Daring to walk into one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles when Michael Jackson was only 24 years old, standing in the midst of about 80 real gang members, with real grudges and real guns – and asking them to dance with him to shoot a music video.

That is the part almost no one fully tells when they talk about “Beat It”.

We are familiar with the red leather jacket, the explosive choreography, the lightning strike guitar of Eddie Van Halen, the scene of two rival gangs pulling knives and then suddenly melting into an iconic group dance. But behind those now legendary images lies a truth that makes you go quiet: most of the “actors” in the video were not actors at all. They were real gang members from South LA and East LA, carrying real histories of conflict, grudges, and loss from blood stained streets Michael had never set foot on before.

The film crew did not just hire people through casting and dress them up to “look like gangsters.” They deliberately went to those communities, inviting people society feared and avoided to step into the frame. The Los Angeles police had to deploy officers at high density around the filming area, because everyone understood the risk of putting people with very real reasons to hurt each other into the same space. One wrong look, one stray word, one small bruise to someone’s pride could have turned that shooting day into a disaster.

Then Michael arrived. And something strange happened: nothing happened.

No fights broke out.
No one drew a weapon.
No one sabotaged the shoot.

Eighty men who had once stood on opposite sides, who had buried friends because of the very people standing in front of them, put everything aside for a moment to do what Michael asked of them: listen, rehearse the moves, and dance.
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Go here to read more of this fascinating music history:
Rhythm & Stars: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61551367852418

Photo: Michael Jackson’s #1s
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