How "Soul Makossa" Started Something

By The Beachwood Fair Credit Affairs Desk

Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" is essentially a rewrite/upgrade of the 1973 song "Soul Makossa" by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango; "Soul Makossa" is often credited as the world's first disco song. Dibango was not, however, credited on the record.

While the African chant is the biggest giveaway, the distinctive cymbal flow is also obviously cribbed. Here's the original.

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