Theron Feemster (also known by his stage name, Neff-U) is an American music producer. He worked with Michael Jackson between 2008-2009, becoming one of the last producers to work with Jackson during his lifetime.
Meeting & work[]
Theron met Jackson in 2008 to begin working on new music for the artist. Through the aforementioned year and the following, the two would craft a lot of songs, some reworks, some originals.
| “ | Yeah I was with Michael for many years. The songs everyone heard on the album, Michael had been crafting them for many years. He’s the kind of guy where he will work on a song for seven years and work until it’s perfect. Working with him was the ultimate because he had no limitations on what he could do because he would never limit himself to who he was working with. He always approached things like it was his first time. He was very excited to go new places and try the different music. He was constantly creating new sound. Michael was very in tune with what was going on so the art we both thought of was to be close so people could link to you, but be far enough so you can be innovative and fresh. Even though it’s good to be innovative, you also need to leave some type of stream for reality because you don’t want to lose them. Once you stream and get them, then you can take them to places. First thing you need to do though is gently take them there. | ” |
–Neff-U on working with Michael Jackson, YouKnowIGotSoul, "Producer Neff-U Talks Working With Michael Jackson, Ne-Yo, Brandy & More (Exclusive Interview)", August 10, 2011[1] | ||
Credits[]
- "(I Like) The Way You Love Me"
- "A Place with No Name"
- "Best of Joy"
- "D.I.E."
- "Dark Lady"
- "Don't Make Me Stay"
- "For the World"
- "Hollywood Tonight"
- "Lady of Summer"
- "Love Heals"
- "Silent Spring"
- "Throwin' Your Life Away"
- "Unknown Neff-U Song"
- "Water"
Post-Jackson's passing[]
In 2010, following Jackson's passing, Feemster was once again hired to produce Jackson's material, this time for a posthumous release, Michael. "Hollywood Tonight", "(I Like) The Way You Love Me", and "Best of Joy" were all completely reworked from their previous versions. Additionally, Neff-U tampered with "Throwin' Your Life Away", although due to production issues, it couldn't be quite finished.
His work on the Michael album would serve as a breakthrough for the producer, which, thanks to the collaboration with Jackson, would go on to work with greats such as Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, Justin Bieber, and more.
Trivia[]
- Theron explored his work with Jackson in the 2011 MICHAEL: The Making of the Album documentary.