You can call her Janet or “Ms. Jackson if you’re nasty!”
Whatever you want to call her, just know she recently dropped her ninth album titled “20 Y.O.”
This album marks the 20th anniversary of Jackson’s career-making album “Control,” which was released in 1986.
At the age of 40, Janet is trying to give R&B songstresses a run for their money vocally and physically.
Most of her fans have seen her half-naked body gracing almost every magazine imaginable. She is currently on this month’s Vibe magazine.
The album contains 11 satisfactory tracks and 5 interludes.
Jackson reunited with her original production team, legendary hit-makers Jimmy “Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis and her Grammy-Award winning beau Jermaine Dupree.
Janet trusted J.D. with the direction of this album, hoping he would strike gold as he did with Usher and Mariah Carey’s most recent albums.
All I have to say about this album is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t try to fix it.”
On this album, Janet has gone a little too far with trying to fix her style and sound. It seems as though Janet has succumbed to the pressure of keeping up with the current trends of pop music.
She has taken a lot of unnecessary risks, such as having guest appearances by artists such as Florida’s own Khia and St. Louis representative Nelly.
Luckily, they are the only two guests on the L.P. Janet has never needed guests to have a hot track. Her voice is alluring enough to stand on its own, and when other artists appear on the track with her, they ruin the vibe.
“Call On Me,” Janet’s first single, which features Nelly, recently became Janet’s 13th Top 10 single on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Song chart.
“So Excited,” a J.D. track, features Khia. It is Janet’s second single off her album. This is definitely a dance track.
Many Virgin Records executives claim that this song is not that good, and it’s hard for radio stations to put the song on their playlist.
I was thrown off by this collaboration, but I was extremely happy that Khia did not ruin the track with provocative lyrics.
“Enjoy,” track 12, has an airy feel and is reminiscent of the springtime.
Janet really brought it back to her roots on this song. She was not perpetrating as she does in some of her other songs on this album. This track is very mellow, and the children singing at the end of the song added a cute touch.
“Show Me” is a very interesting piece. She sounds a bit like Kelis on her choruses and reminds you of Gwen Stefani at the closing. Once you get past that, the song is all right.
“Take Care” is a great slow-jam for all the lovers.
The bonus track, “Roll Withchu,” is the hottest song on the album. I do not say that I love too many songs, but I definitely love this one. The beat has Dupree written all over it.
Virgin Records should make this the third single for Jackson. If you felt that Janet dropped the ball and only does dance tracks, then this track will reassure you that she has still got it.
Janet did not work to the best of her abilities on this album. I think she is capable of doing so much more.
But the album is not entirely frisbee material. It is worth purchasing, even if only for a few songs.
Janet fans will probably enjoy the album and should definitely purchase it.
The album has not been getting the publicity it deserves because of Janet allegedly being blacklisted from certain music video channels, stemming from her actions during 2004’s NFL Super Bowl Half-Time Show.
It’s very disturbing to hear that a legend such as Janet is being labeled an outcast because of her actions in the past.
Janet has been consistent with albums and pleasing fans worldwide for more than 20 years, so I cannot be mad at her for that.
Grade: B