concerts. The song was originally recorded in 1978 for the inclusion on the Off the Wall album, but was later re-recorded in fall 1982, in Los Angeles, California. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" was one of the four songs that Jackson received writing credits on for his sixth studio album Thriller in 1982. The song was released by Epic Records as the fourth single from the album. Unlike Thrillers previous singles, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" did not have a film or a music video released to promote it. Aside from Thriller, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" has appeared on multiple compilation and greatest hits albums by Jackson since the song's release. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" appeared on the first disc of Jackson's two-disc compilation album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995 as well as the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller, entitled Thriller 25, and the greatest hits album King of Pop; both albums were released in 2008. The song is also included on the box set collection released in 2004, The Ultimate Collection, the greatest hits album The Essential Michael Jackson, the compilation album This Is It, and the special box set The Collection released days after Jackson's death. Some versions of the 1995 Earth Song CD single included the Brothers in Rhythm Mix and Tommy D's Main Mix as B-sides. The song was also remixed to the Immortal album in 2011. The demo version of the song was also released in This Is It (2009). Composition A post-disco and funk song, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin" was viewed as a nod to the disco sound of Jackson's material on his previous studio album, Off the Wall, released in 1979. Arranged by Jackson himself and played by percussionist Paulinho da Costa, the song's rhythm was regarded as a "complex interweaving of drum-machine patterns and work", while the horn section, arranged by Jerry Hey, was described as both "brassy and precise". Slant Magazine commented that the song was a "complicated tapestry of colliding hooks and pop references." The song's lyrics, "Too high to get over, too low to get under", has strong similarities to Funkadelic's opening salvo for "One Nation Under a Groove". The lyrics pertain to the media and press, as well as gossip and people trying to start arguments or problems for no reason, which he states in the lyrics, "Someone's always tryin' to start my baby crying," and