Michael Jackson spent his entire career influencing younger artists.
But one of the more surprising examples involves Kanye West and an album that sounded unlike almost anything else in mainstream hip-hop at the time.
In November 2008, Kanye released 808s & Heartbreak.
Instead of filling the album with traditional rap performances, Kanye leaned heavily into singing, Auto-Tune, electronic drums and emotionally exposed songs such as “Heartless,” “Love Lockdown” and “Coldest Winter.” The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.
And apparently Michael Jackson was listening.
Years later, Michael’s daughter Paris Jackson revealed something fans had never known.
In 2016, a Michael fan became angry after Kanye passed one of Michael’s Billboard Top 40 milestones and complained directly on Paris’s Instagram.
Paris defended Kanye.
She said the first time she ever heard 808s & Heartbreak was through her father, adding that Michael played the album for her “all the time.”
She made the point even clearer:
Michael liked Kanye.
That alone is an interesting piece of MJ history.
But the story becomes even better when you hear Kanye’s side.
Kanye Explains How Michael Jackson Encouraged His Singing
Kanye later recalled meeting Michael at music executive Lyor Cohen’s home.
During the meeting, Kanye played “Good Life,” his 2007 hit from Graduation. Michael apparently focused on one specific detail: Kanye’s singing.
According to Kanye, Michael asked who was singing a certain part because he liked the voice.
It was Kanye himself.
Kanye later joked that Michael had “put that battery in my back to do 808s.” In other words, receiving praise for his singing from Michael Jackson helped give him confidence to push further in that direction.
That creates a fascinating circle.
Michael encouraged Kanye’s voice.
Kanye then made one of the biggest creative risks of his career.
And Michael apparently liked the finished album enough to repeatedly play it at home with his daughter.
Paris later expanded on Michael’s attitude toward other musicians.
She said her father never viewed music as a competition and believed artists deserved recognition when they made something good. In a later interview, she again remembered listening to Kanye West around the house with Michael.
Kanye’s admiration went the other direction too.
During a 2008 interview conducted around the 808s era, he called Michael “the god of all pop music of all time.” He also said elsewhere that when people asked about working with Michael, what he really wanted was to make music as good as Michael’s.
Michael died on June 25, 2009, only about seven months after 808s & Heartbreak was released.
So Paris’s memory gives fans a rare glimpse into what Michael himself was listening to during the final year of his life.
Michael Jackson inspired Kanye West. Kanye took that inspiration somewhere completely unexpected. And according to Paris, Michael was at home listening to the result.