworked for 2010s audiences. It’s one of those tracks released from those sessions that I wish was included on Dangerous. Where I’m standing, it it fits so well–thematically and lyrically–with that album. However, I get why they passed on it being on Dangerous as Dangerous ran the risk of becoming “too much” as is. Thankfully, in some ways, it was kept in the chamber until 2014. I say that because its release also led to the below performance by Jackson (rather, a pretty dang cool Pepper’s Ghost illusion of Jackson) at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards.

Xscape also features the Timbaland-assisted “Chicago,” based on a 1999 demo from the Invincible sessions. Written by Corry Rooney, “Chicago” (originally titled “She Was Loving Me”) is the epitome of “if at first, you don’t succeed,” as it was a MJ song that just wouldn’t go away. In speaking of the song, it’s been reported that Jackson fell in love with the overall feel of it and, while it didn’t make Invincible, it was one that was kept in his team’s back pocket. Between 1999 and 2014, “Chicago” was reworked a few times, with the Timbaland version from Xscape being the final result.

During the original release of Xscape, the song was appreciated. However, it didn’t make waves as it has twelve years later. After the release of the 2026 Michael biopic, the song made a resurgence–like all of Jackson’s music. “Chicago” and its reemergence was also aided by its use in a meme animation, “birds for some reason.” The bird dance helped the song appear in corners of the internet otherwise not deeply connected to MJ.

All of this led to “Chicago” peaking, so far, at #2 on the Billboard Top 100 charts. In a somewhat ironic twist, the song that blocked it was none other than “Billie Jean.” “Chicago” features Jackson singing about a woman who’s trying to get in his pants but is–surprise!–married with children. It’s Michael Jackson at his best, mainly because he’s got the same sort of swagger he exhibited on songs such as “Dirty Diana” and “Billie Jean.” Dude pretty much says “go back to your kids, lady. Don’t chase my [junk] and work it out with your husband, as I’m not going to [continue to] help you cheat.”

Now, I love when Michael Jackson wants to heal the world. I love when he “snarls” on songs like “They Don’t Really Care About Us.” And I love when he’s softer and more melancholy on cuts such as “She’s Out of My Life” or even “Butterflies.” But for me? He does some of his best work when taps into his latent sensuality and sexuality. That is, when he acknowledges that he is “HIM,” but doesn’t want someone to come out of their body for him/lose their sanity or respect for him. While MJ wasn’t blatantly sexual at all times, the brother clearly knew that he could drop panties like AI dropped dimes. “Workin’ Day and Night” is an example of this, and that’s from the Off the Wall era.

Pardon the crassness with the AI comparison, but you’ve all got to stop saying that MJ was never sexual. It’s a blatant lie. I mean, no, he wasn’t talking about “[effin’] this” and “[munchin’] that” on every song. I’ll give you that much. But, he was definitely sexual, crotch grab and all. Mind you, this is a man who told a shordie to keep her lust for him “in the closet,” lest they combine and screw everything up for the both of them. Plus, let’s be real: MJ was an attractive dude. Yes. he dealt with self-image issues among other things. However, Jackson seemingly was also well aware that people wanted to shoot their shots. He was aware that people may fabricate themselves a romance with him in their heads. He’d have to be completely and intentionally oblivious to deny that.

I’ll say this, and move on. The fantasy that some have about Jackson being this asexual, G-rated, god-like entity who exhibited childlike innocence 24/7 and was “perfect” in every way is just that: a fantasy. Those who hold that image of Jackson in their heads can, theoretically, be just as damaging to his legacy as the rumors. Why, you ask? Well, both sides are lies.

Speaking of displaying different sides of things, that’s Xscape as a whole. The reason why it works far better than Michael, personally, is that it exhibits all sides of Jackson. We get him being playful, disco-adjacent, sensual, political, confident, socioeconomically-motivated, magical even. Is it a perfect album? Well, it doesn’t match “THEE” three-album run of Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad, that’s for damned sure. It’s also not Michael or somewhat bloated like HIStory. One of these days, I’ll talk more about HIStory, but today isn’t that day. Overall, Xscape is a cohesive, entertainingly solid addition to Jackson’s legacy. It serves its purpose as a collection of older and newer energies, while still presenting itself as a worthy component of Michael Jackson’s discography.

Final Score: 7.85/10