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Don't understand Jermaine's song "Word to the Badd"

LindavG said:
Why can you imagine Michael deliberately sabotaging Jermaine's career? He has always been very supportive of his siblings' projects and even wrote/produced songs for them. He did the Victory tour for his family. He did the Variety shows for his family. He did the Pepsi commercials with his brothers for his family. He let Janet "steal" his military style ideas for her Rhythm Nation video. When he rehearsed, he often danced to Janet's music. When the Jackson 2300 album came out, Michael was so enthusiastic about it he called the record company and urged them to give it proper promotion. There's no reason to believe Michael would purposely sabotage Jermaine's career. I think he just looked at it business wise: he was embarking on a new album and he wanted to work with the best people, and LaFAce were really popular at the time. But producers usually work with many artists at the same time and afaik nobody ever claimed that Michael asked LaFace to leave Jermaine behind. They chose to do that because they wanted to put all their energy into Michael's album. Still, I can imagine Jermaine being pissed off about this. I would be too (mostly at LaFace though). But that is no excuse to do what he did. This goes far beyond sibling rivalry. This is betrayal in its purest form. If you're having problems with your brother, you do not write a song to bash him and release it to the public on the same date his new song comes out. And you most certainly don't include issues that 1) you know are highly sensitive to your brother, 2) have nothing to do with the argument at hand, and 3) add fuel to the ridicule of your brother. There is simply no excuse for this (has Jermaine even apologized, btw?). Again, I know it's 20 years ago but I just find it so low and dispicable that it changed my perception of Jermaine forever.
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Let's put it this way: I don't totally exclude the possibility. Why would he do that? I don't know. I agree that most of the time Michael was supportive of his siblings' career and if any sibling ever posed a "threat" to Michael than it was Janet rather than Jermaine (well, she did not really pose a threat either but she got closest to Michael in terms of popularity). But we don't know everything about their family dynamics. We don't know if Michael didn't hold a grudge against Jermaine for something etc. Maybe he really didn't intend to sabotage Jermaine's album and it was just an unfortunate situation. But I wouldn't be surprised either if he had done it deliberately - for something we don't know of.

I agree that, and I said that above as well, that whether it was deliberate by Michael or not, Jermaine went to far with some parts of those lyrics.
 
lucilla said:
Taraborrelli also mentioned the story about the physical fight. But should we believe it? I don't think so.
Who knows really.
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Margaret Moldano (Jermaine's ex) wrote in her book that the thing about the physical fight wasn't true. I'd rather believe her than Taraborelli.
 
Who knows what really happen? But, the lyric in "Word to the badd" song where Jermaine talks about MJ taking his pie and he did it before! Shows That Jermaine had jealousy of MJ a looong time and it's almost as if the song was him just waiting in the wings to take his frustration out on MJ finally!

It just looks major "BADD" On Jerms part!
 
i really enjoy the melody of the track and the idea of jermaine being so fed up of being shun over by michael that he felt he had to lash out with a diss track years after the jacksons separated is really facinating to me.

thats like if Niall Horan from 1 direction did a diss towards Harry Styles today lmao.
 
Beano Wild said:
i really enjoy the melody of the track and the idea of jermaine being so fed up of being shun over by michael that he felt he had to lash out with a diss track years after the jacksons separated is really facinating to me.

thats like if Niall Horan from 1 direction did a diss towards Harry Styles today lmao.
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It's honestly his second best song. After his duet with Michael. Lolol
 
Beano Wild said:
i really enjoy the melody of the track and the idea of jermaine being so fed up of being shun over by michael that he felt he had to lash out with a diss track years after the jacksons separated is really facinating to me.
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I'm in two minds about this. Otoh, I have zero interest in the Jacksons apart from Michael. I really loved J5 and the Jacksons back in the day for their music - and I still love those songs today - but once Michael went solo I didn't give the rest of them a second thought. Otoh, this dynamic of having a genius in the family who, imo, overshadows everyone else is kinda interesting. Jermaine seems to struggle with it the most, as far as I can tell. It kills me the way he tries to offload responsibility for the song bc he didn't write it. As if some mysterious force blew him into the recording studio against his will and made him record the thing, lol.

The man just never coped with being overshadowed by his genius younger brother. I get that it must be hard although I sometimes wonder how easy it was for Michael. Knowing your talent is miles better (again, imo!) than your siblings and knowing some of them feel resentful. That's gotta be uncomfortable sometimes, I would think.

