Vibe.com, August 7th, 2006
Janet Jackson (see slideshow) recognizes the power of the flesh. She has deflated Nipplegate, taken control of her curves, and found a love like no other. Craig Seymour discovers the secret of how Miss Jackson made 40 the new 20.
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Was there life before the Jacksons? This family—headed by a stern father and a devout Jehovah’s Witness mother—has been entertaining us for nearly four decades. First, with the five brothers. Then, with glitter-gloved supernova Michael. And lastly—and most unexpectedly—with the baby of the bunch, Janet. We’ve listened to the youngest Jackson grow up before our ears. The story of her life plays out through song: taking Control in 1986, developing a social consciousness with Rhythm Nation 1814 three years later, and exploring her freaky side on 1993’s Janet. She struggled with depression on 1997’s The Velvet Rope, celebrated her life as a young soon-to-be divorcée on 2001’s All for You (her secret marriage to René Elizondo Jr. officially ended in 2003), and delved into the different sides of her personality with 2004’s Damita Jo.
In the process she’s sold 50 million albums worldwide and become an American icon. And yet, through her accomplishments and influence (where would Britney Spears and Ciara be without her?) came hardships: the yo-yoing weight, which recently had her at a high of 180 pounds; the rumor that she secretly gave birth to a child (“That’s just someone trying to get attention,” she says); the family troubles, including Michael’s 2005 child-molestation trial; and the public uproar that followed her (intentional? accidental?) boob-baring Super Bowl performance in 2004. Despite the involvement of large corporations and a certain white boy pop star, the brunt of the Super Bowl backlash fell upon the brown-skinned girl from Gary, Ind.—a turn of events that was so sad because it was so predictable.
But enough about that. Janet, who turned 40 earlier this year, is on another page. She’s excited about her forthcoming album, 20 Years Old—named for the two-decade anniversary of her breakthrough, Control. And she’s giddy over her true love, 33-year-old superproducer Jermaine “JD” Dupri. He and her longtime musical soul mates, Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis, oversaw the production of the new LP, which is a refreshing return to old-school Janet, the one who worked herself into an electro-frenzy in “The Pleasure Principle” and brought herself to tears, singing she’d never fall in love “Again.” The centerpiece is the sweet groove-ballad “With U.” Janet describes it as “like ‘Let’s Wait Awhile,’” while JD says it’s “the song the girl sings before she fucks the guy.”
As she cozies into the seat of a Gulfstream G3 private jet en route from Miami to New York, 37,000 feet up, nothing seems to matter. Janet’s busy unloading some of her most private thoughts while she floats on cloud nine.
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