Prince Jackson was introduced as “Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Junior” during a Sept. 4 appearance on the U.K. news program, This Morning, and the 23-year-old son of the late Michael Jackson was happy to be referred to by his full moniker. “Not many people know that is my name, and I am proud to share the same name as my father,” said Prince, per The Mirror. “And, sharing such a powerful name…there is – I don’t want to say there’s a pressure or a weight, because that’s a negative connotation. But, there is this legacy that my father worked very hard to build and maintain.”
It’s been over 11 years since Michael Jackson’s tragic death, and in that time, Prince and his siblings – Paris Jackson, 22, and 18-year-old Bigi Jackson (fka Prince Michael Jackson II, aka “Blanket”) – have all grown up to become young adults. Prince said that he misses his father “greatly,” and that “the older I get, the more I get to unpackage the wisdom that he left, and all the experiences he imparted on us. When I see them through a more mature perspective, I am extremely grateful to have had the experiences with him that I had.”
“Every year, I am more appreciative of that, but I miss him even greater because that is my father,” added Prince. Michael’s son shared some of that wisdom from his father. “He wanted us to be the best at whatever it is that we did,” said Prince. “It was a form of motivation and inspiration, that no matter what you do or how confident you feel, or how well you did something, my father would always say, ‘that’s great, but what’s next? How can we make it bigger or better?’ Or ‘What are you doing to learn from this experience and apply to improve the next one?'”
“So whatever I do,” added Prince, “whether that’s charity work or my music video production, it’s always figuring out how what I did the last time was alright, but how can I make it better or the best, and it’s always going to be like that. If one year was fantastic, the next year needs to be incredible.”
Such hard work might be seen sooner-than-later. During the chat, Prince’s siblings came up. “My sister Paris is really focused on her career in music, and I’m so proud of her and the strides that she’s making,” said Prince. When asked if he was going to follow his sister and father into the music industry, Prince laughed. “No, unfortunately, not at all! But yes, I’ve just produced [Paris’s] first music video. I’m very proud of her. That was such an experience to work with my sister. It was a grueling four days – inspired by my father’s cinematic theme and long-form music videos.” Despite the ordeal, Prince said it was “such a learning experience,” and that he was “so proud to see my sister’s art come to life and amazed that I could be a part of that.” It’s safe to say that their father would be proud of them.
