Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins Dishes On How Label Drama Derailed Michael Jackson’s ‘Invincible’ Era: “He Had Short Films Planned”

Michael Jackson sold hundreds of millions of records in life and broke records that are unlikely to be ever topped.

And while even his last album ‘Invincible’ sold by the bucket-load, its sales proved slim when lined up with some of his hey-day efforts.

In a new interview with VLAD TV, hitmaker Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins – who produced multiple songs on the 2001 LP – sheds light on why.

Details below…

Speaking candidly, the ‘You Rock My World’ producer pin-pointed the King of Pop’s feud with then-label head Tommy Mottola as the principle cause for the chaos that engulfed what ended up being the singer’s studio album.

Reminding that the project only birthed one music video, no promotion, and no tour, Jerkins opened up about the verbatim plans Jackson shared with him for ‘Invincible.’

These included a short film for the song ‘Threatened’ and an innovative visual for ‘Unbreakable’ – which would have incorporated the late great Notorious B.I.G who featured.

Watch Darkchild dish below…

For yours truly, the injustice surrounding the ‘Invincible’ era will always frustrate.

Beyond the label politics and “what if’s” that will forever haunt the project, the prescribed media narrative at the time is perhaps the most irksome part of it all.

The reality of the matter is that the album launched to a promising start, was packed with potential, and sold over 6 million copies worldwide – regardless of its many hurdles.

And yet there appeared to be a pass it on pact in key corners of the media to play down its initial success. Indeed, somehow numbers that were huge for the young chart toppers of the time were spun as negative because it was “Michael Jackson.”

If it were the the immediate follow-up to a ‘Thriller’ or ‘Bad,’ it’d be more understandable. More logical. Yet, so far removed from those projects and that sales climate, it was farcical to see such asinine comparisons being made. It was almost like a wilful suspending of logic so as to surface satisfy an anti-MJ sentiment.

In any case, here’s hoping history continues to shine the positive light on ‘Invincible’ that it deserves.