Makossa is a Cameroonian style of urban music. Like much other late 20th century music of Sub-Saharan Africa, it uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass. In the 1980s makossa had a wave of mainstream success across Africa and to a lesser extent abroad.
The music of the Cameroon includes diverse traditional and modern musical genres. The best-known contemporary genre is makossa, a popular style that has gained fans across Africa, and its related dance craze bikutsi.
Emmanuel N'Djoké "Manu" Dibango was a Cameroonian musician and songwriter who played saxophone and vibraphone. He developed a musical style fusing jazz, funk, and traditional Cameroonian music. His father was a member of the Yabassi ethnic group, while his mother was a Duala. He was best known for his 1972 single "Soul Makossa".The song has been referred to as the most sampled African song in addition Dibango, himself, as the most sampled African musician in history. He died from COVID-19 on 24 March 2020.
Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 29, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who had previously worked with Jackson on his 1979 album Off the Wall. Jackson wanted to create an album where "every song was a killer". With the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he moved in a new musical direction, resulting in a mix of pop, post-disco, rock, funk, synth-pop, and R&B sounds. Thriller foreshadows the contradictory themes of Jackson's personal life, as he began using a motif of paranoia and darker themes. Paul McCartney appears on "The Girl Is Mine", the first credited appearance of a featured artist on a Michael Jackson album. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a budget of $750,000.
"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson recorded for his sixth studio album Thriller (1982). It is the opening track of the album and was released as its fourth single on May 8, 1983, by Epic Records. It was written and co-produced by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. The lyrics pertain to strangers spreading rumors to start an argument for no good reason. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" evokes the disco sound of Jackson's previous studio album, Off the Wall, released in 1979. The song is characterized by a complex rhythm arrangement and a distinctive horn arrangement.
"Gettin' Jiggy wit It" is a song by American rapper and actor Will Smith, released as the third single from his debut solo album, Big Willie Style (1997). The verse is based around a sample of "He's the Greatest Dancer" by Sister Sledge, and the chorus is sampled from "Sang and Dance" by the Bar-Kays. Released in early 1998, the song was Smith's second hit produced by Poke & Tone and L.E.S., who replaced his long-time partner Jazzy Jeff, though the record-scratching techniques of Jazzy Jeff can be heard in the song.
"Rock with You" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. It was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. It was released on November 3, 1979, by Epic Records as the second single from Jackson's fifth solo studio album Off the Wall (1979). It was also the third number-one hit of the 1980s, a decade in which the pop singles chart would quickly be dominated by Jackson.
Knowledge Is King is the third solo studio album by American rapper Kool Moe Dee, released on May 30, 1989, via Jive Records.
"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in Cash Box and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1972.
Good Girl Gone Bad is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 31, 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Neo da Matrix, Timbaland, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and Stargate. Inspired by Brandy's fourth studio album Afrodisiac (2004), Good Girl Gone Bad is a pop, dance-pop and R&B record with 1980s music influences. Described as a turning point in Rihanna's career, it represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous releases, Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl like Me (2006). Apart from the sound, she also endorsed a new image for the release going from an innocent young woman to an edgier, more mature look.
"Mama Say" is the debut single of the Bloodhound Gang. It was originally released as a single from the band's 1994 EP, Dingleberry Haze, but is usually associated with the 1995 album Use Your Fingers. The single features the song remixed by God Lives Underwater.
"Don't Stop the Music" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007). It was released worldwide on September 7, 2007, as the album's fourth single. The song was written by Tawanna Dabney and its producers StarGate. Michael Jackson also received a songwriting credit for the sampling of the line "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koosa" from Jackson's 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Both Rihanna and Jackson were sued by Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango, who asserted that the hook originated in his 1972 song "Soul Makossa". "Don't Stop the Music" is a dance track that features rhythmic devices used primarily in hip hop music.
Lafayette Afro Rock Band was an American funk band formed in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York in 1970. Shortly after their formation, they relocated to France. Though little-known in their native United States during their recording period, they have since become celebrated as one of the standout funk bands of the 1970s and are particularly noted for their use of break beats. The band also recorded under the names Ice, Crispy & Co., Captain Dax, and others.
King of Pop is a compilation album by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, released in commemoration of his 50th birthday in 2008. The album title comes from the honorific title Jackson himself acquired approximately 20 years earlier.
Thriller 25 is the 25th-anniversary edition reissue of Thriller (1982), the sixth studio album by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson. The original album has sold 70 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album of all time. Thriller 25 was released by Sony BMG's reissue division, Legacy Recordings. Along with the original material, the reissue contains remixes, new material, a DVD and collaborations with contemporary artists. Thriller 25 was one of the last recorded works released during Jackson's lifetime, which he was moreover deeply involved with, as Jackson co-produced all of the newly remixed tracks.
"Hold My Hand" is a duet performed by American singer-songwriters Michael Jackson and Akon, from Jackson's first posthumous album Michael (2010). The song was originally recorded by Akon and Jackson in 2007. The song was an international top 10 hit in nations such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
"Behind the Mask" is a 1979 song by the Japanese synth-pop group Yellow Magic Orchestra. The composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto, wrote the first version for a television commercial. This was expanded with the band and the British lyricist Chris Mosdell for inclusion on the 1979 Yellow Magic Orchestra album Solid State Survivor. In the US and the UK, "Behind the Mask" was released as a single from the album X∞Multiplies in 1980.
Immortal is a remix album of music originally recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, released on November 18, 2011, by Epic Records. The album is also a soundtrack to Cirque du Soleil's Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour, which debuted on October 2, 2011, in Montreal.
"Let the Groove Get In" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake for his third studio album, The 20/20 Experience (2013). It was written and produced by Timberlake, Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Jerome "J-Roc" Harmon, with additional writing from James Fauntleroy. A latin song, "Let the Groove Get In" contains sample from the recording "Alhamdulillaahi" part of the release Explore Series: Africa-Burkina Faso: Rhythms of the Grasslands (2002). Music critics received the song well and noticed a similarity between it and the works of Michael Jackson in particular his 1983 single "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". Following the release of The 20/20 Experience, it debuted at number 31 on the South Korea International Chart and at number nine on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.
