HewasanAmericanrecordingartist,entertainerandbusinessman.Intheearly1980s,hebecameamainfigureinAmericanpopularmusicandculture.HewasthefirstAfricanAmericanentertainertoamassastrongcrossoverfollowingonMTV.
ThefameofhismusicvideosaringonMTV,suchas"BeatIt","BillieJean"and"Thriller"Videossuchas"BlackorWhite"and"Scream"madeJacksonanenduringstapleonMTVinthe1990s.Withstageperformancesandmusicvideos,Jacksoninventedanumberofphysicallycomplicateddanceskills,suchastherobotandthemoonwalk.Hisspecialmusicalsoundandvocalstyleinfluencedmanyhiphop,popmusicandcontemporaryR&Bartistsacrossseveralgenerotions.
Otheraspectsofhispersonallife,includinghisoftenchanginglooksandstrangebehavior,generatedsignificantconteoversythatdamagedhispublicimage.
Thesingerhadexperiencedhealthproblemssincethedarly1990s,alongwithaembarassingdifficultyinhisfinancesincethelate1990s.