A Boogie wit da Hoodie is releasing the deluxe edition of Artist 2.0 tonight. One of the songs intended for the project, “This Time,” won’t be on the final tracklist because he wasn’t able to clear its sample of Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” with the late pop singer’s estate. To satisfy fans, the Bronx rapper still put it out through SoundCloud.
“I know you guys want ‘This Time’ and I wanted to put it out but we couldn’t get it cleared because the original song Michael Jackson’s ‘They Don’t Really Care About Us’ is very relevant these days,” A Boogie explained on social media. “The Jackson Estate did not feel comfortable releasing a new song using that sample and I respect their decision. I’ll look to release it at a later.”
“They Don’t Care About Us” appears on Jackson’s 1995 album, HIStory: Past, Present And Future – Book 1. Although it has become a protest song due to its lyrics about racial inequality, Jackson received backlash for a few lines that were interpreted as anti-Semitic.
On the second verse, Jackson uses the anti-Semitic slur “kike,” singing:
Jew me, sue me, everybody do me
Kick me, kike me, don’t you black or white me
In response to the criticism, Jackson issued a statement to the The New York Times explaining the intent behind the lyrics and overall meaning of the song:
The idea that these lyrics could be deemed objectionable is extremely hurtful to me, and misleading. The song in fact is about the pain of prejudice and hate and is a way to draw attention to social and political problems. I am the voice of the accused and the attacked. I am the voice of everyone. I am the skinhead, I am the Jew, I am the black man, I am the white man. I am not the one who was attacking. It is about the injustices to young people and how the system can wrongfully accuse them. I am angry and outraged that I could be so misinterpreted.
Shortly after the album’s release, Jackson went back into the studio and changed the lyrics to replace “Jew me” with “strike me” and “kike me” with “do me.”
Jackson collaborated with Spike Lee for two music videos. The second version was fimed in a prison and contained footage of police attacking African Americans, the military crackdown of the protest in the Tiananmen Square, the Ku Klux Klan, war crimes, genocide, execution, martial law, and other human rights abuses. It rarely aired on television.
“They Don’t Care About Us” has experienced a revival in recent years during Black Lives Matter protests. In 2014, New York City protesters sang it while protesting the killing of Eric Garner. It was also used as an anthem during protests in Ferguson, Mo. and Berkley, Calif.
“This Time” isn’t A Boogie’s first time sampling Michael Jackson. He previously interpolated “Remember the Time” and “You Rock My World” on his hit, “Look Back at It.” The latter song caused a lengthy clearance delay while his team tracked down one of its songwriters.
Read all the lyrics to A Boogie wit da Hoodie’s “This Time” and Michael Jackson’s “They Don’t Care About Us” on Genius now.
