Michael Jackson - Jackson Fired Quincy Jones

MICHAEL JACKSON fired longtime friend and collaborator QUINCY JONES after the producer tried to turn him into a rapper.

The pair worked together on Jackson's albums, Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad, but their relationship soured when Jones tried to steer the King of Pop's musical style towards hip-hop.

Jones tells Britain's The Guardian, "Michael fired me... He said, 'Quincy doesn't understand the business any more. He doesn't know that rap is dead'. But it's OK. It (hip-hop) wasn't so obvious then."

The pair remained friends, however, and Jackson reached out to his pal shortly before his death last year (09), while he was preparing for his London concert series.

Jones regrets he wasn't able to make the time to meet his one-time protege.

He adds, "I was in London when he sold out the 10 concerts, and then sold out 40 more. He called me. He wanted to bring the kids over. But I was with (former Harrods owner) Mohamed Al Fayed at his place. I said, 'I'll see you in Los Angeles'. And that was the last time I talked to him".