i was just laughing about this; i had a passing though that prince might have became one in later years just to compete with michael
I heard it was because he promised his mother he would on her death bed.
i was just laughing about this; i had a passing though that prince might have became one in later years just to compete with michael
I've read the story 4 times since Prince died thinking someone already posted the ping pong story here. I'm just laughing at the imagery and everybody standing around the ping pong table watching like it was Tyson vs Ali or some shyt.
The Four Signature Moments of the Prince–Michael Jackson Rivalry
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By Steven Hyden
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If ’80s pop can be likened to high school, Michael Jackson was the prom king who matures into a disappointing adult, whereas Prince was the quirky outcast who blossoms into an impossibly cool grown-up.
1. Michael Jackson attempts to show up Prince at a James Brown concert.
What’s interesting about the video is that members of Prince’s entourage were convinced that MJ intended to humiliate Prince, and (in their view) he succeeded. “He played a few licks, did some dancing and knocked over a prop by accident,” Alan Leeds told Vibe. “[Prince’s drummer] Bobby Z called and said, ‘Oh boy ... he made an ass of himself tonight.’” But as a mortal watching the video, I don’t think Prince looks like an ass; he looks like a god showing off for two other gods.
Something unexpected happened to Michael Jackson and Prince by the dawn of the 21st century: Jackson was so weird that he was only barely a pop star, whereas Prince was relatively less weird, which allowed him to stage a comeback. In the familiar “pathetic geek” celebrity narrative, it was as if Prince had finally matured into “normal” adulthood.
Now Jackson was the one who suffered in comparison. His story was the flip side of the pathetic geek narrative—the former prom king who grows up to be a weirdo loser. Even Prince took shots at MJ in the mid-aughts: “My voice is gettin’ higher / And I ain’t never had my nose done / That’s the other guy,” he sings on “Life o’ the Party” from Musicology.
that's sweet if it's trueI heard it was because he promised his mother he would on her death bed.
Them two had rivalry for decades. Sometimes find it funny how they're the same age (them nikkas were in the same grade)
This story, the time when he shaded michael Jackson by playing the guitar all loud in his face and walking away without acknowledging, to calling the opening lyrics to "Bad"![]()
What happened next represents the most iconic moment in the history of sporting events between ’80s musical icons: Jackson dropped his paddle, and Prince slammed the ping-pong ball into MJ’s crotch. After Jackson left, Prince was justifiably feeling himself. “Did you see that?” he declared, according to Ronin Ro’s Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks. “He played like Helen Keller!”
Reports that Prince didn’t show up because he was waylaid by an altercation between a photographer and his bodyguards outside a Mexican restaurant on the Sunset Strip led to the bizarre, only-in-’85 indignity of Billy Crystal impersonating Prince on a Saturday Night Live parody called “I Am the World.” That’s right: Prince was so reviled over “We Are the World” that Billy Crystal in blackface was considered an appropriate corrective.
Just like cacs to promote black beef. MJ and Prince weren't the best of friends but why bring this up after Prince past? Why not discuss his life in a positive way?
Media doesn't try to celebrate black life like that.Just like cacs to promote black beef. MJ and Prince weren't the best of friends but why bring this up after Prince past? Why not discuss his life in a positive way?
Now Jackson was the one who suffered in comparison. His story was the flip side of the pathetic geek narrative—the former prom king who grows up to be a weirdo loser.