Get Ur Freak On
05/20/2004
By Billy Johnson Jr
When Janet Jackson is interviewed on television, her sweet and innocent disposition makes an impression. She's soft-spoken, polite, and even shy. But she's hardly bashful when it comes to expressing her views about sex--just listen to any of her post-Control albums or attend one of her sexually charged concerts.
On her latest album, Damita Jo, Janet's devoted two entire songs to the subject of oral sex: "Warmth" is about a woman pleasing a man, and "Moist" is its sister track for the ladies. Only radio stations wanting heavy FCC fines would dare broadcast either of these instructional cuts, which appear on the album sequenced back-to-back.
While singing so openly about such personal topics is nothing new for Janet, her insistence to push the envelope, content-wise, is intriguing, especially in light of her nipple-baring Super Bowl "wardrobe malfunction." Following that controversy, she told Dianne Sawyer that she had been advised to remove some of the more risqué songs from Damita Jo, but Janet resisted, explaining that she was unwilling to tone down her image or lyrics.
When LAUNCH's Billy Johnson Jr. recently sat down to interview Janet in a conference room in a swank Beverly Hills hotel at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night, he figured, what better time to find out what has motivated Michael Jackson's little sister to make such freaky records?
Ironically, Janet was more comfortable talking about sex than she was discussing why she doesn't cook for her boyfriend, producer Jermaine Dupri. But sex wasn't the only topic discussed: Janet also explained why her 1986 breakthrough album Control was so significant, why she considers her longtime producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to be father figures, and in what ways would she like to be more like her mother.
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LAUNCH: I'd like to start the interview by asking you about one of my favorite songs on the album. Can you explain the song "Warmth"?
JANET: Oh, you like that song? [looks puzzled]
LAUNCH: No...Don't take it the wrong way. I like the melody and the music. But it's just that that song is pretty risqué. I mean, I'm by myself, driving in my car listening to the song, and it still makes me blush!
JANET: You are supposed to listen to it with your wife, Billy. Not alone. I'm sorry [laughs]. I didn't mean to embarrass you.
LAUNCH: Which came first, "Warmth" or "Moist"?
JANET: "Moist" was actually written first. And then "Warmth."
LAUNCH: How did you feel about singing about oral sex?
JANET: I mean, obviously, I don't mind it. I've done it for a while. Well, not about oral sex, but I've talked about sex a great deal in my music for a great while now. I feel very comfortable with it. It's funny that you say, where did the motivation come from? But obviously, I mean, it's pretty evident [laughs] where the motivation came from!
LAUNCH: It was good to have the topic covered for both a male and a female.
JANET: Well, I'm glad you like it. I personally like the song. And I think it is a good song. And I think just the lyrical content just adds a little more to it. And I think the music calls for it, as well.
LAUNCH: Did growing up in the public eye make it easier to speak so openly about sex?
JANET: It wasn't difficult for me. But I think it was difficult for the public to get comfortable. I remember years ago, not just one journalist, but a few, when I came out with the Janet album and there was "If" on the album and other songs, they thought, "What message are you sending the kids? What about 'Let's Wait A While'?" And I told one of the journalists--I think I was 25 at the time--"How long do you really want me to wait? You know, I'm growing up. I am an adult now." And I've always felt comfortable with it. But I think it's been kind of a little difficult at times for the audience, because they've told me that they see me as a family member. So to see your little sister sing about sex...and then, others don't mind it at all. They love it. And you know, they'll say, "We've had several children to your music." So I think they are pretty used to it from me by now.
LAUNCH: An artist must be able to have the freedom of self-expression. How do you deal with that?
JANET: With their perception of me? Uh, has it ever bothered me? No. I mean, a lot of times people do see me as sweet and innocent. And not to say that I am not those things. [laughs] I am just joking. But I have other sides to me. Like, it shocks people when I say this: I have a pretty bad temper. But you have to really push me to see it, and then it will come out. But everybody has their things. Another side to me is this very sexual being. And when I look back on my life, it's always been there unknowingly. It's been there since I was pretty young, at 10 years old, having the imagination that I had, not really knowing that that's really what it was. But looking back on it, I'm realizing that that was a pretty sexual imagination for a kid.
LAUNCH: Was it important for people to understand there were other sides to you? Like, how is "Janet" different from "Damita Jo"?
JANET: There's really not that much of a difference. For the most part, they are the same. There are a few differences. Uh, I don't want to get into it, Billy. [laughs]. But there are a few differences. But for the most part they really are the same. I mean, she lives within me. "People have asked me, 'What message are you sending to kids? What about "Let's Wait A While"?' But really, how long do you want me to wait? I'm an adult now."
LAUNCH: You have a song on your album called "Thinkin' About My Ex." In this song, you're telling this new guy that you want a no-strings-attached relationship with him because you are still getting over your ex. Is that a song that you relate to personally?
JANET: Have I ever thought about an ex in that way? But I didn't want strings attached? Uh, in total honesty, no. It's really weird you bring this up, because it's recently happened to me, and it was a shocker. I was really, really happy to hear from him. I'm not going to mention who it is. Because I hadn't spoken to him in a while, it kind of caught me off-guard. It actually caught me off-guard that he still had feelings. And it was tough for me. But I had to be honest, you know. I still have love in my heart for him, and I think about him. But not in that way.
