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Michael - The Great Album Debate

dam2040 said:
Oh crap.. "set up" pretty sure he knew full well he was working on songs that were not Michael Jackson. This basically confirms it to not be MJ? "Going against his wishes" - mixing fake songs is going against his wishes too mate!
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"I sign a contract to remix what I had. It was too late for me to turn back so I finished out the project."
 
dam2040 said:
don't buy that at all.
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He could get out of the contract, that's for sure. We don't know why he didn't. But it's clear now that he signed the contract before he even heard the songs. And he found out they were fake after he heard them but it was "too late" according to him. Maybe he was blackmailed by Branca. There were others who knew the songs are fake and remained silent. Then you have "co-executor" McClain who publicly stated the songs are fake and did nothing about it.
 
:doh: based on All TR has said since 2010 I say he is full of BS and is a pathelogical Liar. I don't even believe there is a book, he just uses that for bait. Too many contradictions from that man's mouth including his farce that MJ was alive and him aligning himself with believers and blocking real MJ fans who questioned him. He even publicly ridiculed and bashed TJ Jackson for coming out against the cascio tracks. He was knowing and more than willing to work on the fake songs and promote them for his own personal gain. Plus what he did to Hollywood. Now he is bashing other producers claiming he is the Man ... Complete:bs IMO.
 
being set up and cannot get out of contract and therefore having to finish the job doesn't explain why he was defending the songs , even on his twitter picking fights etc. he was a very vocal supporter when he did not need to be. (there were a lot of other people involved with the songs but did not go around defending them).

plus if this was a trial , Riley would be the weakest witness with serious credibility issues. Lying, changing stories etc. would bring up the issue about when he is lying (was he lying in the past or is he lying now) and can he be trusted. so even if he tells a version that you hope it won't be a proof of anything. I personally wouldn't classify it as "hope" either.

I expect something like he signed up to do the job, got the songs, was suspicious but still finished the job type of thing. A opinion. and again that kind of a story doesn't explain why he was a very vocal supporter before.
 
You can dress it up anyway you like (and we don't know what his contract included. Could have included promotion). The bottom line is that the staunchest defender of the tracks, and the person you would think would know if it was Michael or not over almost anyone has seemingly came out now and admitted what others involved and who were there have said was his opinion from the very start. That he doesn't believe the vocals are Michael. As to his excuse why he defended the tracks in the first place, I don't necessarily buy it. I think he simply did it for the money and the chance to be called on for future projects. I think he sold himself and Michael out. However I think it's pretty clear now that he never thought the vocals were actually MJ's.
 
WildStyle said:
and we don't know what his contract included. Could have included promotion.
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let's be real here, no contact could include or is valid in the case of fraud. If he had any proof of fraud , he could have walked away. Also I don't know of any promotion that required him pick fights on twitter, accuse Taryll and fight with Taryll on twitter. Those were clearly his choices.

As to his excuse why he defended the tracks in the first place, I don't necessarily buy it. I think he simply did it for the money and the chance to be called on for future projects. I think he sold himself and Michael out. However I think it's pretty clear now that he never thought the vocals were actually MJ's.
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even that's the case - that he never believed the tracks to be legit but defended them for whatever reason, that makes him a not credible and liar. I mean you all were trashing Riley for saying songs were legit, it was due to processing , attacking Taryll, saying Michael was alive etc, is he now going to turn into a hero for you because it looks like he's going to say something you like to hear? Isn't it a little hypocritical?

+

he never thought the vocals were actually MJ's.
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could be but doesn't prove authenticity of the vocals either way.no different than the regular he said legitimate, he said fake situation.
 
ivy said:
let's be real here, no contact could include or is valid in the case of fraud. If he had any proof of fraud , he could have walked away. Also I don't know of any promotion that required him pick fights on twitter, accuse Taryll and fight with Taryll on twitter. Those were clearly his choices.
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Not that I even believe the contract excuse, but for arguments sake, let's say he signed a contract at the beginning before he even heard a note to remix and promote the album. And if you are required to promote the album are you going to say "Yeah, Taryll is right, I don't believe it's MJ" and then go on Oprah the next week and say it is MJ?



even that's the case - that he never believed the tracks to be legit but defended them for whatever reason, that makes him a not credible and liar. I mean you all were trashing Riley for saying songs were legit, it was due to processing , attacking Taryll, saying Michael was alive etc, is he now going to turn into a hero for you because it looks like he's going to say something you like to hear? Isn't it a little hypocritical?
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No, he is a sellout. I don't care how broke or desperate he was. You don't sell out your dead "friend" for any amount of money. But that has nothing to do with his credentials as a musician or his musical ear. I always knew he knew that the vocals weren't Michael's and that he is one of the people that would know. Even if he changes his story again and says it is Michael, I know he knows it isn't.

