Growing up as Michael Jackson’s nephew sounds like a dream for any kid who loves music. For Austin Brown, it was simply family.
Austin is a singer and songwriter in his own right. His debut album was called “85,” and one of its songs, “Never Will Forget,” is a tribute to his famous uncle. When he talks about Michael, he doesn’t sound like a fan describing a superstar from far away. He sounds like a nephew.
“He was a mentor and a loving relative,” Austin told Interview Magazine in 2011.
So it makes sense that people assume Michael taught him everything he knows about moving to music. Austin says that’s only half the story.
In 2013 he sat down with Vice for a piece called “Made in a Minute,” and he named two teachers.
To understand the second one, you need to know who Austin’s mother is. She’s Rebbie Jackson, the oldest of the nine Jackson children and Michael’s big sister. Rebbie had a solo career of her own, and Michael wrote and produced her 1984 hit “Centipede.”
Here’s how Austin put it to Vice.
“My mom and Michael really taught me how to dance.”
That’s right. One of his dance teachers was the King of Pop, and the other was the woman who raised him. In a family that full of performers, the lessons started at home.
This performance clip puts Austin’s other dance teacher in the spotlight, so you can judge her moves for yourself.
Austin’s mom, Rebbie Jackson, performing on stage
Now for the uncle part, because Michael’s lessons didn’t happen in a classroom either.
Austin got to go on the road with Michael. He didn’t learn by sitting in a chair and taking notes. He learned by watching his uncle up close and then jumping in.
“Going on the road with him, watching him, I would dance with him for hours,” Austin told Vice, “and just kind of freestyle and pop and groove and hear a beat.”
Hours. Most kids get a few minutes of a grown-up’s attention before the grown-up has somewhere to be. Austin got his uncle, a beat and all the time in the world to figure it out.
But the part of the interview that sticks is what Michael told him about style. You might expect the most famous dancer in the family to tell a young nephew to copy him. He told Austin the opposite.
“Michael used to tell me this himself, that you’ve got to do something for yourself,” Austin said. “Make it your own. Make your own vibe. Make your own sound.”
It’s easy advice to give and a hard one to follow when your uncle is Michael Jackson and your mom has a hit record of her own. Everybody’s going to compare you. Michael pointed Austin toward his own voice instead of a carbon copy of his uncle’s.
Austin is clearly proud of where he comes from. He wrote a whole song for his uncle, after all. But when he looks back on those years, the lesson he chooses to share is about standing on his own two feet. He makes a point of saying it came from Michael himself.