Jimmy Jam is not here for the idea that Michael Jackson and Prince were just bitter rivals. 

Speaking with People at the Hollywood premiere of “Michael,” the veteran producer said the two legends were “probably both competitive,” but “also very respectful of each other,” pushing back on the oversimplified version of their relationship that has followed them for years. 

According to Jam, the difference between the two artists was not just personality, but process. Prince, he said, worked fast and instinctively, often starting a record in the morning and having it finished by the end of the day. Jackson, by contrast, was meticulous and detail-obsessed, with Jam recalling that they once spent three days changing one line on “Scream” before deciding they were done. 

That creative contrast, Jam said, is exactly why people can mistake competition for tension. But in his view, it was bigger than that. Prince was “definitely influenced by Michael,” and Michael was “definitely influenced by Prince,” Jam said, adding that both men admired each other even if they might not have clicked the same way in a studio session. 

The new “Michael” biopic continues to stir conversation about Jackson’s legacy, which has long been filtered through myth, rumor, and cultural debate. Jam’s perspective matters because he worked closely with both artists and saw firsthand how their genius operated — not as a headline-ready feud, but as two towering talents shaping the sound and language of pop music at the same time. 

Jam also told People that Prince still occupies his thoughts regularly, saying there is “not a day that goes by” that he does not think about him or wonder what he would do in a given situation. That kind of reverence proves what Jam has been saying all along: these were not just competitors, they were cultural giants who helped define an era by pushing each other to be great.