And what about all the believers that were banking on his reasons for the vocals not sounding right? All the processing and melodyne talk. Is that still legit? Can that still be used as an argument?

could be but doesn't prove authenticity of the vocals either way.no different than the regular he said legitimate, he said fake situation.
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Do you believe an honest (key word being "honest") opinion from Teddy Riley on the authenticity of the vocals holds much weight? Adding that on to everything else that has occurred since the streaming of "Breaking News", do you believe that the accusation that the vocals are not Michael's holds much weight?

What sounds more plausible?

A) Teddy truly believes the vocals are Michael's, but decides after however long of defending that position to claim the opposite in order to sell a couple thousand copies at best of a supposed book. Thus putting him in the bad books of Sony and you would think also the Estate of MJ and basically eliminating any future chance of working for either of them. Is there more money in a book project that may never even come out, or in working for a billion dollar record company? Unless he is under the delusion that the book will sell millions and set him up for life. Far fetched, but possible reasoning I guess.

B) Teddy never believed the vocals were MJ, but went along with it anyway to be a part of possible multi-million selling project of the biggest artist in the world and the exposure and chances of future employment it would give him. After the dust settles he either starts to feel some guilt over the situation and tries to regain some dignity. Or he realises the project was a failure and that his work opportunities have not changed as much as he thought they might and decides to "get back" at Sony or the Estate for not hiring him for future projects, even though he played ball with them and went along with their lie, by exposing the truth. To try to save some face he decides to pass on any responsibility he may hold in the matter by placing all of the blame squarely on Sony.

There is also...

C) Teddy believes the vocals are Michael's but in order to "get back" at Sony or the Estate for not contacting him for further projects he decides to lie and say the vocals are not Michael's. He is essentially lying by calling himself a liar, thus becoming an even bigger liar in the process. He also burns many bridges in the industry in the process and gains... nothing really. I think this scenario makes the least sense.
 
WildStyle said:
Not that I even believe the contract excuse, but for arguments sake, let's say he signed a contract at the beginning before he even heard a note to remix and promote the album. And if you are required to promote the album are you going to say "Yeah, Taryll is right, I don't believe it's MJ" and then go on Oprah the next week and say it is MJ?
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If I was in such position - signed a contract before hearing songs, became suspicious when I heard the songs but had no proof hence no way to get out, and required to promote - I would do my work and I would promote it in a general way such as saying "we did a wonderful album" etc without necessarily talking about authenticity of the vocals and doing what is minimally required. It is possible to promote an album without discussing the vocals. For example other producers took part in a video and that was it. Even Cascios went to Oprah but that was it, they didn't address the issue further. I don't believe for a second that Teddy arguing with and even cursing people on twitter, Teddy arguing with Taryll on twitter calling him liar etc. was contract required promotion. I see those as Teddy's own personal choices. and what does that tell you?
 
Teddy had every reason to get mad. Some people constantly belittled him and his works, because in their opinions believer = liar. He didn't create the songs, he was ordered to remix them which surely involved tweaking and processing vocals to some extent. Teddy was friend with Jacksons, he didn't want to offend anyone. So when people like Taryll went back and forth blabbering like a broken record, Teddy probably wanted to mute them. If you were him, wouldn't you feel the same and say "Yeah yeah yeah. Now shut up and leave me alone" ?
 
Paw said:
Teddy had every reason to get mad. Some people constantly belittled him and his works, because in their opinions believer = liar. He didn't create the songs, he was ordered to remix them which surely involved tweaking and processing vocals to some extent. Teddy was friend with Jacksons, he didn't want to offend anyone. So when people like Taryll went back and forth blabbering like a broken record, Teddy probably wanted to mute them. If you were him, wouldn't you feel the same and say "Yeah yeah yeah. Now shut up and leave me alone" ?
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I just hope he isn't spouting a load of crap to promote his book. I want the whole truth on this cascio situation, and even if he does talk about it in his book, if he even brings one out, it will probably be incredibly one sided in his favour...
 
