Michael Jackson, Jam | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 120^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Jam” by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 120^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2025), we recollect and reflect on “Jam” performed by Michael Jackson.

“One, two, three, jam / Jam, jam, jam / Jam, if you wanna get up, then jam / Jam, jam, you wanna get up, then jam.” Ooh-wee! Without a doubt, Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009), the King of Pop, had a surefire “Jam” on his hands! “Jam” is the opener from his octuple platinum, 1991 album, Dangerous. The jam at hand runs for north of five-and-a-half minutes in duration.  Jackson co-wrote and co-produced it with Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley (who performs that jam-tastic intro), and René Moore. “Jam,” sadly, was NOT one of the King of Pop’s biggest hits. It earned him another top 40 hit, nonetheless, peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.  Even though the fourth single from Dangerous didn’t reverberate like it should’ve, it remains an energetic, fun-filled Michael Jackson cut.

“Jam,” which features a moderate tempo, never gets in a rush. The intro is extended, setting the tone of the record.  Notably, part of the tone set is the New Jack Swing era sound, popular in the 1990s.  The sound effects are idiomatic of the style.  While the sound is dated, or at least vastly different than 21^st-century sounds, it remains an impressive and striking listen, particularly the drum programming.  Once Jackson enters the mix, he remains a force vocally.  Notably, the melodies he sings are quick and rhythmic, perhaps his quickest to date. “Nation to nation, all the world must come together / Face the problems that we see, then maybe somehow we can work it out.” Preach, Michael! MJ brings attitude, personality, and ample swagger, which was the expectation from the prodigiously gifted superstar. “I told my brother there’ll be problems, times and tears and fears,” he continues in the first verse, adding, “But we must live each day like it’s the last / Go with it, go with it.” Of course, the chorus is infectious to the nth degree:

“Jam, it ain’t (Jam it)

It ain’t too much stuff

(Jam) It ain’t too much (Jam it)

It ain’t too much for me to

Jam, dad gone it (Jam it)

It ain’t too much stuff

(Jam) It ain’t, don’t stop (Jam It)

It ain’t too much for me to…” 

In the second verse, equally intriguing lyrically, I love how the slight production tweaks help to keep this sick opener engaging.  It’s those fine details! Another selling point of the sound is the horn riffs that provide an awesome colorful touch post-second chorus.  Adding to the fun is the rap verse by another deceased musician, Heavy D (1967 – 2011), following the horn break (“Jam, jam, here comes the man / Hot damn, the big boy stands with an upper hand”).  It didn’t earn the commercial success it deserved, but “Jam” is another fine, jam-packed song from the stacked Michael Jackson collection.  Will we never not jam out to this one?