That chant on Thriller? It started in Cameroon
Flavor Roots Issue 01 traces a chant the whole world knows back to Douala.
The hit · 1982The borrowed chant
Michael Jackson opened Thriller with “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’”. Near the end comes the chant the whole world knows. It wasn’t his.
The source · 1972The original
Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango recorded “Soul Makossa” as the B-side to a song for the Africa Cup of Nations, which Cameroon hosted that year. Makossa is a dance music style from his home city, Douala.
The journey · 1973From Douala to New York
DJ David Mancuso found a copy in a small New York record shop and played it at The Loft. Radio picked it up, Atlantic Records released it, and it reached No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, with two Grammy nominations.
The creditWho gets paid?
Jackson admitted borrowing the hook and settled out of court. In 2007, Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music” reused it through his version. Dibango sued in 2009, but the case was thrown out because he’d already been granted a credit on her record.
The legacyA chant that won’t stop
Manu Dibango died on 24 March 2020, aged 86. “Soul Makossa” lives on in tracks by Jennifer Lopez, Busta Rhymes and The Chemical Brothers. Now you know where it comes from.