I think his book is mainly about the New Jack Swing, but he will as he says, tap into the Cascio situation as well.
 
Paw said:
Teddy had every reason to get mad. Some people constantly belittled him and his works, because in their opinions believer = liar. He didn't create the songs, he was ordered to remix them which surely involved tweaking and processing vocals to some extent. Teddy was friend with Jacksons, he didn't want to offend anyone. So when people like Taryll went back and forth blabbering like a broken record, Teddy probably wanted to mute them. If you were him, wouldn't you feel the same and say "Yeah yeah yeah. Now shut up and leave me alone" ?
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You don't understand what happened. Teddy was equally as vocal about the songs being fake right from day one. He and Taryll were together when the songs were first delivered. They both had the same reaction to the first song they were given - Burn 2Nite ie it is not Michael. The difference between them came when Taryll stood up for the truth while Riley decided to tow the company line and state publicly that the songs were real, despite saying the opposite behind the scenes. His lack of conviction on Oprah is evidence of that. There is a lot more to it than than but that's basically what it comes down to.

Also, with regards to this contract, it should be noted that Riley stated that he had not even signed a contract yet in a radio interview given the day before the premiere of Breaking News, which completely contradicts what he is saying now.

Teddy Riley: It's gotta be really, really -- and I'm gonna be a part of that because of my contributions, even to this record. My contributions to this record is not for Sony, it's not for anyone! It's for Michael! The proof is in the pudding. I haven't even gotten a contract.

Source: http://gyantunplugged.com/exclusive...plus-discusses-the-greedy-people-out-for-mjs/
 
StellaJackson said:
You don't understand what happened. Teddy was equally as vocal about the songs being fake right from day one. He and Taryll were together when the songs were first delivered. They both had the same reaction to the first song they were given - Burn 2Nite ie it is not Michael. The difference between them came when Taryll stood up for the truth while Riley decided to tow the company line and state publicly that the songs were real, despite saying the opposite behind the scenes. His lack of conviction on Oprah is evidence of that. There is a lot more to it than than but that's basically what it comes down to.

Also, with regards to this contract, it should be noted that Riley stated that he had not even signed a contract yet in a radio interview given the day before the premiere of Breaking News, which completely contradicts what he is saying now.

Teddy Riley: It's gotta be really, really -- and I'm gonna be a part of that because of my contributions, even to this record. My contributions to this record is not for Sony, it's not for anyone! It's for Michael! The proof is in the pudding. I haven't even gotten a contract.

Source: http://gyantunplugged.com/exclusive...plus-discusses-the-greedy-people-out-for-mjs/
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He certainly talks one load of crap doesn't he?
 
Teddy Riley has made the explosive claim that he was “set up” when The Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music’s Epic Records brought him in to produce music for the King of Pop’s first posthumous album, apologising to a fan via Twitter for his involvement in the project.

Riley, who worked closely in the studio with Jackson throughout his career, has recently been venting his frustrations about the continued criticism he receives from fans via Twitter. Riley has, on a number of occasions, used the social networking platform to strike back at fans, defending himself for the work he did on the posthumous Jackson album.

However this time around Riley is expressing his displeasure with the way things went down in 2010, deflecting blame towards Eddie Cascio and The Michael Jackson Estate for having him work on what many allege to be fraudulent tracks featuring the voice of a Michael Jackson sound-alike.

For those of you not familiar with the controversy, Michael Jackson’s longtime friend Eddie “Angel” Cascio and his collaborative partner, singer/songwriter/engineer James Porte (aka “Bobby Ewing”), claim that Jackson secretly co-wrote and recorded twelve songs, now infamously known as the “Cascio tracks”, in Eddie’s New Jersey basement back in late-2007.

The tracks were completely unheard of until eleven months after Jackson’s tragic death, in May 2010, when Roger Friedman, a tabloid journalist who spent years criticising Jackson’s personal life and business affairs, announced the existence of the twelve songs.

