Sunday 22 November 2009

The Rebirth of Janet: Don't Stop Till You Get Enough



It took Janet to bring me out of blogging retirement, God bless you Ms Damita Jo. But I had to, just HAD TO give props to the woman who I’ve admired since I was a greasy faced teen trying to learn the entire dance routine to ‘What Have You Done for me Lately’ in my Ma’s bedroom. 

Back in the 80’s Janet was unstoppable. Ladies, who didn’t want to be as sassy and badass as Janet in the Pleasure Principle video? Remember that banging fringed weave? The casual cool of her black slacks and denim jacket get up? The rude girl choreography? One word: fiyah! And what about the effortless execution of the intricate military moves in the iconic Rhythm Nation video?There’s no denying that Janet was the shiznit, although she didn’t receive the respect and kudos that the likes of Madonna and Whiney did. But then the unthinkable happened. Janet fell off. It happened somewhere after the Velvet Rope when her musical output nosedived in quality and became a sea of banal, uninspired, corniness. By the time the Superbowl ‘nipple-gate’ incident occurred I had sworn off Janet completely. The woman who I once held in such high regard had in my eyes transformed into a desperate, attention-seeking has-been, who was doing her hardest to try and stay relevant Ooooh the shame of it!

In a tragic twist, it would be the death of her big bro Michael that would bring her back to form (or at least in my eyes anyway). To be honest, when I heard that Janet had a new tune out I couldn’t have been less interested. But the opening bars of ‘Make Me’ stopped me dead…Wait a minute, this sounds like throwback Janet. Like hot gyal Janet. Like ‘do you know who my brother was’ Janet. Yay, what a result. The video premiered today and I’ve played it around 5 times already. Admittedly there could’ve had a bit more choreography for me to copy, but I know I'm just being greedy. Great to have you back JJ!

Sidenote: And how much do I love that little ode to MJ "Don't stop it baby, don't stop till you get enough"? Awww, RIP Michael. 



1 comment:

Ondo Lady said...

I LOVE that song. Nothing like a good dose of playback to make you appreciate a great artist like Janet Jackson. Others just don't compare.

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