Michael Jackson was not part of any g*ng, but for his 1983 “Beat It” music video, he brought together 80 real West Coast g*ng members to appear on screen.

Four decades before Kendrick Lamar unified rival crews on stage, MJ did something similar.

CBS refused to finance the video, so he invested $150,000 of his own money to make it happen.

Directed by Bob Giraldi, MJ personally casted real g*ng members, saying, “I’ll get them, Bob. If I get them, will you film them?”

The members agreed because… it was Michael Jackson.

He didn’t want them to dance, just to stand in the background to add realism and aimed to broker peace between two rival groups.

Filmed on LA’s Skid Row, the first day saw a fight break out among the g*ng members, so Giraldi filmed the final dance scene in one take.

Once everyone was in place, the g*ng members were captivated by MJ and the dancers, creating the perfect juxtaposition.

The “Beat It” video now has over 1 billion views on YouTube and produced the iconic image of Michael Jackson throwing up the peace sign with real g*ng members.

Long live the King of Pop. #elf #cameroon