Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" opens Michael Jackson's Thriller album with a burst of percussion and a horn section that hits like a slap. Written solely by Jackson and co-produced with Quincy Jones, the track draws on the post-disco funk of Off the Wall but pushes into more claustrophobic territory. The lyrics rail against gossip and troublemakers, "You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable", delivered with a barely contained fury that makes the song feel both danceable and unsettling. Its chanted outro, built on a Cameroonian rhythm from Manu Dibango's "Soul Makossa," became one of the most sampled vocal hooks in pop history.

Recorded at Westlake Studios in Los Angeles between April and November 1982, the track features a tight rhythm section: Louis Johnson on bass, David Williams on guitar, Greg Phillinganes on piano and synthesizers. The horn arrangement by Jerry Hey adds a bright, punchy counterpoint. Jackson layered his own vocals with backing singers Julia Waters, Maxine Waters, Oren Waters, James Ingram, Bunny Hull, and Becky Lopez to create a dense, call-and-response texture.

Released as the fourth single from Thriller in May 1983, it peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. The single version trimmed the album's 6:03 down to 4:21, with a 12-inch extended mix running 6:30. No official music video was made, but the song became a live staple, performed on every tour from the Victory Tour in 1984 through the HIStory tour in 1997. A 2008 remix with Akon appeared on Thriller 25. [edit]