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Taj Jackson

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Taj Jackson
Jackson in 2022
Born
Tariano Adaryll Jackson II

(1973-08-04) August 4, 1973 (age 51)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names
  • Taj
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • musician
  • director
  • producer
Years active1992–present
Spouse
Thayana Sco Jackson
​
(m. 2013)​
Children3
Parents
FamilyJackson
Musical career
Genres
Instrument
  • Vocals
Labels
Member of3T
Websitetajjackson.com

Tariano Adaryll "Taj" Jackson II (born August 4, 1973) is an American singer, songwriter, producer, and director. He is an original member of 3T along with his brothers Taryll Adren Jackson and Tito Joe ("TJ") Jackson. His career and solo work include a reality television series for which he was executive producer. His band 3T currently still tours, and he works as a spokesperson on behalf of the Jackson family.

Early life and education

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Tariano Adaryll "Taj" Jackson II was born on August 4, 1973, in Los Angeles, California.[1] He is the first child of father Tito Jackson and mother Delores "Dee Dee" Martes. He is also the nephew of Rebbie, Jackie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael, Randy, and Janet. He has two younger brothers; Taryll Adren Jackson and Tito Joe Jackson ("TJ"). Jackson's parents were married in June 1972, and later divorced in 1988.[2] His father Tito coached them in baseball.

Jackson graduated from Buckley School in 1991. He also studied television production and recording arts at Loyola Marymount University, with a minor in music.[3]

Career

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3T

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Main article: 3T

Under the guidance of their father Tito and uncle Michael, Jackson and his brothers formed the group 3T. Their late uncle Michael mentored and signed them to his label MJJ Music.[4] Their debut album Brotherhood was released in 1995. The album sold over three million copies worldwide, with their debut single "Anything".[5][6]

3T recorded an album after Brotherhood, which was never released because Sony, their label at the time, had a strained relationship with Michael (MJJ Music).[7] 3T released two more albums; Identity in 2004, and Chapter III in 2015. 3T have also written and produced soundtracks to films such as; The Jacksons: An American Dream, Free Willy, Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home, Men in Black and Trippin'.[4] Taj has used his education in television to direct music videos and documentary series.[8][9]

As of 2022, 3T are still touring, headlining concerts and music festivals.[10][11][12]

Reality series (2015–2016)

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In October 2015, Taj, Taryll, and TJ Jackson starred in and co-produced the reality series The Jacksons: Next Generation. The series aired on Lifetime (TV network) in USA, Canada, UK, Ireland, Asia (2016) and South Africa from 2015 to 2016.[13][14][15][16]

Solo work and other projects

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In 2014, Big Screen Entertainment Group optioned the rights to Code Z, a script by Jackson and the Brazilian Sco triplets (Thaisa, Thaina, and Thayana Sco). Jackson directed the short film.[17] In 2015, he was executive producer of the reality television series The Jacksons: Next Generation together with his brothers Taryll and TJ.[18]

In 2018, Jackson directed the music video for 3T's song "Fire". He also took up photography. His uncle Michael bought him his first camera and video camera.[9][19][20] Jackson is currently working on a new documentary series, in which he intends to correct what he sees as misconceptions about his uncle Michael Jackson. The series is planned for release soon.[21]

Personal life

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Family

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Taj Jackson married Thayana Sco Jackson on June 16, 2013, at Hayvenhurst, the Jackson family home. His uncle Jermaine Jackson performed in honor of the couple.[22] Together they have three daughters.[23]

He later in life said that he was abused by an uncle on his mother's side when he was a child, and that his uncle Michael was nurturing and supportive during this time.[24][25] Growing up, Taj and his brothers observed their uncles' group the Jackson 5, and they gravitated toward the music industry. Their mother, Dee Dee wanted her children to experience a more typical American childhood.

In August 1994, their mother, Dee Dee was found dead in her backyard swimming pool in Ladera Heights, California. In August 1995, Jackson and other members of his family filed a wrongful death suit against her then-boyfriend, Don Bohana.[26] Her death was originally ruled accidental. Later, Bohana was charged with the murder, and found guilty of second-degree murder in 1998.[27]

Charity work

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After the loss of their mother Dee Dee, Jackson and his brothers launched a non-profit organization, the Dee Dee Jackson Foundation, to support people who have lost family members through community and music therapy.[28][29][30] In 2021, The Dee Dee Jackson Foundation won a HOPEE Award (Helping Others Practice Enduring Empowerment), an award given to various charitable organizations for excellence in the work performed by the foundation.[31][32][33] To help raise money for charity, Taj collaborates with his younger cousin, Prince Michael Jackson, to design a haunted house for Thriller Night, a Halloween costume party sponsored by the Heal Los Angeles Foundation.[34] [35]

Advocacy for Michael Jackson

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Taj Jackson wearing a shirt depicting his uncle Michael Jackson

