What does Mama-se mama-sa ma-ma-kos-sa mean in Michael Jackson's song?

Answer 1

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The song ends with a chorus repeatedly singing "Mama-se, mama-sa, ma-ma-coo-sa". The chant is a riff on one first used by Cameroonian saxophonist Manu Dibango, who broke into the American market in 1973 with his classic "Soul Makossa". "'Soul Makossa' was a big hit, in Africa, in Europe, and in America, where it came to be seen as one of the first disco records," says Kelefa Sanneh of The New Yorker magazine. Sanneh adds that, "[Dibango] named his song after the makossa, a Cameroonian dance, but he stretched the word out, [and] played with it [so that it sounded like]: 'Ma-mako, ma-ma-ssa, mako-makossa'."[1]

Often because of it being spoken fast, many people mistake it for such lines as: "I'm singing a song of Microsoft", "imm-a sing-a song that Michael sung" or "Gonna stay by my side of the mountainside"

Jackson's version of the Dibango chant has since been sampled and incorporated into other songs, including an interpretation by Rihanna on her 2007 single, "Don't Stop the Music", and the hook was also sampled in D12 and Obie Trice's song "Doe Rae Me".[citation needed] Charles Hamilton makes a reference to the chant in his song, "Brooklyn Girls".[citation needed]

Answer 2

The phrase is originally from the song "Soul Makossa", a single featured on "Hymne De La 8e Coupe D'Afrique Des Nations", celebrating the Cameroon National Football Team's accession to the quarterfinals of the of the Africa Cup of Nationals Football Tournament, as well as Cameroon's hosting the games for the first time.

The phrase Jackson got it from was originally "Mama ko mama sa maka makossa", which is

Cebuano for "Mama mama makossa", or "Mother Makossa".

To clarifiy, Makossa is a noted Cameroonian popular urban musical style that uses strong electric bass rhythms and prominent brass that was popular between the 1950's and 1980s.

To put it shortly, the phrase is basically a praise to that genre of music.

References:

Wikipedia: "Soul Makossa"

Wikipedia: "Makossa"