Tenses used when talking about someone in the past.
When we talk about Michael Jackson,should we say "he had a good reputation,he was the most popular in the world" or " he has a good reputation,he is the most popular in the world"?.

Question

Answer

Past tense would be more appropriate, here, since he has already passed away.
He had a good reputation. He was the most popular [artist, musician] in the world.

Unless he still is the most popular in the world, then you might use 'He is still the most popular [artist, musician] in the world."