A lot of information has been coming out since the death of Michael Jackson. Over the years, rumors suggested that the “King of Pop” worked on various scores for videogames, and one of these titles was Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Sega Genesis. The publication Black & White asked the composer of the retro classic, Brad Buxer, if the rumors were true about Jackson’s involvement. Oddly enough, they were.

“I’ve never played the game so I do not know what tracks on which Michael and I have worked the developers have kept, but we did compose music for the game. Michael called me at the time for help on this project, and that’s what I did. And if he is not credited for composing the music, it’s because he was not happy with the result sound coming out of the console. At the time, game consoles did not allow an optimal sound reproduction, and Michael found it frustrating. He did not want to be associated with a product that devalued his music…”

B&W later asked the musician if some of the soundtrack was used in Jackson’s “Stranger in Moscow,” he confirmed that it indeed was.

“Yes, Michael and I had composed those chords for the game, and it has been used as base for Stranger in Moscow.”

It has been known that Jackson was an avid gamer, especially in the early 90s during the 16-bit generation. But it’s really cool to know he was influential in the industry beyond having the terrible Moonwalker videogame.

Thanks Matt