Michael Jackson has left behind an indelible legacy as the King of Pop and continues to make headlines posthumously. A trove of unexpected treasure—cassettes and DAT tapes comprising his rare, unheard music—resurfaced when a former California Highway Patrol officer, now a stay-at-home dad, discovered them in an abandoned storage unit.
Gregg Musgrove, 56, came across the tapes during what could be termed “treasure hunting” after an acquaintance contacted him regarding an unpaid storage unit in Van Nuys, California. The unit was previously occupied by music producer and singer Bryan Loren. Musgrove intends to sell the tapes through a major auction house. For now, the tapes are being kept safely by his attorney.
Musgrove told The Hollywood Reporter, “I’ve gone to all the fan sites. Some of [the songs] are rumored to exist, and some of them have been leaked a little bit. A couple aren’t even out there in the world.”
The uncovered tapes include 12 previously unreleased tracks that Jackson recorded before the release of his Dangerous album. Some of these tracks were rumored and partially leaked, while others are completely unknown. Musgrove described the experience of listening to the tapes as surreal.
He added, “I’m listening to this stuff, and I would get goosebumps because nobody’s ever heard this stuff before. To hear Michael Jackson actually talk and kind of joke back and forth, it was really, really cool.”
Among the recordings, one track titled Don’t Believe It reportedly addresses the rumors surrounding Jackson. Another track, Truth on Youth, is a rap duet between Jackson and LL Cool J. However, despite the excitement surrounding the discovery, it is unlikely that the tapes will ever be heard by the public.
Musgrove and his attorney reached out to the Jackson Estate, who responded by stating that the tapes were merely copies, not the master recordings. The Estate declined the opportunity to purchase them and reiterated that all rights to the recordings remain with Michael Jackson’s Estate. As a result, the tapes cannot be released for commercial purposes.
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