Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' (2008 with Akon) (with Akon) - Thriller 25th Anniversary Remix

Jackson wrote this song, which can be interpreted as an angry attack on the tabloid press and others who hounded him. A struggle with fame and being misunderstood were common themes for Jackson, and in this song he lashes out at those who take advantage of him: "They eat off of you, you're a vegetable."

At the end of this song, the chorus is "Ma ma se, ma ma sa, ma ma coo sas." The line is borrowed from Cameroon native Manu Dibango's 1972 song "Funky Soul Makossa." Jackson did not have permission to appropriate the song, and reached an out-of-court settlement with Dibango over the use.

Bruce Swedien, who was an engineer on the Thriller sessions, claimed this song is about "Michael's brothers' wives and how they were always creating trouble."