During and after the 2019 release of 'Leaving Neverland,' Jackson launched a media tour to defend his Uncle Michael Jackson from the film's allegations, which he referred to as being one-sided. He provided interviews with himself and other Jackson family members.[36][37] Jackson has said that the allegations against Michael Jackson were false and defamatory and to defend his stance, Jackson underscores the FBI files on Michael Jackson and asserts that the FBI investigations had turned up no evidence of criminal conduct on his uncle's part.[38][39][40] Jackson said that he felt betrayed by Wade Robson, who asked him to help get seats for him and his whole family at Michael's 2009 memorial.[41] In some of these interviews Taj Jackson said that he had known Robson for years, and that his cousin Brandi Jackson had a childhood relationship with Robson that turned intimate in their teens during the years that Robson alleges abuse.[42][43] Both Taj and Brandi Jackson appeared in the documentary Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary, about the allegations of abuse against Michael Jackson by Robson and James Safechuck in Leaving Neverland.[44][45]

Jackson is currently working on a documentary series planned for release soon.[21][46]

He appeared in the 2019 documentary Square One: Michael Jackson an investigative documentary about the original 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson. In this documentary, Jackson defends himself and his uncle Michael Jackson against allegations from a criminal behavioral profiler.[47]

In November 2020, British journalist Martin Bashir was publicly criticized about his tactics to get Diana, Princess of Wales to agree to their 1995 interview.[48] Jackson and his family subsequently opened a new investigation into Bashir for the tactics he used to get Michael Jackson to agree to their interview which led to the documentary Living with Michael Jackson.[49][50][51]

In August 2022, Rolling Stone magazine referred to Harry Styles as the "new King of Pop."[52] The article was criticized by Jackson fans and Taj Jackson, who suggested that Styles could have his own title, and that the honorary name was trademarked by Jackson's companies and could not be claimed by anyone else.[53][54]

On March 7, 2023, Jackson took to Twitter calling Chris Rock out for comparing convicted sexual predator R. Kelly to his acquitted uncle Michael in a Netflix special. He wrote, “Chris Rock has used my family as punching bags for his entire career. Yet I am supposed to feel bad for him getting slapped and humiliated on the Oscars. What did my family ever do to you to warrant these decades of harassment and your constant bullying disguised as jokes? Just because you were bullied early on in life doesn’t give you the excuse to bully others now.” Jackson ended his statement thanking Will Smith, who assaulted Rock at the Academy Awards.[55]