LAUNCH: In your liner notes, you refer to your producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis as your "two dads." What are some of their paternal qualities? JANET: As my dads? I am their little girl. There are times when, whether it's an issue or a problem, or just when I need some sort of feedback or when I need a shoulder to lean on, or someone to truly talk to...I mean, I do have friends and I do have family, but there are times when I only want to talk to Jimmy, or I only want to talk to Terry. And the feedback that I get, the conversations that we have, I'm always learning. And that's important to me. I think that's one of the things that has made our relationship so wonderful. I mean, aside from the love, there are no egos involved. And the caring is there. They've always been there for me, and I truly do feel like their little girl. I mean, I feel safe and loved. And just so much patience they have with me--if it was anybody else I know, I'd probably drive them crazy. But you know, they have a special love, and I do feel it in their heart for me. As I do for them.
LAUNCH: You first linked up with Jimmy and Terry for your Control album. This was a very significant album for you. You had been on television and had performed as a singer, but the Control album established you as a bona fide music icon. What was the plan, when you first hooked up with them?
JANET: I wanted to talk about my life. There is so much. I was 18 when I actually made the record, and I had a lot to say. Jimmy picked me up from the airport, he took me around Minneapolis, and we just talked and talked and talked. And so I said, "So this is how we are going to do the record?" He goes, "Yeah." And that was fine with me. Because there was a lot that I did have to say. A lot of times--and I've said this before--a lot of times I felt so alone. But I also thought there has to be other people, other young people in the world, that have experienced either what I have or, or close to it. And just to say, you know, "You will get through it. I did. It's OK. You are not alone." And for them to have someone to relate to and hopefully enjoy the music and get a positive message out of it. Just to make the best music that we possibly could. Those were really the goals.
LAUNCH: Was the song "Control" about what was going on in your life at that time?
JANET: With the albums that I had done before that, it was all about what everyone else wanted me to do. It was the Control album that was really about what I wanted to do. And Jimmy and Terry, as producers, helped me to convey that. Put that on tape or CD or vinyl. That's what producers are for, one of the reasons why they are there. And that's what I think makes them so incredible at what they do. Because with each artist, it's different, and they capture that. I've never been into what am I going to do next, trying to reinvent myself. I've always written about what goes on in my life from that point on. I mean, there is a lot that I haven't said that I actually could say. And I hope people would find it interesting. I know a lot of people could relate to it.
LAUNCH: Before you released your last album, All For You, you had gone through a divorce. And there was a bit of angst on that album, especially the song "Son Of A Gun." I know that you said that that song was not about your ex-husband, but people interpreted it in different ways. This Damita Jo album is a lot happier. Were you happier during the process with this record?
JANET: Yeah, definitely. And I think from that album to this, you can tell someone who doesn't have love in their life, then someone who is in love--that is the way that it sounds to me. And really, it's the way that that is. That it was. And that it is. And I think that's one of the differences that you probably hear on this record.
LAUNCH: Is there any one song on this album that best expresses how you feel at this time of your life?
JANET: All of them. Except for "Thinkin' About My Ex"! [laughs]. All of them, really. I just thought "Thinkin' About My Ex" was a beautiful song when it was brought to me. I thought about changing it lyrically, but I love the lyrics. It's part of the beauty of the song. So I thought, "You know what? Don't tamper with this. Just sing it and figure out something so that people won't think that you are talking about them, or someone else." And all those songs reflect all the people that live within me. Not all--some of the people. Some of the characters that live within me. That's what Damita Jo is really about: sharing those characters with the public.
LAUNCH: Your music covers so many genres, from pop to rock to R&B. To me, Damita Jo has more R&B overtones that some of your most recent albums. Was that intentional?
JANET: That's a part of me going back to what I used to do. Like, people say, "What can we expect from this album"" And I always tell them, "A little of the old me. A part of the new me. And also, a part of me that wasn't that long ago." So I think it has different feels. The more R&B stuff reminds me of the very young me, and some of the stuff that I've done is more a little bit forward, a little bit more of what's going on today. What the kids are into today.
LAUNCH: I think it's cool that your boyfriend, Jermaine Dupri, plays your love interest in your "I Want You" video. Since you guys are really a couple, were you hesitant to feature him in the video?
JANET: No. I mean, everyone knows. It's not a secret. I wasn't hesitant at all. I didn't know if he'd do it or not. It wasn't my idea. It was David Meyers's, the director's.
LAUNCH: In an article in Ebony magazine, it talked about LaToya teasing you because you don't cook for Jermaine. Is this true? And if so, have you cooked for him yet?
JANET: No. Big sisters and brothers...I am telling you, it never changes. I am the baby in the family, and I always will be. I am actually very happy to have that position. But I still get teased. I don't mind that either. But when your big sister is sitting at the table and your family is meeting your boyfriend for the first time, and she is saying, "Oh, has Jan cooked for you? She started cooking when she was 7 years old." And this and that. And I am just thinking, "Oh God, why did she have to tell?" Because he didn't know any of that. I didn't want him to know any of that, because I don't want him to. I knew I shouldn't have mentioned this in the interview, because I knew people would start asking me, "Well, why won't you cook for him?" I didn't even want to get into it. But to answer your question, yes, I do cook. And no, I haven't [cooked for Jermaine]. And I am just going to leave it at that.
LAUNCH: I've read that you really admire you mother's strength. How so?
JANET: My mother is very strong. Aside from wanting her beauty and her heart, I really wanted her strength. And I've always thought I don't have it. I don't have it. But I'm realizing that I really do, just in recent times. I really do have her strength. And I'm proud of that. Very proud of that.
LAUNCH: How do you want to be remembered?
JANET: As someone who feels that they were put on this earth to help others. Not just do their music, but I love working with organizations. I love giving. And I want to do more of that. You got to give back. You got to give back. I love helping people, especially children.
