Here’s something even big Michael Jackson fans often miss. For a stretch in the 1990s, Michael didn’t just make records. He had his own record label.
It was called MJJ Music, and it put out music by a handful of acts. His nephews, the group 3T, were on it. So was his sister Rebbie. There was an R&B group called Brownstone and another act called Men of Vizion.
But the label’s biggest hit didn’t come from any of them. It came from a young woman most of America already knew by face, just not as a singer.
In the summer of 1998, MJJ Music released a breezy song called “Daydreamin’.” It caught on fast. The single climbed into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at No. 6, and it was certified gold on August 24, 1998. For a label people barely knew existed, that was a real win.
Give it a listen and the sound takes you right back.
The gold-selling hit from Michael’s label
So who was the singer? That’s the part that makes people grin.
She was Tatyana Ali, and if that name doesn’t ring a bell, her role sure will. For six seasons, from 1990 to 1996, she played Ashley Banks on one of the most popular sitcoms on television, “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” She was the sweet little cousin America watched grow up, week after week, right in their living rooms.
By the time “Daydreamin'” came out she was 19, stepping out of the sitcom world and trying something new. And the song found a home on Michael’s label.
The man behind the music was a young producer named Rodney Jerkins. He had a real ear, and it showed. A few years later he’d be working with Michael himself on the “Invincible” album. So the same hands that shaped Tatyana’s hit would go on to help craft music for the King of Pop.
It’s a fun little piece of pop history. A sitcom kid teamed up with a quiet label run by the world’s most famous singer, and together they landed a summer song nobody expected to go gold.
Next time “The Fresh Prince” reruns pop up and you spot Ashley Banks, you’ll know the rest of her story. She acted on one of TV’s biggest shows, and she also scored a gold record on Michael Jackson’s own label.