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[FlowerBomb]

In September 1993, Janet Jackson appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone for the second time. She had released Janet. several months earlier, an album that was already a smash success and a provocative exploration of female pleasure and unbridled sexuality. The LP's cover showed a tight close-up of her face, calm and mysterious with her hands resting atop her curls. On the back was a shot of her bare stomach and unbuttoned jeans.



The pair of images were already an alluring tease of the album's themes, but she saved the full-length portrait, taken by Patrick Demarchelier, for the September RS cover. There, she would be seen in the same sepia tone but with the revelation that the only thing she wore between her Mona Lisa smile and loose jeans was her then-husband Rene Elizondo's hands over her breasts.


By the early Nineties, there was no question that Janet Jackson was up there with Madonna, Prince and her brother Michael as one of pop's true giants. However, her conservative image and an older, even more successful sibling made it tough for her to achieve her true due as an artist ? to the world, she was still the Jackson family baby who catapulted to the top only because of a famous last name.


With Janet., she was determined to separate herself. Establishing herself as a mononym, she tackled sexual intimacy with an empowered stance reflective of her Control and Rhythm Nation eras, which asserted her independence and social-justice leanings, respectively. This time around, she wanted to express herself as a woman who felt incredibly comfortable in her own skin and aimed to do so with the poetic justice the topic deserved.


The process of shock and awe at young female sexuality is cyclical: think of the moments when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera kissed Madonna at the 2003 VMAs; or when Miley Cyrus twerked on Robin Thicke at the show 10 years later; or when Beyonc? sang the line "he Monica Lewinski'd all on my gown" later that same year. Before Jackson, there were few female pop stars who risked alienating their family-friendly fanbases by singing or performing in a way that reflected their personal evolution.


When female artists publicly assert their intimate sexual desires, the culture tends to respond with equal parts controversy and praise. The Britneys, Mileys and Beyonc?s of the world were met with as much respect as they were arguments over respectability politics, though approach and career timing factored in heavily to the responses. Jackson, surprisingly, was met with mostly support. Her biggest detractors were wary of her actual creative control and involvement in the writing process. Her false image as a "producer-dependent artist," as Greg Kot wrote in The Chicago Tribune during this era, might have played into her being snubbed in the three major Grammy categories ? Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year ? the following year.


Since, artists like Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Beyonc?, Solange, SZA, Janelle Mon?e and Rihanna have not only cited Jackson's work as integral to their own careers but have also embodied the power, intimacy and assertiveness of Janet. when exploring similar subjects in their own material. Some of the finest, most nuanced explorations of female sexuality have come from the aforementioned artists: Beyonc? detailing marital intimacy in the wake of having children on her self-titled album and the healing process following infidelity on Lemonade, while Mon?e and SZA included themes and select lyrics, respectively, dealing with queer experiences on their latest releases.


"She was one of the first female pop icons that I could relate to," Rihanna told Times Online of Jackson in 2009. Her coming-of-age process in the spotlight has seen her use sex as both provocation and power on songs like "S&M" and "Kiss It Better."

"She was so vibrant," Rihanna continued. "She had so much energy. She still has power."

It can't be a mere coincidence how much more openly sexual the female rap stars of the late Nineties became as well. Lil Kim and Missy Elliott were not only embodying bravado their male peers could get away with but were doing so with the confidence in ownership that Jackson exuded and demanded. It was the dawn of a new era where sex and sexuality could move to the center of the pop-music conversation.

This fucking PRAISE

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-janet-jacksons-janet-explored-black-female-sexuality-w520451

[BAPHOMET.]

In September 1993, Janet Jackson appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone for the second time. She had released Janet. several months earlier, an album that was already a smash success and a provocative exploration of female pleasure and unbridled sexuality. The LP's cover showed a tight close-up of her face, calm and mysterious with her hands resting atop her curls. On the back was a shot of her bare stomach and unbuttoned jeans.



The pair of images were already an alluring tease of the album's themes, but she saved the full-length portrait, taken by Patrick Demarchelier, for the September RS cover. There, she would be seen in the same sepia tone but with the revelation that the only thing she wore between her Mona Lisa smile and loose jeans was her then-husband Rene Elizondo's hands over her breasts.


By the early Nineties, there was no question that Janet Jackson was up there with Madonna, Prince and her brother Michael as one of pop's true giants. However, her conservative image and an older, even more successful sibling made it tough for her to achieve her true due as an artist ? to the world, she was still the Jackson family baby who catapulted to the top only because of a famous last name.


With Janet., she was determined to separate herself. Establishing herself as a mononym, she tackled sexual intimacy with an empowered stance reflective of her Control and Rhythm Nation eras, which asserted her independence and social-justice leanings, respectively. This time around, she wanted to express herself as a woman who felt incredibly comfortable in her own skin and aimed to do so with the poetic justice the topic deserved.


The process of shock and awe at young female sexuality is cyclical: think of the moments when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera kissed Madonna at the 2003 VMAs; or when Miley Cyrus twerked on Robin Thicke at the show 10 years later; or when Beyonc? sang the line "he Monica Lewinski'd all on my gown" later that same year. Before Jackson, there were few female pop stars who risked alienating their family-friendly fanbases by singing or performing in a way that reflected their personal evolution.


When female artists publicly assert their intimate sexual desires, the culture tends to respond with equal parts controversy and praise. The Britneys, Mileys and Beyonc?s of the world were met with as much respect as they were arguments over respectability politics, though approach and career timing factored in heavily to the responses. Jackson, surprisingly, was met with mostly support. Her biggest detractors were wary of her actual creative control and involvement in the writing process. Her false image as a "producer-dependent artist," as Greg Kot wrote in The Chicago Tribune during this era, might have played into her being snubbed in the three major Grammy categories ? Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year ? the following year.


Since, artists like Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Beyonc?, Solange, SZA, Janelle Mon?e and Rihanna have not only cited Jackson's work as integral to their own careers but have also embodied the power, intimacy and assertiveness of Janet. when exploring similar subjects in their own material. Some of the finest, most nuanced explorations of female sexuality have come from the aforementioned artists: Beyonc? detailing marital intimacy in the wake of having children on her self-titled album and the healing process following infidelity on Lemonade, while Mon?e and SZA included themes and select lyrics, respectively, dealing with queer experiences on their latest releases.


"She was one of the first female pop icons that I could relate to," Rihanna told Times Online of Jackson in 2009. Her coming-of-age process in the spotlight has seen her use sex as both provocation and power on songs like "S&M" and "Kiss It Better."

"She was so vibrant," Rihanna continued. "She had so much energy. She still has power."

It can't be a mere coincidence how much more openly sexual the female rap stars of the late Nineties became as well. Lil Kim and Missy Elliott were not only embodying bravado their male peers could get away with but were doing so with the confidence in ownership that Jackson exuded and demanded. It was the dawn of a new era where sex and sexuality could move to the center of the pop-music conversation.

This fucking PRAISE

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-janet-jacksons-janet-explored-black-female-sexuality-w520451

F

[Lazarus]

 

[FlowerBomb]

Not Rolling Stones finally getting in, she FINALLY may get her HOF next year

[Sovereign.]

The album is really a moment in time and no time.

[Nine]

Not Rolling Stones finally getting in, she FINALLY may get her HOF next year

n

[Nine]

Lovely album

[GRAND ETERNAL SUPREME]

Not Rolling Stones finally getting in, she FINALLY may get her HOF next year

b