By Michael Jackson - Dutchcharts (http://www.dutchcharts.nl), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42831825
Back in 1990 there weren't many writers and producers who were bigger than Babyface and L.A. Reid. The Grammy winning duo were seemingly working with everybody, as well as launching the LaFace record label. But as busy as they were, when the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, called and requested a meeting, they took it. Jackson was working on his Dangerous album and was bringing in guest writers and producers to update his sound to harder, more beat-heavy sounds of the era.
Back in 1990 there weren't many writers and producers who were bigger than Babyface and L.A. Reid. The Grammy winning duo were seemingly working with everybody, as well as launching the LaFace record label. But as busy as they were, when the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, called and requested a meeting, they took it. Jackson was working on his Dangerous album and was bringing in guest writers and producers to update his sound to harder, more beat-heavy sounds of the era.
Despite the fact that LaFace had just signed Jermaine Jackson -- who wasn't crazy about the team working with his brother -- Babyface and L.A. agreed to hole themselves up in a Los Angeles studio and begin to work with Michael on songs for the new album. Unfortunately, both Face and L.A. grew increasingly uncomfortable with the arrangement. They didn't feel they were delivering their best work, and Jackson wasn't participating in the process in the way that they hoped. After a week in the studio, the two writers gave up and told Jackson that it all wasn't going to work. But their exit gift was "Slave to The Rhythm," a hot dance track that ultimately didn't make the cut for Dangerous.
And that was that until nearly a quarter century later, when Sony Music gathered up vaulted material to create the 2014 album Xscape, and "Slave to The Rhythm" moved front and center, retooled by Timbaland and J-Roc. What's more, for the Billboard Music Awards a virtual performance of the song by Jackson, called a "pepper's ghost," became the show's highlight, introducing it to the world in a most auspicious manner.
Babyface told Questlove in a 2017 interview that one of his regrets was that he didn't deliver a better song to Michael Jackson, but "Slave To The Rhythm" ultimately found real life a half decade after Jackson died, and was a worthy unvaulted hit - a compliment to both the songwriters and the artist.
Check out the 2014 Billboard award show virtual performance below.
By Chris Rizik