Backtracking is our recurring look back at the pop music that shaped our lives. Friends may come and go, but we’ll be spinning our favorite albums forever.
“We had the kind of night where morning comes too soon…” So goes the seductive spoken intro that launched Janet Jackson’s fifth album, janet. — that’s a little j with an emphatic period — released on May 18, 1993. Following the social consciousness of her previous blockbuster, 1989’s Rhythm Nation 1814, Jackson returned with a fresh sound and look, and free-spirited confidence. The new music was everything from pure pop to candles-in-the-bedroom grooves, balancing the sweet, the erotic and the playful.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the album that launched nine singles, Idolator spoke to Jimmy Jam, one-half of Jackson’s legendary production team, Jam and [Terry] Lewis. Looking back on the recording today, Jam feels the muse is obvious.
“Janet was in love. My partner [Lewis] was with someone who he was very much in love with at the time, and I was with someone I was very much in love with,” Jam says. “Love was in the air… when we did Rhythm Nation, everybody called it the ‘What’s Going On’ album, and then they called janet. the ‘Let’s Get It On’ album.” More »
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