D.S

THE STORY BEHIND ' D.S. '

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This is the most direct, aggressive, and personal attack song Michael Jackson ever recorded. Unlike the metaphorical "Billie Jean" or the generalized anger of "Scream," this song targets a specific living person by name (almost). It is a rock-fueled "diss track" aimed at the man who tried to destroy him.

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To understand "D.S.," you have to know Tom Sneddon. Sneddon was the District Attorney of Santa Barbara, California. In 1993, when the first child molestation allegations arose against Michael, Sneddon led the investigation.

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Sneddon pursued Michael with a zeal that many, including Michael’s camp, felt was a personal vendetta. The breaking point for Michael came when Sneddon authorized a strip search of Michael Jackson. Police raided Neverland, forced Michael to strip naked, and photographed his genitalia to match a description given by the accuser. The investigation ultimately closed without charges due to lack of evidence, but the humiliation of that search traumatized Michael forever. "D.S." is Michael’s retaliation. It is the sound of a man screaming back at his tormentor.

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The "Dom Sheldon" Disguise If you look at the lyric booklet for the HIStory album, the song is titled "D.S." and the lyrics refer to a character named "Dom Sheldon." "Dom Sheldon is a cold man."

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However, when you listen to the song, Michael is quite clearly singing "Tom Sneddon." The pronunciation is unmistakable. This was a deliberate legal maneuver. Michael’s lawyers likely warned him that using the District Attorney’s real name could lead to a defamation lawsuit or legal trouble, given Sneddon was a public official. By changing the name in the booklet to "Dom Sheldon" (which shares the initials D.S.), Michael created a layer of "plausible deniability" but to the ears of the listener, the target was unambiguous.

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To match the venom of the lyrics, Michael needed a sound that was dirty, gritty, and violent. He turned to the grunge rock sound that was popular in the mid-90s (bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden).

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For the guitar work, Michael once again recruited Slash from Guns N' Roses. Slash provides the driving force of the track. He plays a chugging, hard-rock riff that runs through the verses and delivers a screeching, chaotic solo in the bridge. The production, by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, is intentionally lo-fi in parts. The vocals are distorted, and the mix is cluttered, mimicking the feeling of a chaotic street protest or a riot.

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The lyrics are shocking for a pop star who built his career on messages of love and healing. Michael accuses Sneddon (Sheldon) of being politically motivated, racist, and corrupt.

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• "He want to get my ass, dead or alive" – A reference to the relentless nature of the investigation.

• "You think he brother with the KKK?" – Michael explicitly links Sneddon’s persecution to racism, implying that a wealthy Black man was a target for the establishment.

• "He want to vote for me" – This line mocks Sneddon’s political ambitions, suggesting he used the investigation to gain fame and votes for his re-election campaigns.

 

The song ends with the chilling sound of a gunshot, signaling Michael’s desire to "kill" the issue and move on, or perhaps representing the "character assassination" he felt he survived.

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The 2003 Return When HIStory was released in 1995, many critics dismissed "D.S." as petty revenge. They thought Michael was dwelling on the past. However, the song became hauntingly prophetic eight years later.

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In 2003, Tom Sneddon returned. He was still the D.A., and he personally led the second investigation against Michael Jackson (the Arvizo case), which resulted in the famous 2005 trial. During the trial, "D.S." became an anthem for Michael’s fans. They would blast the song outside the courthouse in Santa Maria while Sneddon walked inside. The song transformed from a "grudge" track into a relevant political statement about the man who spent 12 years trying to put Michael in prison. (Notably, Michael was acquitted of all charges Sneddon brought against him in 2005).

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The aggression in "D.S." is spiritually connected to the controversial "Panther Dance" from the "Black or White" video. In that video, Michael destroyed property and screamed in an alleyway to express his frustration with racism. In "D.S.," he channels that same energy into the microphone. His vocal delivery is practically a snarl. He bites off the words, spitting out "Dom Sheldon" with palpable disgust. It remains the hardest rocking song on the HIStory album.

 

"D.S." was never released as a single and has no music video. It was a "deep cut" intended specifically for the fans who knew the details of the 1993 allegations. However, it remains a fascinating piece of history. It is one of the few times a major pop superstar has used a studio album to wage a direct war against a government official. It is a raw, unfiltered document of Michael’s trauma and his refusal to be silenced by authority figures.