The Childhood That Secretly Prepared Jaafar Jackson To Become The King Of Pop -dw
When Jaafar Jackson was 9 years old, he had one dream, golf. He wanted to be a professional golfer. Then his father gave him a song. Everything changed, but that wasn’t what prepared him to play Michael. What prepared him was the chaos, the divorce, the custody battle, the stun gun incident, the eviction.

By the time he stepped into the makeup chair, he had already survived the Jackson family, and that survival is what made him the only person who could play his uncle. We talked about it. You wanted to be a golfer. Yes, I grew up playing golf. That was my focus throughout my whole life. When Jaafar was 12, his father suggested he learn the Jackson 5 song “Touch”.
Jaafar performed it in a living room. From then on, music became his focus, but he never dreamed of acting. That came much later. His uncle Michael died that same year. Jaafar was just 12 years old. One Jackson story was closing. Another’s was just beginning. That year changed everything for him. specific I would love to do songs that are high-paced energy, you know.
When Jaafar was 8, his parents divorced. The custody battle that followed was brutal. His mother had a complicated history. She had children with Jermaine’s brother Randy before marrying Jermaine. By 2008, Alejandra had custody of Jaafar and his brother, but the family war was just getting started. By early 2009, the situation was so bad that both boys were briefly taken into state care.
The Jackson family wasn’t just dysfunctional. It was war. This episode of He He and Hip Hop it says Jermaine Jackson married Alejandra in 1995, who was previously the long-time partner of his younger brother Randy Jackson. that’s already messy. It says Alejandra and Randy had two children together before their relationship ended, after which he had two more children, Jaafar and Jermajesty.
In early 2010, when Jaafar was 13, police investigated his family. He had purchased a stun gun online and allegedly fired it near his cousin Blanket. The family insisted it was an accident, but the damage was done. The media had a field day. The incident led to his grandmother Katherine asking his mother to move out.
She refused, and the family went to court. The chaos followed him everywhere. How did you think your dad wanted a stun gun? Well, because he has raised everything. I don’t know what I’m saying because I don’t know Jaafar. He’s a very good boy. He’s never done anything to hurt anybody. The box came and you then opened up the box and you were looking at it and Yeah, I tested it on a piece of paper then I put it back in the box that it came with and put it in the drawer then security came and took it.
The people rather said that I had it for a few days and I was chasing Blanket and Paris around the house trying to taze them, which is not true because they didn’t know anything about it and they’re they’re on the other side of the house. Jaafar was only 12 when Michael died, but he held on to memories of Neverland, playing hide and seek, getting candy, riding rides, watching movies.
Neverland wasn’t a legend to him. It was home. It was where his uncle tried to create a childhood for the children around him. Those memories became the foundation of his performance. He carried those memories into every scene. What are your memories of your uncle? I remember just growing up and we would have family time, you know, he Michael would come over to where I was growing up at Hayvenhurst and we’d have some some days where we would all get together, play family game day.
We’d have wonderful times at Neverland and and just playing hide and go seek, eating as much candy, going on rides, watching movies. It was all fun. What is your When Katherine Jackson saw the film, she said, “There were moments she couldn’t tell if it was me or Michael.” She released a statement. “Jaafar embodies my son.
” From the woman who knew Michael longest and loved him most, that was everything. Jaafar said, “To me, that’s all I needed to hear. That approval meant more than any award.” She said, “Jaafar, that was phenomenal.” I said, “Really, Grandma? Like, you you really think so?” She said, “You were so good. You were so good.
” And I I got very emotional and I was just like almost like shaking a bit. Jaafar survived the custody battle, the eviction, the stun gun incident. He survived the weight of being born into the most famous family in music. And through it all, he held onto one thing, his memory of his uncle. When he stepped into the makeup chair for the first time, it wasn’t just a spiritual moment.
It was the culmination of everything he had survived. He had been preparing for this role his entire life. Not through dancing, not through singing, but through living. The kid who wanted to be a golfer had become the king of pop. I was a kid and I just remember running under the dining room table scared and hiding as soon as he transformed to the the wolf the werewolf.
So, that’s my first memory of witnessing Michael. I was very scared of that [laughter] video, but then I would continue watching it. There was something about it draw drew me back to it. I think it’s as soon as they started doing the dance sequence and I I fell in love with that. Smooth criminal, hands down. When Jaafar was 9 year old, he competed in tournaments as a child.
He wanted to be a professional golfer, but his father gave him a song. Everything changed, but that wasn’t what prepared him to play Michael. What prepared him was the chaos, the divorce, the custody battle, the stun gun incident, the eviction. By the time he stepped into the makeup chair, he had already survived the Jackson family, and that survival is what made him the only person who could play his uncle.
It’s fun to play cuz I want to be like Tiger Woods. You want to be like Tiger, but what is it that you love? Golf. What makes it fun? Tripping and putting and driving. He’s going to make us proud one day. My dream is to see him and Jaafar develop into great golfers. When Jaafar was 12, his father suggested he learn the Jackson 5 song Touch.
Jaafar performed it in the living room. From then on, music became his focus, but he never dreamed of acting. That came much later. His uncle Michael died that same year. Jaafar was just 12 years old. One Jackson story was closing, another’s was just beginning. That year changed everything for him. It has to be with music and my voice singing.
I’m very relatable to my family, and in particular my uncle Michael. They say I try and sound like too much sound like him or sound like other family members, but if you listen to all my cousins or all my we all have a similar tone. So, there’s no running away from that when we sing.
It’s just It’s a gift that that we’ve all embraced, and it’s in It’s within the family, so Jaafar Jackson was born into chaos. He survived it all, and he carried those memories, the good ones, the ones that mattered, into the performance of a lifetime. Michael Jackson spent his whole life trying to reclaim his childhood.
His nephew was born into the same family, and he actually got to play. And when you watch him on screen, you’re watching a survivor, A nephew honoring his uncle, and someone who understood Michael Jackson better than almost anyone. Not because he studied him, but because he knew him. If this story moved you, hit subscribe. Next video dropping soon.
We’re not in in the movie, but it’s about us. Well, I’m going to say this. One time, there’s a lot of people out there imitating Michael Jackson, and they do a great job. But you far did not imitate Michael Jackson. He became Michael Jackson, and his performance is impeccable.