“Bombshell exclusive,” Friedman wrote on his Showbiz411 website on May 2, 2010. “Michael Jackson recorded a whole new album of material in the fall of 2007.”

To the surprise of Jackson’s fans he was very positive in his report, claiming that according to one of his sources who’d heard the songs; Jackson’s vocals on the Cascio tracks were “perfect.”

With the assistance of seasoned entertainment attorney Donald Passman, Cascio and Porte quickly struck up a deal with Sony and handed over the tracks.

A few months later Teddy Riley, who says Jackson called him “The Finisher” regard his music, was asked to lend his production skills to a number of tracks being considered by Sony for release – including a handful of Cascio tracks.

Between September and November 2010 Riley worked tirelessly on the music in several Los Angeles-based studios including Marvin’s Room, Encore and The Boom Boom Room, bringing in the likes of 50 Cent to rap on a track and the Benjamin Wright Orchestra for string arrangements. Even Jackson’s “This Is It” guitarist Orianthi was invited to contribute.

During the production sessions Riley, along with members of the Jackson family including Riley’s close friend Taryll Jackson (Tito’s son and Michael’s nephew), raised concerns about the authenticity of the vocals on a number of tracks – those provided by Eddie Cascio and James Porte. In fact most people who heard the tracks, other than Cascio and Porte themselves, did not believe the vocals belonged to Jackson at all.

Once the concerns were brought to the attention of The Estate an investigation was launched.

The attorney of The Estate, Howard Weitzman, gathered a number of Jackson’s previous collaborators, including Teddy Riley, to listen to the Cascio tracks and give their thoughts on the vocals. The general consensus after that meeting was that the songs should not be released. Estate co-executor John McClain expressed that he was against their release also, as were Jackson’s children and siblings. Even Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was steadfast in her opinion that the songs should not be released. This news started to seep into the public domain thanks to reporters and media outlets including Roger Friedman and TMZ.

However, despite everything that was going on around him, and despite himself acknowledging the vocal inconsistencies, Teddy Riley continued to work on the Cascio tracks – something he now seemingly regrets doing.

“I was [given] a problem that involved my best friend and sign[ed] a contract to remix what I had,” explained Riley by Twitter yesterday – September 2, 2013. “It was too late for me to turn back so I finished out the project. Now if you want me to apologize for that, yes, I’m funkin sorry I did it.”

In the end, one of the Riley-produced Cascio tracks, “Breaking News”, was chosen by Sony and The Estate as the teaser for the entire album. It was announced that a short snippet of “Breaking News” would stream at michaeljackson.com for two days, starting November 6, 2010 before premiering in full at midnight New York time on November 8, 2010.

As the full “Breaking News” track went live on michaeljackson.com, members of the Jackson family took to Twitter to raise their voice against the track.

“I am shocked that things have gotten this far. This is ridiculous,” said Taryll Jackson in a statement. “I tried so hard to prevent this craziness, but they wouldn’t listen. I KNOW my Uncle’s voice and something’s seriously wrong when you have immediate FAMILY saying it’s not him … They can’t give me answers, yet continue to move forward with lies and deception. Sounding like Michael Jackson and BEING Michael Jackson are two different things.”

“There’s many MJ vocal impersonators. Some better than others. But there is only ONE Michael Jackson,” added Taryll’s brother TJ Jackson. “Why they would ignore the obvious, look the other way and rush a suspicious track that was NEVER on my Uncle’s radar is beyond me. I’m disgusted, disappointed and saddened … We know how much he valued his legacy and his fans. And cheating either is unacceptable. ‘Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.’”

When fans finally heard “Breaking News”, all hell broke loose. And because of his easy-access social media presence Teddy Riley became the target of the MJ fan community’s frustrations – copping a bombardment of insults and scrutiny from fans all over the world.

Riley repeatedly stated that he had absolute confidence in the authenticity of the vocals and believed them to be Michael’s. This echoed a statement that was swiftly released by Epic Records / Sony Music regarding the controversial songs, insisting that sufficient research had been done and that the label was satisfied with their findings:

“We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own.” – November 9, 2010.

Basically; the record company was taking Eddie Cascio and James Porte’s word for it, over the opinion of Jackson’s family and fans. Not even the requests of Michael’s mother and children – who are the beneficiaries of his estate – were taken seriously.

