Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope (33 1/3 (148))

From 1986 onwards, the trajectory of Janet Jackson's career can be summed up in her journey for control. Not just in her desire to regulate the economic and creative aspects of her career but, rather, the desire to control and be in control over her bodily integrity as a Black woman in an industry that hangs heavily on the sexualization of Black women's bodies. This took root in her seminal album Control and continued through her socio-political undertones of Rhythm Nation 1814, but her third album, janet most successfully documented elements of control. The sexual liberation that was breathlessly moaned on the singles, "That's the Way Love Goes," "If," and "Anytime, Anyplace," was shocking for fans, critics, and audiences alike. And while that album served as a critical touchstone in Janet's career, all of the above were weaved with the thread of reconciliation and trauma into her fourth album, The Velvet Rope. Dozier's book examines Velvet Rope, the promotion, the tour, and its accompanying music videos to suggest that it demonstrates the power of healing through a strictly Black feminist poetics.

Author: Ayanna Dozier

Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Publication Date: September 03, 2020

Number of Pages: 160 pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 1501355023

ISBN-13: 9781501355028