Ex-Cop Discovers LL COOL J Collaboration With Michael Jackson In Random Storage Unit

Former California Highway Patrol officer Gregg Musgrove stumbled upon a treasure trove of songs by the late King of Pop Michael Jackson in a storage unit somewhere in the San Fernando Valley.

Musgrove became curious after getting a call from an associate, who told him about storage unit that he’d recently purchased in Van Nuys that had previously belonged to music producer/singer Bryan Loren. As he began his dig, he discovered 12 unreleased songs Jackson recorded between 1989 to 1991, right before his Dangerous album dropped. Among them was a lost collaboration with LL COOL J.

“I’ve gone to all the fan sites. Some of them [the songs] are rumored to exist, some of them have been leaked a little bit,” Musgrove told The Hollywood Reporter. “A couple aren’t even out there in the world.”

The discovery also led to some unheard audio from Jackson.

“I’m listening to this stuff, and I would get goosebumps because nobody’s ever heard this stuff before,” Musgrove said. “To hear Michael Jackson actually talk and kind of joke back and forth, it was really, really cool.”

One of the unreleased records is named “Don’t Believe It,” which appears to address the numerous rumors circulating about Jackson at the time.

Another tape captured the pop icon explaining the meaning behind “Seven Digits,” a reference to the ID number bodies receive in a morgue. “Truth on Youth,” a rap duet between Jackson and LL COOL J, is also among the discoveries. But sadly for Jackson fans, they might never see an official release.

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As The Hollywood Reporter explained, “The estate, who Musgrove says did their own research into the tapes, declined to purchase the tapes for an unknown reason but did provide him with an official letter stating that the estate does not claim ownership.”

LL COOL J spoke about the Jackson collaboration in October during an interview with 102.7 KIISFM.

“Mike didn’t… they weren’t good enough,” LL said, admitting it didn’t live up to Jackson’s standards. “Sometimes the art don’t get there.”

LL COOL J looked back on his time with Jackson fondly and recalled the time he played a hilarious prank on the Def Jam legend. During one of their conversations in the studio, LL asked about one of Jackson’s most famous stunts from the “Smooth Criminal” video: the gravity-defying forward lean.

“I’m like, yo, how’d y’all do that thing with ‘Smooth Criminal’ when you lean in and all that?” LL recalled. Jackson replied with a straight face, “Well, we brought in a shaman and had a big ceremony, burned candles and incense…” LL COOL J briefly believed his story until Jackson broke the suspense with a laugh, saying, “No, silly!”

One of LL COOL J and Jackson’s collabs, “Serious Effect,” did leak, but the other never surfaced—until now.