A Lack of Discipline
Janet Jackson’s own words tell a subtle but deeper story of her music
When Janet Jackson released Discipline in 2008, she was three albums, and four years out from the hiccup at a football game. Leslie Moonves, the then-head of CBS, has blackballed her on all CBS properties including MTV, radio, and more. Moonves was mad when Janet landed a deal at Simon & Schuster to publish her book, True You. Simon is a CBS property (now under the heading of Paramount Global). And Moonves was clueless about the book’s existence until it was released.
Moonves pushed on with his life, eventually enduring the scandal of sexual impropriety and the ever-developing retrospective white supremacy of his actions (despite his Asian wife, Julie Chen Moonves).
Janet also pushed forward with her life and career. Damita Jo was still in process of being worked on during early 2004 and was released later that year. It also mostly went unnoticed that Jackson exposed her nipple on the album’s cover photo; a near middle finger to anyone who accused her of a purposeful stunt months earlier with Justin Timberlake.
Two years later, 20 Y.O. came out, a time Janet described recently as “a tough period” in her life. The album was much hyped to be a flashback to Control yet little of Control’s brilliance, and actually borrowed from a couple of sound effects — albeit brief ones — from Rhythm Nation 1814.
In 2008, Janet released Discipline, a mere eighteen months after 20 Y.O. The album would prove to be her only effort for Island Records, a company she bounced to after the commercial failure of 20 Y.O. and Damita Jo’s blacklisting. Island Records refused to promote the record the way Janet thought was best, nor would they even release the singles she wanted. She was on the label only fourteen months, and then requested to be let out of her contract; a request to which Island happily complied. It was confirmed that the label stopped all promotions on the album.
Fast forward to 2022. Janet Jackson is on the cover of the latest Essence magazine. In the chat in a London airport lounge, with son Eissa nearby, Janet is asked to randomly pull her albums from a bag, not knowing what she’ll pull or in what order. She’s asked to give her first impressions of the album. She notes “Innocence” when pulling Control. She said she was “someone happy and ready to move on,” when she pulled All For You; an album released not long after her divorce from long time collaborator and husband Rene Elizondo. It was a marriage no one knew about or could confirm (despite LaToya’s insistence) until the divorce papers were filed.
When Janet pulled Discipline, she called the album “a hot mess.” While the scrunch of her nose was a visual queue for her humorous tone, she continued. “…but truly, what really comes to mind when I look at that is Jermaine.” Her longtime boyfriend Jermaine Dupri produced the first half (and arguably the worst part) of 20 Y.O., producing nine of its eighteen tracks (including two bonus cuts). It soon became evident that anyone working with Dupri could get “20 Y.O.’d” by subsequently having a terrible record.
Discipline had as many tracks produced by Dupri as well. Famed produced Darkchild — aka Rodney Jerkins — produced the rest of the album. It was also the first (and so far, only) album to not have any input by her go-to production team, and friends, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. And it showed.
The album was a hot mess. Songs like “Rock With U,” and “Feedback” were instant dance classic. “Luv” was also a serviced to urban radios and got good reviews from critics. However, tracks like “The 1,” which featured rap superstar and mogul Missy Elliott, the title track, and “Rollercoaster” are harsher examples of the hot mess factor. The songs come across as clangy, unfinished, and frankly — undisciplined. It feels like a teenager with GarageBand could’ve produced something better.
Even Janet’s usual penchant for segues fell flat, with her having heart-to-heart chats with her home smart device, named Kyoko. Watch out Alexa, Siri, Bixby, and whateverthehell Microsoft’s device is called.
As Janet fans, we feel compelled to love her music. And most times, it’s quite easy to oblige. But dare I say, there has been a collective struggle to fully embrace Discipline as we would have otherwise. It’s almost a relief to hear Janet describe her album as “a hot mess.” And not directly, but sideways point to Jermaine Dupri as the reason for it. Partly because of the production, partly due to the relationship between the two of them, which would soon end.
Among many elements that Janet Jackson fans exhibit, the second biggest is being genuine. (It’s no coincidence her book was called True You.) We know she is genuine with us, and we return the honor. A simple statement as the one about Discipline isn’t really a jab at anything or anyone. It’s taking personal stock, something we should all do on the daily.
Just not while listening to Discipline.
Oh, and the first element that Janet Jackson fans exhibit? Love.
Ernest Sewell was born & raised in Oklahoma. After living across the U.S. in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Minneapolis, he’s settled in upstate New York for the past twenty years. He’s authored and published two books and is currently working on a new horror novel due in 2020. He shares his home with a friend, three cats, and his vinyl collection, all of whom have the same level of love from him. When he’s not causing an uproar on Prince forums or social media, he enjoys reads (a lot), trying new recipes, and prank calling people.
“Don’t take yourself too seriously. No one else does.”
