Chris Brown has informally shared an unreleased song featuring a Michael
Jackson sample, just weeks after his cancelled Thriller tribute —
On
Friday (December 2), the singer posted a nearly 2-minute long snippet of the
Hitmaker-produced song, titled “Transparency,” on Instagram.
In
the caption, Chris Brown revealed he hasn’t been able to release the song
due to a sample of Michael Jackson’s “The Lady In My Life,” which appears
throughout the track.
“I know y’all been on me bout dis one ….,” he wrote. “(We couldn’t
clear the sample and we felt it took away from the song if that music wasn’t
there ) everybody and they momma ask me bout this damn song.”
“The
Lady In My Life” has previously been sampled by a number of Hip Hop artists,
most famously being incorporated into LL Cool J‘s 1995 hit “Hey Lover,”
featuring Boyz II Men. The song has also been used by Ghostface Killah, Mac
Miller, Three 6 Mafia and Tyga, to name a few.
Chris Brown did not indicate whether negotiations are still
underway to get the sample cleared.
On November 19, just a day
ahead of the 2022 American Music Awards, Brown posted a video to his
Instagram account in which he can be seen rehearsing with a group of dancers
to a number of songs from Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which celebrated
its 40th anniversary on November 30.
An hour after sharing the
seven minute video, however, Breezy returned to the post’s comments section
to reveal that the AMAs had pulled the plug on the tribute performance.
Days
later, Ciara shared a separate clip, which saw her joining Chris Brown and
his dancers in a performance of the album’s title track, followed by her own
solo performance of the bridge to “Billie Jean.”
“MJ thank you for the inspiration you’ve given us all! Thriller
40th Anniversary,” Ciara wrote in the caption. “@ChrisBrownOfficial you’re a
rare breed of this generation. Always fun to rock with you.”
Other
artists, including Jermaine Dupri, Tank and The Game, also came to Brown’s
defense in the wake of his announcement.
Kelly Rowland voiced her
support for Chris Brown while accepting the Favorite Male R&B Artist
trophy on his behalf during the AMAs broadcast. The following
day, TMZ caught up with the Destiny’s Child singer in West
Hollywood get her thoughts on the cancelled tribute.
