Is Michael Jackson the New Tupac Shakur?

Following in the footsteps of the 2010 album Michael, the estate of Michael Jackson and Epic Records will be releasing a second Michael Jackson album called XSCAPE on May 13. The album will feature 8 new tracks that were recorded by Jackson and modernized by a list of producers that includes L.A. Reid, Timbaland, Rodney Jerkins, Stargate and John McClain. It's the first studio album that Epic Records will release featuring new songs from Jackson since Invincible in 2001 and the title track, "Xscape", was originally recorded for that album and will be updated by the same producer who worked with him to record it.

The album and its deluxe version can be pre-ordered on iTunes starting Monday, April 1 — yes, April Fools' Day. So, is it all a hoax? Going as far as creating a very Jackson-esque album cover for the article on their official website seems like pretty far to go for a simple prank, however, but you never know.

The idea of there being "new" music on the album is misleading, though, as it's really eight more of Jackson's old songs "contemporized" and then publicly released. The number of songs he recorded that never made it onto an album seems as endless as his list of albums itself, so Epic Records has a lot to choose from when it comes to putting Michael back on the radio if they're not just pulling our collective legs.

If the album is, in fact, real, here's what we think should be on it:

"A Place with No Name" (1998)

"A Place With No Name" was originally recorded in 1998 and was leaked on the Internet about 3 weeks after Jackson's death — twenty-four seconds of it was, anyway. It's been teased before that the song will appear on an album of unreleased singles and XSCAPE could finally be that album.

"Slave 2 the Rhythm" (1998)

If they're looking to make Jackson hip again — as if he needs any help with that — what could be more current than a duet with Justin Bieber? The song leaked online in 2013 unauthorized by the estate of Michael Jackson and is still floating around despite their many attempts to get it removed. They may as well officially release it at this point.

"There Must Be More to Life Than This" (1983)

Jackson worked on this song and two others with Freddie Mercury in the '80s and both versions of it have leaked on the Internet, the most recent leak happening in 2011. Hearing Jackson and Mercury sing "What good is life, if in the end we all must die?" is sure to bring tears to the eyes of both of their fan bases.

"11 P.M." (2009)

Jackson recorded this track during the rehearsal for This Is It and that's about all that's known about the song. Considering that it could very well have been one of the last songs that Jackson did, the fact that it has yet to be widely released is a tragedy that XSCAPE should set about to fix right away.

Image: Epic Records