Beano Wild said:
thats like if Niall Horan from 1 direction did a diss towards Harry Styles today lmao.
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Mm, I see it differently. With a boy band there's always someone who has the best voice or is destined to become a star and someone else who just kinda makes up the numbers. Not to diss Niall. He's OK, I guess, but Harry was always the standout 1D guy, imo. I'm not saying there wouldn't be jealousy in a band but it's not family so it's different, I think.

P.S. Just thought - I might be misunderstanding your comment about Niall. I am sleep deprived atm. Very tired, lol.
 
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All the Jackson brothers were jealous of Michael Jackson's success, as confirmed by American businesswoman Suzanne de Passe who was very close to the Jackson family for many years.

Jermaine Jackson wrote the 'Word To The Badd!!' song because he was also jealous of Michael Jackson's success.

He even decided to release that song (as a single) in that particular period so as to ride on Michael Jackson's coattails (because of his brother's upcoming 'Dangerous' album).

Jermaine Jackson's then-wife Margaret Maldonado also corroborated his jealousy towards Michael Jackson's success.

Jermaine Jackson also stated (in 1991) that Michael Jackson's success was a matter of timing and a matter of luck (a statement that shows jealousy on his part).

Also, Jermaine Jackson was already aware about Michael Jackson's vitiligo skin disease (before writing that song) because Janet Jackson revealed that all the Jackson family members were already aware of that in the '80s (his skin disease was not just yet publicly known).
 
Do we know for a fact Jermaine wrote the words himself? He was never much of a writer, so I wouldn't be surprised if, despite the lyrics sounding "personal", they were penned by one of the other credited writers.

In any case, it's obvious it was done also for publicity purposes: Jermaine's career was in the doldrums by that point, so some record producer/label head must have told him dissing MJ was a sure-fire way to get visibility for the new single. The song isn't bad, and diss songs obviously have a LONG history in hip-hop/rap music.
 
kreen said:
Do we know for a fact Jermaine wrote the words himself?
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In the MJJC interview he says he didn't write the song.

kreen said:
He was never much of a writer, so I wouldn't be surprised if, despite the lyrics sounding "personal", they were penned by one of the other credited writers.
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This does make sense.

kreen said:
In any case, it's obvious it was done also for publicity purposes: Jermaine's career was in the doldrums by that point, so some record producer/label head must have told him dissing MJ was a sure-fire way to get visibility for the new single.
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Sounds about right. That is how the music industry works.
 
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Leaving this here with no comment:

"MJJC: In your book, you wrote that you did NOT write "Word to the Badd" but in 1991, you DID interviews--both live and print--where you in no uncertain terms stated that you wrote the song. For example, in a Times interview, you said: “I wrote this song--and it came from the bottom of my heart--was to help my little brother get a grip on reality. “. Which version is the truth? And regardless do you accept any responsibility for the song Word to the Badd? Even if you didn't write it, wouldn't you agree that singing/recording it is just as bad?

Jermaine Jackson: I have heard how some folk are keen to pin me to this kind of reported word or the odd sentence on video. The bottom line is that I didn't write it and everyone involved knows I didn't write it, regardless of what I said or didn't say in this interview or that interview. No one mentions the interviews where I said I didn't write it, do they??!

The true story is the one I've told many times, and the one that is in the book. I accepted responsibility a long time ago and my remorse was true. It is a shame to me that some fans cannot move on from this in the same way Michael did. But honestly, what matters to me is that we straightened things out as brothers."
 
zinniabooklover said:
The man just never coped with being overshadowed by his genius younger brother.
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Uh, in your opinion. Clearly not the case when you ask the Jermaine Super Fans. All 1 of them. Lol

zinniabooklover said:
Otoh, this dynamic of having a genius in the family who, imo, overshadows everyone else is kinda interesting.
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I'm not gonna make many Biblical allegories to Michael. I don't view him in that sorta light. His names have Biblical significance though. Michael Joseph Jackson (maybe Joe, depending who you ask.) But anyway, that is an interesting parallel..Joseph was envied by his brothers, younger and older. He attained great success through God's continual support.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Uh, in your opinion. Clearly not the case when you ask the Jermaine Super Fans. All 1 of them. Lol
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oh, I'm so sorry! Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. I did not make it clear enough that I was expressing my lowly, uninformed opinion. I am grateful to you for reminding me of ... something or other, lol.

