"Black or White" is a song by Michael Jackson, written by Jackson and Bill Bottrell, who also produced it and performed an uncredited rap. It was released on November 4, 1991 by Epic Records as the lead single from the album Dangerous, Jackson's eighth album. Recorded in 1989 and 1990 at Westlake, Record One and Larrabee studios, the main riff was hummed by Jackson and played by Bottrell on a Kramer guitar, while Tim Pierce contributed heavy metal guitar parts. Epic described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony", and it combines pop rock with new jack swing, with dance, rap and hard rock elements.
The single reached No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 7, 1991, and spent seven weeks at the top. It also reached No. 1 in at least 20 countries and was certified triple Platinum in the US. Billboard's Larry Flick called it a "surprisingly sparse, but instantly gratifying pop/rocker". The video, directed by John Landis with Macaulay Culkin, premiered in 69 countries on November 14, 1991. Q magazine ranked the song 84th best of all time in 2003.
