"Rhythm Nation" Proves Janet Jackson is a Pop Music Icon

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of this pop and R&B game-changer.

I’ll just come out and say it—Janet Jackson doesn’t get the respect she deserves.

I don’t mean that casual fans and pop or R&B die-hards call her overrated or average. A quick scroll through a social media search or music blog comment section will show you she’s routinely touted as a great-to-exceptional singer and dancer. But, with a genre-defining album like Rhythm Nation (full title: Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814) to her name, how are we not talking about Janet Jackson as one of music’s greatest, most distinctive superstars?

Madonna, Britney, Mariah, Taylor, Beyoncé—all worthy candidates for that title and brilliant performers in their own right. But where’s the collective love for Janet?

She’s sold over 100 million records and, between her solo output and participation in Jackson family recordings, built a career that’s endured for more than 40 years. It’s not like she’s a has-been, either. Her 2023 Together Again tour grossed $51 million, a personal best for her and a figure that sounds surprising even though it shouldn’t. At a time when tours are routinely getting truncated or canceled outright due to low ticket sales, Janet Jackson is enjoying the opposite outcome.

Is it the lingering effect of the Super Bowl debacle that unjustly cratered her reputation when she was still at or close to her peak? Was it the inescapable shadow of her brother Michael, especially after she publicly came to his defense in the wake of horrifying abuse allegations? Was it garden variety sexism and racism that is as predictable as it is unforgivable? Whatever the case, albums like Rhythm Nation are an important reminder of her virtuosic talent.

Before diving headlong into specific highlights, of which there are many, I want to acknowledge the overarching artistry behind this record. It’s a sociopolitical concept album that tackles massive issues like discrimination, poverty, substance abuse, and other forces preventing the human race from coming together as one. Even with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the same duo she worked with on her 1986 breakout, Control, in tow, she fought A&M execs every step of the way creatively.

“We felt like we had… not a responsibility to say something, but growing up in the ’60s, whether it was the Vietnam War or whatever, it seemed like there was always someone commenting on it,” Jam told Billboard in 2019. “And that was a good thing. Why not use the powers we have as songwriters to bring some of those messages across? Rap music was doing it in a very strong way.”

By and large, Rhythm Nation’s lyrics remain terrifyingly relevant. The details may have changed (swap out references to the Reagan-era crack epidemic for the ongoing opioid crisis and see for yourself), but the substance of what Jackson, Jam, and Lewis had to stay still lands emotionally. “The fact that the lyrics remain relevant is a bit of a disappointment actually,” Jam added. “It means we haven’t moved too far away from the prejudice, ignorance, hate and racial bias [… but] I still believe the power of music is the healing force for all things. It transcends language, race, age, and unites all the commonalities that we have.”

The anthemic title track and the accompanying music video epitomize that ideal. Its harsh industrial setting, black-and-white photography, and unisex uniforms instantly transport you to a world where race and gender are afterthoughts. The fast-paced, incredibly precise choreography, conceived by a then-unknown Anthony Thomas, set the standard for gritty, futuristic pop dance routines from that point on. Then there are the lyrics, which come across less as cloying and more as a much-needed pep talk. When Jackson makes proclamations like, "Things are getting worse, we have to make them better/It's time to give a damn, let's work together,” you know they’re not requests. Nor is the implied invitation to sing along with that arena-ready chorus.

“Rhythm Nation” is also one of several tracks on this album that helped push New Jack Swing full into the mainstream. The subgenre wasn’t quite hip-hop but didn’t qualify as straight-up R&B, either. Generally relying on samples and drum machines like the SP-1200 and Roland’s TR-808, it became a breakout vehicle for artists like Keith Sweat, Bobby Brown, Teddy Riley, and many others. “New Jack Swing is a technology of music, which is putting rap and singing together,” explained Riley. “[It’s] taking different music and fusing them all together.” It’s one of those styles that’s somewhat difficult to describe, but once you’re sucked into its orbit, you know it when you hear it.