Mister_Jay_Tee said:
I'm not gonna make many Biblical allegories to Michael. I don't view him in that sorta light. His names have Biblical significance though. Michael Joseph Jackson (maybe Joe, depending who you ask.) But anyway, that is an interesting parallel..Joseph was envied by his brothers, younger and older. He attained great success through God's continual support.
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Now this is super cool. So obvious now you've pointed it out but, ngl, I would not have remembered this. This is freakin' awesome. I want to reflect on this.

Super cool. :D
 
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Mister_Jay_Tee said:
I'm not gonna make many Biblical allegories to Michael. I don't view him in that sorta light. His names have Biblical significance though. Michael Joseph Jackson (maybe Joe, depending who you ask.) But anyway, that is an interesting parallel..Joseph was envied by his brothers, younger and older. He attained great success through God's continual support.
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The parallels are just ... 😲
 
kreen said:
Do we know for a fact Jermaine wrote the words himself? He was never much of a writer, so I wouldn't be surprised if, despite the lyrics sounding "personal", they were penned by one of the other credited writers.

In any case, it's obvious it was done also for publicity purposes: Jermaine's career was in the doldrums by that point, so some record producer/label head must have told him dissing MJ was a sure-fire way to get visibility for the new single. The song isn't bad, and diss songs obviously have a LONG history in hip-hop/rap music.
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zinniabooklover said:
In the MJJC interview he says he didn't write the song.
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Jermaine Jackson already clarified many years ago that he did write that song:

"The only reason I wrote this song - and it came from the bottom of my heart - was to help my little brother get a grip on reality. The song was never supposed to come out in public … Yes, I wrote it and I stand by it" (Jermaine Jackson, Los Angeles Times, 1991)

Founder of the Arista Records label Clive Davis (which was one of the 2 labels that released that album with that song) also confirmed that Jermaine Jackson wrote this song.

Michael Jackson was appalled by the fact that his own brother wrote such a song with the intention of even releasing it, and he (reportedly) begged Clive Davis to remove that song from Jermaine Jackson's 'You Said' upcoming album.

Jermaine Jackson later apologized to Michael Jackson for that, and Michael Jackson accepted his apology.
 
AlwaysThere said:
I think this situation best describes why I don’t like or care for nearly anyone in the Jackson family besides Michael. There’s no scenario in which this song’s existence is justifiable.
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My sentiments exactly. I don't care whether he wrote the damn song or not. It's irrelevant. He recorded it and that's enough.

Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Oh, Brotherrrr, this guy STINKS

*Names*
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Oh, now it makes sense, lol. My brain was all over the place trying to work it out! Anyway, I'm still reflecting on the story. I had forgotten about the bit with Potiphar's wife. So many layers ...
 
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SeriousEffect. said:
I love the Jackson family, but they all bend the truth even when there's clear evidence of a lie.

Don't get so bent out of shape about the song, MJ got over it so us fans should get over it.
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Is it even really an insult? Jermaine just kinda calls him an ego. Most fans do that on the daily.

Most brothers just beat each other up. Writing a song about it is like, such a Jackson thing to do lol.

That one comedian Eddie Griffin said worse and he became one of MJs best friends.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Is it even really an insult? Jermaine just kinda calls him an ego. Most fans do that on the daily.
Most brothers just beat each other up. Writing a song about it is like, such a Jackson thing to do lol. [...]
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Fair point. :ROFLMAO:

Every family is bonkers, imo, and every family has tension in it. I have a bit of a problem with Jermaine bc he seems to have a history of saying duff things about Michael. That's the context for me but, sure, I mostly don't care about it. Had a blast, though, thinking about all of this in the context of the Joseph / Bible story.
 
Mister_Jay_Tee said:
Is it even really an insult? Jermaine just kinda calls him an ego. Most fans do that on the daily.

Most brothers just beat each other up. Writing a song about it is like, such a Jackson thing to do lol.

That one comedian Eddie Griffin said worse and he became one of MJs best friends.
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I agree, I took it as a sibling squabble - the only thing I actually found offensive were the attacks on MJ's appearance, but again MJ got over it so how can I hold a grudge?

Let’s go to Mumbai city...
 
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