Following the onslaught of tweets received from furious Jackson fans Riley, for the first time, admitted that he could not guarantee that the vocals on “Breaking News”, and the other Cascio tracks which he worked on, belonged to Jackson:

“The truth of this of it all [is that] no one knows [but] MJ and God knows. I have nothing more to say and I can’t prove anything. I did not original produce his vocals nor these songs. I’ve answered all that I can answer for MJ fans. The Cascios have a [Twitter] page. They have your answers.” – Teddy Riley on November 9, 2010

Surprisingly Riley’s admission, which came just one day after the “Breaking News” premier, went largely unnoticed by fans and the media alike. But Sony and The Estate noticed it, putting pressure on the producer to make a series of radio and television appearances where he would argue in favour of the vocals.

In addition to Riley’s media appearances, his name was included in a statement released by The Michael Jackson Estate through attorney Howard Weitzman – referencing, among other things, the listening session held where the Cascio vocals were scrutinised:

“Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years – Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley – were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All of these persons listened to the a cappella versions of the vocals on the Cascio tracks being considered for inclusion on the album, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the lead vocals were sung by Michael. They all confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.”

However, this statement was vigorously contested by Taryll Jackson and Cory Rooney – both of whom were also in that listening session.

“I have read the statement from the MJ estate and I have to say that it’s just more bullshit!” said Cory Rooney. “I was in that room, and the majority of the people mentioned did NOT agree that it was MJ! Some felt it sounded like him but all agree that there was nothing there that was consistent with any MJ habits like finger snaps, headphone bleeding, foot stomping or just simple things like his voice asking for another take. Both Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley sat with Taryll Jackson and myself and stated that they felt what we felt.”

“There are many inaccuracies and omissions in that statement,” added Taryll. “For one, I was also in that meeting and that was not the outcome. You will hear my story because this is way too important for my Uncle’s legacy. The truth will prevail.”

As the release of the album approached Riley was billed to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s television show – alongside the Cascio family. Here, Riley claimed that Michael would be loving the controversy regarding the album, while attempting to convince Oprah, and the world, that vocals on the Cascio tracks were authentic.

“This is Michael’s voice,” he said nervously.

“Why do you say for sure it is him?” asked Oprah.

“[Because] you can hear the authenticity in his voice and you can hear, like, the natural part of him. And no one can really do a scream like that strong scream on the music that you hear, like Michael. I don’t care if you get anyone. They will never be able to duplicate Michael’s voice.”

The only problem with Riley’s statement, that ‘no one can do a strong scream like Michael Jackson’, was that the screams heard on the Cascio tracks, i.e. “aow!” and “hoo!” were actually stolen from previously released Jackson recordings – something that Jackson’s nephew TJ has addressed in an earlier statement:

“Deceptively merging shady vocals with MJ samples (from prior MJ records) will never fool me.”

“I’ve always admired the talent of Teddy Riley,” stated Taryll Jackson after the Oprah interview aired on television. “But after hearing him lie on Oprah I am terribly disappointed.”

When the “Michael” album was eventually released, in mid-December 2010, three Cascio tracks in total were included. One was the Riley-produced “Breaking News”, and another called “Monster” – also produced by Riley – featuring a rap segment by 50 Cent. The third Cascio track was called “Keep Your Head Up” – a song originally given to Riley to produce, which he decided against doing.

“I remember when Teddy and I were at Encore listening to ‘Keep Your Head Up’,” recalls Taryll. “We both knew it wasn’t my Uncle. [Teddy] stopped working on it because (and I quote) ‘it didn’t sound enough like Michael. Michael doesn’t swing like that.’ He also said he was only working on the Cascio records in hopes that he would eventually be given a ‘real Michael Jackson song.’ As he knows, I never agreed with that logic.”

Tricky Stewart, who never once worked with Jackson during his life, ended up producing the final version of “Keep Your Head Up”, as it appears on the “Michael” album.

Since the Cascio Fiasco first blew up publicly, in November 2010, Teddy has endured a continued onslaught of negative remarks, threats and attacks from Michael Jackson fans online. Many fans insist he deserved it.

