then goes to a more "quasi paranoia" yield in the "near-bitterness" chorus, 'You're a vegetable, you're a vegetable/ You're just a buffet, you're a vegetable/ They'll eat off you, you're a vegetable.'" In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin", Jackson's vocal range spans from E3 to A5. Played in the key of E major, the song is moderately bright with a tempo of 122 beats per minute. It has a basic sequence of D/E–E–D/E–E as its chord progression. The coda at the end of the song, which comes directly from Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango's 1972 disco song "Soul Makossa", is "Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah". Makossa is a Cameroonian music genre and dance. Dibango sued Jackson and, in 1986, settled out of court for one million French francs, agreeing thereby to waive future rights to this recording but not future use of the material. Critical reception Christopher Connelly, a writer for Rolling Stone, described "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" as being Thrillers "most combative track". Connelly noted that in the "hyperactive" song, Jackson's "emotions are so raw that the song nearly goes out of control". He further commented that the song has a "tune that's almost as exciting as seeing Jackson motivate himself across a concert stage – and a lot more unpredictable". Remarking that while the song's lyrics "won't keep Elvis Costello awake nights", they "do show that Jackson has progressed past the hey-let's-hustle sentiments that dominated Off the Wall". He added that Jackson's "raw ability and conviction make material like 'Baby Be Mine' and 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' into first-class cuts". Cash Box called the song a "smash," specifically praising the "danceable groove...superb arrangement and strange but ultimately uplifting lyrics." Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for AllMusic, listed "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin", along with "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Human Nature", as being the best songs from Thriller. He also described the song as the "freshest funk on the album". Eric Herderson, a writer for Slant Magazine, commented that with "three quick rimshots", he felt that "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" was like a "court fanfare". Robert Christgau, a music critic, commented that he'd "expect to bear more" of Thrillers "Wanna Be Startin' Something" and "Thriller" on the "dancefloor" rather than in his "living room". "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" received one Grammy Award nomination; it was nominated for "Best R&B Song" at the 1984 Grammy Awards, but lost to "Billie Jean," another of Jackson's