It’s always gratifying to find out that the kids these days like the music that I like. The week that I started writing this, a few different students of mine brought up Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' independently of each other. I guess the song is in the air. It’s my favorite Michael Jackson original, and one of my favorite songs of the 1980s across the board.
This track is an undeniable banger, one of Michael’s most reliable dance-floor fillers, but it’s also extremely weird. (All of Michael’s best songs are.) Its most memorable hook is an African-sounding phrase that no one knows the meaning of. We will get to that below, but first let’s examine the rest of the song.
