Happy Heavenly Birthday, MJ! Michael Jackson's Top Hip Hop Moments

From beat-boxing to rocking the stage with Jay Z.

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Got to Be There - Globally known as the King of Pop, at the root of Michael Jackson's trailblazing career was his love for hip hop. In honor of MJ's 65th birthday, check out his key hip-hop moments and how he's repped the streets since day one. (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Photo By Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Moonwalking at Motown 25 - In 1983, Motown Records celebrated its milestone 25th anniversary with a much-anticipated TV special. But while millions tuned in to see moments like the Temptations vocally battle the Four Tops and the reunion of groups like the Jackson 5, the highlight of the evening was a performance by America's newly crowned King of Pop, Michael Jackson. In the middle of doing his hit "Billie Jean," Mike shook up the world when he broke out the "moonwalk," a backsliding move done by electric boogie dancers in ghettos on both the East and West coasts.  (Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)

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Moonwalking at Motown 25 - In 1983, Motown Records celebrated its 25th anniversary with a TV special. The highlight of the evening was a performance by America's newly crowned King of Pop, Michael Jackson. In the middle of performing "Billie Jean," Mike shook up the world when he broke out the moonwalk, a backsliding move done by electric boogie dancers. (Photo: Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images)

Battling Usher in a Dance Off  - To honor his 30th year in show biz Michael spliced moments from his 2001 two-day concert extravaganza at Madison Square Garden for his own TV event. While performing his most recent hit, "You Rock My World," he was joined on stage by Chris Tucker and Usher, whose dance skills have often been compared to Mike's. But when Usher started electric boogying around The Gloved One, Mike sensed a battle, and a dance off was issued. Let's just say, Ush got served. (Photo: Kevin Kane/WireImage)

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Battling Usher in a Dance Off - To honor his 30th year in show biz Michael spliced moments from his 2001 two-day concert extravaganza at Madison Square Garden for his own TV event. While performing "You Rock My World," he was joined on stage by Chris Tucker and Usher, whose dance skills have often been compared to Mike's. (Photo: Kevin Kane/WireImage)

Beat-boxing for Oprah - Oprah Winfrey scored huge when she landed the first televised interview with MJ (after years of his reclusiveness) on October 2, 1993. Along with opening up about his life, Mike also blessed O with an impromptu beat-boxing session, crafting a rhythm that would rock a party harder than Doug E. Fresh.  (Photo: Sam Emerson /Landov/Reuters)

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Beat-boxing for Oprah - Oprah Winfrey scored huge when she landed the first televised interview with MJ (after years of his reclusiveness) on October 2, 1993. Along with opening up about his life, Mike also blessed O with an impromptu beat-boxing session, crafting a rhythm that would rock a party as hard as Doug E. Fresh. (Photo: Sam Emerson /Landov/Reuters)

Appearing With Jay Z at Summer Jam - Jay Z almost lost major props at Hot 97's 2001 Summer Jam concert when he called MJ to the stage... and the music legend didn't appear. After a long 90 seconds, the crowd erupted into the loudest cheers of the evening as Mike made his way on stage to stand with Jay.    (Photos from left: Ron Smits/London Ent/Splash News, KMazur/WireImage)

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Appearing With Jay Z at Summer Jam - At Hot 97's 2001 Summer Jam concert, Jay Z called MJ to the stage... and, for a moment, it appeared the music legend was a no-show. After a long 90 seconds, the crowd erupted into the loudest cheers of the evening as Mike made his way on stage to stand with Jay. (Photos from left: Ron Smits/London Ent/Splash News, KMazur/WireImage)

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Doing the Robot on Soul Train  - To promote their 1974 hit "Dancing Machine," the Jackson 5 took the TV stage of Soul Train to perform. Little did the audience know that a teenage Mike had been studying the famous moves of Slim the Robot, a member of the pioneering dance troupe the Lockers. They (and millions across America) witnessed Michael's street-dance skills during the song's breakdown segment as he proceeded to lock, swivel and slide his way to the front of the stage... and into hip hop history.

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Doing the Robot on Soul Train - To promote their 1974 hit "Dancing Machine," the Jackson 5 took the TV stage of Soul Train to perform. Little did the audience know that a teenage Mike had been studying the famous moves of Slim the Robot, a member of the pioneering dance troupe the Lockers. They (and millions across America) witnessed Michael's street-dance skills during the song's breakdown segment as he proceeded to lock, swivel and slide his way to the front of the stage... and into hip-hop history.

Jammin' With Heavy D - For the fourth single from his multi-platinum Dangerous LP, Michael Jackson released the song "Jam," which featured the late hip hop music icon Heavy D. True to hip hop's natural connection to sports, the video featured Michael Jordan and was used in promotional ads throughout the NBA season, including the 1992 Championship video, the "Untouchabulls." (Photo: MJJ Productions)

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Jammin' With Heavy D - For the fourth single from his multi-platinum Dangerous LP, Michael Jackson released the song "Jam," which featured the late hip-hop music icon Heavy D. True to hip-hop's natural connection to sports, the video featured Michael Jordan. It was used in promotional ads throughout the NBA season. (Photo: MJJ Productions)

"This Time Around" featuring Notorious B.I.G. - For this single, from his ninth studio disc, HIStory: Past, Present and Future (Book I), Michael enlisted the rhyming skills of the Notorious B.I.G. "Stay away from strangers. So I won't slack," the late rapper rhymed. "And I know my n---a Mike like that." (Photos from left: Evan Agostini/PictureGroup, Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

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MJ and Biggie - "This Time Around" featuring Notorious B.I.G. was from MJ"s "HIStory: Past, Present and Future (Book I)." Michael enlisted the rhyming skills of the Notorious B.I.G.: "Stay away from strangers. So I won't slack," the late rapper rhymed. (Photos from left: Evan Agostini/PictureGroup, Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage)

Recording Diss Track "D.S." for Tom Sneddon - As Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon was investigating MJ for a child molestation charge (which was resolved with a financial settlement), Mike responded to Sneddon with an all too hip hop diss record. The cut, "D.S." referred to a person who's name sounded similar to Sneddon. "Dom Sheldon is a cold man," MJ sings. "He out to shock in every single way. He'll stop at nothing just to get his political say." (Photos from left: Mark Mainz/Getty Images, Doug Benc/Getty Images)

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Recording Diss Track for Tom Sneddon - As Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon was investigating MJ for a child molestation charge, which he was never found guilty of, Mike responded to Sneddon with an all too hip hop diss record. The cut, "D.S." referred to a person whose name sounded similar to Sneddon. The lyrics were: "He out to shock in every single way. He'll stop at nothing just to get his political say." (Photos from left: Mark Mainz/Getty Images, Doug Benc/Getty Images)

Using Real Gang Members in the "Beat It" Video - Before the Crips and Bloods called their famed truce in 1992, Michael Jackson lent his hand to that cause 10 years earlier with the video for the song "Beat It." To visually shout down the senselessness of gang violence, MJ recruited dancers from both gangs to perform in the video. The move wasn't only to add to the video's authenticity but to foster peace between the two groups, similar to the reasoning hip hop founding father Afrika Bambaataa had when cultivating the culture.(Photo: MJJ Productions)

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Using Real Gang Members in the "Beat It" Video - Before the Crips and Bloods called their famed truce in 1992, Michael Jackson lent his hand to that cause 10 years earlier with the video for the song "Beat It." MJ recruited dancers from both gangs to perform in the video to shout down the senselessness of gang violence visually. The move wasn't only to add to the video's authenticity but to foster peace between the two groups. Happy heavenly birthday, MJ? (Photo: MJJ Productions)