However, it seems that now Riley is hoping to turn the tables on Eddie Cascio, James Porte and everyone else involved with the creation of the tracks, claiming he will be addressing the issue soon.

“Do you feel betrayed by Eddie Cascio and his team for the situation you ended up in with their fake MJ songs? It seem to me like you got all the heat for a fraud they created, which is [not] fair on you…” tweeted a fan to the producer on April 8, 2013.

“It isn’t (fair), but it’s all good. I’ll be able to talk soon,” responded Riley.

“[Now] isn’t the time. I’m muted, but trust me MJ always gets his just due. He is my bestfriend, bigbro and confidant. Please believe! The truth will set us all free.”

“I was set up and it will all come out when [my] book comes. That’s all I can say right now.” - September 2, 2013
 
Paris78;3897240 said:
Teddy Riley has made the explosive claim that he was “set up” when The Michael Jackson Estate and Sony Music’s Epic Records brought him in to produce music for the King of Pop’s first posthumous album, apologising to a fan via Twitter for his involvement in the project.

Riley, who worked closely in the studio with Jackson throughout his career, has recently been venting his frustrations about the continued criticism he receives from fans via Twitter. Riley has, on a number of occasions, used the social networking platform to strike back at fans, defending himself for the work he did on the posthumous Jackson album.

However this time around Riley is expressing his displeasure with the way things went down in 2010, deflecting blame towards Eddie Cascio and The Michael Jackson Estate for having him work on what many allege to be fraudulent tracks featuring the voice of a Michael Jackson sound-alike.

For those of you not familiar with the controversy, Michael Jackson’s longtime friend Eddie “Angel” Cascio and his collaborative partner, singer/songwriter/engineer James Porte (aka “Bobby Ewing”), claim that Jackson secretly co-wrote and recorded twelve songs, now infamously known as the “Cascio tracks”, in Eddie’s New Jersey basement back in late-2007.

The tracks were completely unheard of until eleven months after Jackson’s tragic death, in May 2010, when Roger Friedman, a tabloid journalist who spent years criticising Jackson’s personal life and business affairs, announced the existence of the twelve songs.

“Bombshell exclusive,” Friedman wrote on his Showbiz411 website on May 2, 2010. “Michael Jackson recorded a whole new album of material in the fall of 2007.”

To the surprise of Jackson’s fans he was very positive in his report, claiming that according to one of his sources who’d heard the songs; Jackson’s vocals on the Cascio tracks were “perfect.”

With the assistance of seasoned entertainment attorney Donald Passman, Cascio and Porte quickly struck up a deal with Sony and handed over the tracks.

A few months later Teddy Riley, who says Jackson called him “The Finisher” regard his music, was asked to lend his production skills to a number of tracks being considered by Sony for release – including a handful of Cascio tracks.

Between September and November 2010 Riley worked tirelessly on the music in several Los Angeles-based studios including Marvin’s Room, Encore and The Boom Boom Room, bringing in the likes of 50 Cent to rap on a track and the Benjamin Wright Orchestra for string arrangements. Even Jackson’s “This Is It” guitarist Orianthi was invited to contribute.

During the production sessions Riley, along with members of the Jackson family including Riley’s close friend Taryll Jackson (Tito’s son and Michael’s nephew), raised concerns about the authenticity of the vocals on a number of tracks – those provided by Eddie Cascio and James Porte. In fact most people who heard the tracks, other than Cascio and Porte themselves, did not believe the vocals belonged to Jackson at all.

Once the concerns were brought to the attention of The Estate an investigation was launched.

The attorney of The Estate, Howard Weitzman, gathered a number of Jackson’s previous collaborators, including Teddy Riley, to listen to the Cascio tracks and give their thoughts on the vocals. The general consensus after that meeting was that the songs should not be released. Estate co-executor John McClain expressed that he was against their release also, as were Jackson’s children and siblings. Even Michael’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was steadfast in her opinion that the songs should not be released. This news started to seep into the public domain thanks to reporters and media outlets including Roger Friedman and TMZ.

However, despite everything that was going on around him, and despite himself acknowledging the vocal inconsistencies, Teddy Riley continued to work on the Cascio tracks – something he now seemingly regrets doing.

