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The Consensus about This Time Around?

Legit one of my favorite songs on HIStory. I listen to it very often. Absolutely love it. I also think it's by far the best rap break/feature in any MJ song. I don't know Biggie's music too well, but every time I listen to this song I think that I want to. Yet, Biggie's feature never overtakes the song either. It just powerfully enhances it. This, to me, is the mark of a good feature.
 
Just listening to this song again today, it really goes so hard. It's got a basic rhythm but it's quite enjoyable in that way, like a chant or an old school rhythm. The tricks they use, like filtering MJ with a walky talky effect, it's so cool. And his harmonies are still so pristine.

And, Biggie has the best rap feature period. The whole song has the energy of when a singer sings the hook for a killer rap song, only it's like the exact opposite. MJ feels like he's rapping himself. It's a better engagement with hip hop than everything on Dangerous and Invincible, tbh. Not to say that Dangerous was bad, not at all. I'll say those raps were, fun, downright playful, and this one, is not at all. B.I.G is just fierce.

And Dallas Austin really deserves more love, his production is aging pretty great. It's lush too, with the operatic crescendo during the rap. Song just deserves higher marks, I'd play this song to anyone who wants to hear a different MJ type of tune.
 
Themidwestcowboy said:
I've heard some people call this song weak and not one of MJ's finest. I, for one, think this song is great. Great rhythm,great melody, poignant lyrics and an Amazing rap. It flows perfectly following the three opening songs of the album.

Also I'm not an advocate of using the N word but I think that MJ was trying to prove a point or rather make a statement with that utterance. He could have easily omitted that word out of BIG's verse or bleeped it out but it he choose to include it.

What are your opinions about the song?

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In This time around Michael was making a statement I think that's why he used that word,let's not forget he was going through a lot in the 90's so the History album was the perfect way for him to get his point across,he barely cussed in his songs,he just let all his his anger out the best way he could in the 90's,BTW the whole album he was making a statement, bottom line is, Michael Jackson wasn't a punk
 
What kind of gear (synths, samplers and such) did Austin Dallas use for This Time Around? Iā€™m especially interested in that ā€œchorusyā€ acoustic guitar synth patch panned in the center of the mix. Itā€™s in a few other Michael Jackson songs, such as 2 Bad and Dallas Austinā€™s remix of They Donā€™t Care About Us:
 
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I think when I first got the album this was one of the songs that made me think that there were too many songs that sounded the same.

But after a year or two, it grew on me.

I'll have to listen to more remixes.
 
Honestly, it's better than just about all of MJ's other hip hop-ish songs with raps, including "Jam", "She Drives Me Wild", "Can't Let Her Get Away", "2 Bad", "Heartbreaker", "Invincible", "Threatened", "Shout", etc. "Unbreakable" may be the exception, but at least the Biggie verse on "This Time Around" was actually made for the song instead of being sampled from an old Shaq song.

None of MJ's hip-hop songs that have rapping are amazing, anyway. Heavily disagree that it doesn't evoke any strong emotion because the whole theme of the song is "no more Mr. Nice Guy" and not in a campy way like on "Bad"; MJ sounds genuinely angry here, which was a first for him. It would have likely worked as a single; Biggie was the biggest rapper at the time and him being on a MJ song would have gotten plenty of buzz. It should have at least been released as a commercial single in America at the same time everywhere else got "Earth Song".
 
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mj_frenzy said:
It is no wonder that the song did not chart at all on the Billboard Hot 100 during that period.
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Considering it was never released as a commercial single, meaning it couldn't chart due to the rules, that's not relevant.
 
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I really like this song though I don't listen to it as much because of the curse words in it..but it's still catchy!
 
I loved this song the moment I first heard it the day HIStory was released. There just something about it that does it for me lol it was played one night in a club when I was younger - was of course pleasantly surprised because most of the time itā€™s either Billie Jean or DSTYGE played in clubs ā€¦sounded great!
 
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