References

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  1. ^ "The Jackson Family Tree, From Joe to Janet and More | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. June 27, 2018.
  2. ^ "Michael Jackson's Nephews File Lawsuit Over Mother's Death : Court: Delores Jackson's family accuses her boyfriend of drowning her in his pool last year and complains that Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti won't prosecute him". Los Angeles Times. August 26, 1995.
  3. ^ "THE Family Business : Michael Jackson's Nephews Put Music on Hold as They Fine-Tune Baseball Skills". Los Angeles Times. March 31, 1993.
  4. ^ a b Cohn, Paulette (October 2015). "Taj, Taryll and TJ — The Jacksons: The Next Generation". Parade: Entertainment, Recipes, Health, Life, Holidays.
  5. ^ "3T - Brotherhood Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  6. ^ "Remember Michael Jackon's Nephews 3T? Here's What They Look Like Now!". November 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "3T ending hiatus to take up Michael Jackson legacy". AP NEWS. June 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Média, Bell. "Michael Jackson's Nephew Fighting 'Salacious Myths'". www.iheartradio.ca.
  9. ^ a b Kanarek, Benjamin (August 9, 2018). "Taj Jackson of the 3T by Benjamin Kanarek for GQ Magazine - The BK Mag".
  10. ^ "Concert Forever 90 à Strasbourg 2022 - Zenith Eckbolsheim : places, billetterie, dates, réservations..." jds.fr (in French).
  11. ^ "Paul Elstak, De Kast, 2Unlimited en 3T op 10-jarig jubileum We Love the 90's". ad.nl (in Dutch). April 29, 2022.
  12. ^ "Un concept de festival années 90 numéro 1 en France lancé par des alsaciens". www.marque.alsace (in French).
  13. ^ "Get Your First Look at Lifetime's 'The Jacksons: Next Generation' | Entertainment Tonight". www.etonline.com. August 21, 2015.
  14. ^ "The Jackson family to star in new documentary series The Next Generation on Lifetime". Digital Spy. December 3, 2015.
  15. ^ "The Jacksons: Next Generation Exclusive docu-series premieres on Lifetime (DStv 131) on March 16 at 20:45". Modern Ghana.
  16. ^ "'Jacksons: Next Generation' Tracks Tito's Kids to Stardom". October 5, 2015.
  17. ^ "Big Screen Entertainment Group Acquires Thrilling Script From Taj Jackson/Sco Triplets". finance.yahoo.com. May 30, 2014.
  18. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 30, 2015). "TV Review: 'The Jacksons: Next Generation'".
  19. ^ "Taj Jackson of the 3T by Benjamin Kanarek for GQ Magazine: Fujifilm X System / SLR Talk Forum: Digital Photography Review". www.dpreview.com.
  20. ^ s.r.o, RECO. "Taj Jackson | No legado dos Jacksons". gqportugal.pt.
  21. ^ a b "Michael Jackson's Nephew Fighting 'Salacious Myths'". Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2022.
  22. ^ Cardiga, Manuela (July 20, 2019). "Tito Jackson Has a Little Granddaughter Who Looks Just like Her Beautiful Mother". news.amomama.com.
  23. ^ "Who is Taj Jackson? Michael Jackson's nephew and Thayana's husband". March 8, 2019.
  24. ^ Duke, Alan (May 16, 2013). "Nephew: Michael Jackson was my 'support system' when molested". CNN.
  25. ^ Robinson, Nicholas (May 17, 2013). "Taj Jackson claims a family member molested him".
  26. ^ EFFRON, LAUREN. "Looking back on the death of Michael Jackson's former sister-in-law". ABC News.
  27. ^ FRANCIS, ENJOLI. "Tito Jackson and sons describe day of his ex-wife and their mother's murder as 'coldest' of their lives". ABC News.
  28. ^ "MJ's Kids Throw Halloween Party At His Home In Honor Of Tito's Murdered Ex-Wife". October 29, 2017.
  29. ^ Lippe, Jeryl (October 31, 2017). "Prince and Paris Jackson Host Costume for a Cause Halloween Party".
  30. ^ "Tito Jackson's Sons Describe Day Their Mother Died As 'A Nightmare': 'It's Like A Kid's Worst Memory'". Essence. October 26, 2020.
  31. ^ "Dee Dee Jackson Foundation". Dee Dee Jackson Foundation.
  32. ^ "Hope Chat with TJ Jackson of Dee Dee Jackson Foundation". BlogTalkRadio. February 10, 2021.
  33. ^ "Month of Hope founders announce award recipients". Tallahassee Democrat.
  34. ^ America, Good Morning. "Prince Jackson to host annual 'Thriller' costume party at Jackson family estate". Good Morning America.
  35. ^ "Prince Michael Jackson to host annual 'Thriller' costume party at Jackson family estate". X101 Always Classic. October 19, 2021.
  36. ^ Bacher, Danielle (April 3, 2019). "Taj Jackson Seeking $777,000 to Produce Doc Series About His Uncle Michael: 'I Want to Get the Truth Out There'". Billboard.
  37. ^ "Taj Jackson reveals details of his own Michael Jackson documentary in response to Leaving Neverland". Digital Spy. March 11, 2019.
  38. ^ Ekpo, Ime (February 28, 2019). "The Source |Michael Jackson's Nephew Taj Jackson Reveals the FBI Spent 10 Years Investigating His Uncle".
  39. ^ McDermott, Maeve. "Michael Jackson's most loyal defenders still support him after 'Leaving Neverland' - here's why". USA TODAY.
  40. ^ "Michael Jackson's Nephew Claims Star Was Secretly Investigated by FBI". February 28, 2019.
  41. ^ "Michael Jackson estate sues HBO over documentary - National | Globalnews.ca".
  42. ^ Bacher, Danielle (April 4, 2019). "Brandi Jackson on 'Neverland' and Wade Robson: 'It's Very Upsetting to See What He Would Do to a Friend'". Billboard.
  43. ^ Lavin, Will (March 8, 2019). ""It's one-sided and biased" – Taj Jackson attempts to defend his uncle, Michael Jackson, against the 'Leaving Neverland' fallout". NME.
  44. ^ "Michael Jackson's niece slams Wade Robson as an 'opportunist'". 7NEWS. April 12, 2019.
  45. ^ "Jackson Family Responds to 'Leaving Neverland' by Releasing 30-Minute Documentary of Their Own". Peoplemag.
  46. ^ "T3's Taj Jackson defends his uncle Michael Jackson amid 'Leaving Neverland' abuse claims". www.yahoo.com. March 6, 2019.
  47. ^ ""Square One", el documental que "desmonta" las acusaciones de pederastia sobre Michael Jackson". abc. October 16, 2019.
  48. ^ "BBC finds Princess Diana's lost note that it says clears Martin Bashir". the Guardian. November 13, 2020.
  49. ^ "Michael Jackson's family says Martin Bashir 'manipulated' him". Insider.
  50. ^ Reilly, Nick (May 24, 2021). "Michael Jackson's family call for fresh investigation into Martin Bashir's 2003 interview with singer". NME.
  51. ^ "Michael Jackson's nephew claims Martin Bashir 'destroyed his uncle's persona'". The Independent. May 24, 2021.
  52. ^ "Harry Styles Crowned The 'King Of Pop' By 'Rolling Stone,' Angering Michael Jackson Fans". MSN.
  53. ^ "Michael Jackson's nephew Taj raging over Harry Styles being labelled 'new King of Pop'". MSN.
  54. ^ "Michael Jackson's Nephew Taj Slams Rolling Stone for Crowning Harry Styles the "New King of Pop"". www.yahoo.com. August 23, 2022.
  55. ^ "Taj Jackson Slams Chris Rock for Comparing Michael Jackson to R. Kelly in Netflix Special". Complex.
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