“I was [given] a problem that involved my best friend and sign[ed] a contract to remix what I had,” explained Riley by Twitter yesterday – September 2, 2013. “It was too late for me to turn back so I finished out the project. Now if you want me to apologize for that, yes, I’m funkin sorry I did it.”

In the end, one of the Riley-produced Cascio tracks, “Breaking News”, was chosen by Sony and The Estate as the teaser for the entire album. It was announced that a short snippet of “Breaking News” would stream at michaeljackson.com for two days, starting November 6, 2010 before premiering in full at midnight New York time on November 8, 2010.

As the full “Breaking News” track went live on michaeljackson.com, members of the Jackson family took to Twitter to raise their voice against the track.

“I am shocked that things have gotten this far. This is ridiculous,” said Taryll Jackson in a statement. “I tried so hard to prevent this craziness, but they wouldn’t listen. I KNOW my Uncle’s voice and something’s seriously wrong when you have immediate FAMILY saying it’s not him … They can’t give me answers, yet continue to move forward with lies and deception. Sounding like Michael Jackson and BEING Michael Jackson are two different things.”

“There’s many MJ vocal impersonators. Some better than others. But there is only ONE Michael Jackson,” added Taryll’s brother TJ Jackson. “Why they would ignore the obvious, look the other way and rush a suspicious track that was NEVER on my Uncle’s radar is beyond me. I’m disgusted, disappointed and saddened … We know how much he valued his legacy and his fans. And cheating either is unacceptable. ‘Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons.’”

When fans finally heard “Breaking News”, all hell broke loose. And because of his easy-access social media presence Teddy Riley became the target of the MJ fan community’s frustrations – copping a bombardment of insults and scrutiny from fans all over the world.

Riley repeatedly stated that he had absolute confidence in the authenticity of the vocals and believed them to be Michael’s. This echoed a statement that was swiftly released by Epic Records / Sony Music regarding the controversial songs, insisting that sufficient research had been done and that the label was satisfied with their findings:

“We have complete confidence in the results of our extensive research as well as the accounts of those who were in the studio with Michael that the vocals on the new album are his own.” – November 9, 2010.

Basically; the record company was taking Eddie Cascio and James Porte’s word for it, over the opinion of Jackson’s family and fans. Not even the requests of Michael’s mother and children – who are the beneficiaries of his estate – were taken seriously.

Following the onslaught of tweets received from furious Jackson fans Riley, for the first time, admitted that he could not guarantee that the vocals on “Breaking News”, and the other Cascio tracks which he worked on, belonged to Jackson:

“The truth of this of it all [is that] no one knows [but] MJ and God knows. I have nothing more to say and I can’t prove anything. I did not original produce his vocals nor these songs. I’ve answered all that I can answer for MJ fans. The Cascios have a [Twitter] page. They have your answers.” – Teddy Riley on November 9, 2010

Surprisingly Riley’s admission, which came just one day after the “Breaking News” premier, went largely unnoticed by fans and the media alike. But Sony and The Estate noticed it, putting pressure on the producer to make a series of radio and television appearances where he would argue in favour of the vocals.

In addition to Riley’s media appearances, his name was included in a statement released by The Michael Jackson Estate through attorney Howard Weitzman – referencing, among other things, the listening session held where the Cascio vocals were scrutinised:

“Six of Michael’s former producers and engineers who had worked with Michael over the past 30 years – Bruce Swedien, Matt Forger, Stewart Brawley, Michael Prince, Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley – were all invited to a listening session to hear the raw vocals of the Cascio tracks in question. All of these persons listened to the a cappella versions of the vocals on the Cascio tracks being considered for inclusion on the album, so they could give an opinion as to whether or not the lead vocals were sung by Michael. They all confirmed that the vocal was definitely Michael.”

However, this statement was vigorously contested by Taryll Jackson and Cory Rooney – both of whom were also in that listening session.

“I have read the statement from the MJ estate and I have to say that it’s just more bullshit!” said Cory Rooney. “I was in that room, and the majority of the people mentioned did NOT agree that it was MJ! Some felt it sounded like him but all agree that there was nothing there that was consistent with any MJ habits like finger snaps, headphone bleeding, foot stomping or just simple things like his voice asking for another take. Both Dr. Freeze and Teddy Riley sat with Taryll Jackson and myself and stated that they felt what we felt.”