If Sweat had the subgenre’s first certified hit (1987’s “I Want Her”) and Brown had the first chart-topping album of the same ilk (1988’s Don’t Be Cruel), you could argue that Jackson was responsible for putting both halves together and helped New Jack Swing hit its peak. Beyond the title track, Jackson scored the subgenre’s first blockbuster single with “Miss You Much,” a hit that stayed at No. 1 on the Hot 100 for four weeks. Its close relatives, including “Alright,” which peaked at No. 4, “The Knowledge,” and “State of the World,” are all terrific examples of why New Jack Swing has stuck around for so long. It’s deeply funky, tailored-made for nightclub and wedding dancefloors, without sacrificing its soulfulness or emotional punch.

The biggest risk on Rhythm Nation is undoubtedly “Black Cat,” the hard-rock hybrid that, according to Jackson, can be traced back to her love of Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, and Motley Crue. It may not be as frenetically memorable as the riff or solo from “Beat It,” but this track is an excellent summation of the hair metal crossover sound that, by the end of the 80s, was beginning its decline in popularity. Crucially, “Black Cat” was mixed by Michael Wagener, a heavy metal veteran who’s worked with acts like Metallica, Megadeath, and Ozzy Osbourne. You can hear traces of the latter in the final single, with its soaring main riff and beefy rhythm guitar. If you didn’t know it was a Janet Jackson song and only heard the opening 10 or 20 seconds, how easy would it be to mistake this for a Whitesnake or Living Color track?

“Black Cat” may also be her most influential track to date. Artists such as Rihanna, Selena, and Alanis Morisette were inspired by the song’s hard rock-pop hybrid to branch out of their strictly pop comfort zones and expand their stylistic palettes to varying degrees. It’s the kind of undeniable influence that’s etched in music’s history books, too. After receiving a Grammy nod for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for “Black Cat,” Jackson became just the second woman (alongside Donna Summer) to garner nominations across five genres: pop, dance, rock, rap, and R&B.

With that in mind, let’s end with two more enduring pop cuts from Rhythm Nation that exemplify Jackson’s legendary status. First, there’s “Escapade,” the most pop-oriented item on the tracklist and, if I had to pick, the song that serves as the most direct sequel to Control. The thick New Jack Swing groove is there, but the central melody is lighter and more innocent-sounding than most of the album’s material. The lyrics are as cute as they are straightforward, reminiscent of “When I Think of You” or even “Let’s Wait Awhile.” The song’s carefree nature (”So don't hold back/Just have a good time/We'll make the rules up/As we go along”) feels like it comes out of nowhere as the LP hits its home stretch, but it’s also a welcome breath-catcher after weightier subject matter. As far as sturdy pop construction goes, “Escapade” is a marvel of engineering.

“Love Will Never Do (Without You)” belongs in the same category. It’s been emulated countless times since its initial release that it’s easy to forget that it was the seventh (!) and final Rhythm Nation single, eventually becoming Jackson’s fifth song to top the Hot 100. It’s also a track that paves the way for much of the pop, R&B, and New Jack Swing music that saturated the mainstream marketplace during the first half of the 90s. The music video, one of the most aesthetically pleasing of its time, served as a deft bit of foreshadowing for 1993’s Janet, another standout record.

Amid all that praise, perhaps “Love Will Never Do (Without You)” is best absorbed as a showcase for positive, uniting energy. With so many pop songs centered around infidelity, breakups, and emotional tumult, here’s a song about the power of staying together. It won’t be perfect or even pretty some days, but it’s a far better road to go down than any of the alternatives. Some people will dismiss that as naive, but you need only look at the glut of reminders in the news cycle to get a general idea of how far cynicism has brought us. It’s a quality that’s well-suited for diagnosing problems but rarely for solving them.

Rhythm Nation points to a mentality that could help us course-correct, both in our individual communities and around the world. When someone as famous as Janet Jackson accomplishes that feat, you’re no longer talking about pop music. You’re talking about art of the highest order.

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What’s your favorite track off Rhythm Nation? Where does Janet Jackson rank on the list of pop greats? Let your voice be heard in the comments.