“There are many inaccuracies and omissions in that statement,” added Taryll. “For one, I was also in that meeting and that was not the outcome. You will hear my story because this is way too important for my Uncle’s legacy. The truth will prevail.”

As the release of the album approached Riley was billed to appear on Oprah Winfrey’s television show – alongside the Cascio family. Here, Riley claimed that Michael would be loving the controversy regarding the album, while attempting to convince Oprah, and the world, that vocals on the Cascio tracks were authentic.

“This is Michael’s voice,” he said nervously.

“Why do you say for sure it is him?” asked Oprah.

“[Because] you can hear the authenticity in his voice and you can hear, like, the natural part of him. And no one can really do a scream like that strong scream on the music that you hear, like Michael. I don’t care if you get anyone. They will never be able to duplicate Michael’s voice.”

The only problem with Riley’s statement, that ‘no one can do a strong scream like Michael Jackson’, was that the screams heard on the Cascio tracks, i.e. “aow!” and “hoo!” were actually stolen from previously released Jackson recordings – something that Jackson’s nephew TJ has addressed in an earlier statement:

“Deceptively merging shady vocals with MJ samples (from prior MJ records) will never fool me.”

“I’ve always admired the talent of Teddy Riley,” stated Taryll Jackson after the Oprah interview aired on television. “But after hearing him lie on Oprah I am terribly disappointed.”

When the “Michael” album was eventually released, in mid-December 2010, three Cascio tracks in total were included. One was the Riley-produced “Breaking News”, and another called “Monster” – also produced by Riley – featuring a rap segment by 50 Cent. The third Cascio track was called “Keep Your Head Up” – a song originally given to Riley to produce, which he decided against doing.

“I remember when Teddy and I were at Encore listening to ‘Keep Your Head Up’,” recalls Taryll. “We both knew it wasn’t my Uncle. [Teddy] stopped working on it because (and I quote) ‘it didn’t sound enough like Michael. Michael doesn’t swing like that.’ He also said he was only working on the Cascio records in hopes that he would eventually be given a ‘real Michael Jackson song.’ As he knows, I never agreed with that logic.”

Tricky Stewart, who never once worked with Jackson during his life, ended up producing the final version of “Keep Your Head Up”, as it appears on the “Michael” album.

Since the Cascio Fiasco first blew up publicly, in November 2010, Teddy has endured a continued onslaught of negative remarks, threats and attacks from Michael Jackson fans online. Many fans insist he deserved it.

However, it seems that now Riley is hoping to turn the tables on Eddie Cascio, James Porte and everyone else involved with the creation of the tracks, claiming he will be addressing the issue soon.

“Do you feel betrayed by Eddie Cascio and his team for the situation you ended up in with their fake MJ songs? It seem to me like you got all the heat for a fraud they created, which is [not] fair on you…” tweeted a fan to the producer on April 8, 2013.

“It isn’t (fair), but it’s all good. I’ll be able to talk soon,” responded Riley.

“[Now] isn’t the time. I’m muted, but trust me MJ always gets his just due. He is my bestfriend, bigbro and confidant. Please believe! The truth will set us all free.”

“I was set up and it will all come out when [my] book comes. That’s all I can say right now.” - September 2, 2013
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Wow, the word "bias" comes to mind. So Damien's thing now is that he dresses up his anti-Cascio rants in the style of news articles to make them more believable?
 
kreen said:
Wow, the word "bias" comes to mind. So Damien's thing now is that he dresses up his anti-Cascio rants in the style of news articles to make them more believable?
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No he's simply reporting the facts of Teddy Riley's tweets and comments over the last 3 years, in light of what he said yesterday. It has nothing to do with being anti-Cascio. It's because he believes, as do most of us, that the songs are fake.
 
Pentum said:
Don't know if it confirms it's not MJ. It just makes our side even stronger. I am happy to see Teddy is kind of "switching sides" here.

He has a book coming out which he will talk about the whole Cascio situation. I expect some confessions and some proper explanations.

As I said earlier, this is far from over and the Fiasco boys are not getting away with this. Neither is the sheriff.
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Thanks to some pittbull fans who won't let go :)
 
Can't help it,

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They will never ever tell the truth, they're afraid of the world's reactions.
 
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