ontologicalummah

Definitely it's made revisit albums like Damita Jo, 20 Y0, Discipline that I didn't care for at the time.

I think overall the new album rejuvenated my interest in her entire discography and sort of rediscover my love. But pretty soon it's going to wear off and the thirst for the new project will begin. 

I don't mean to slander MJ. I have a lot of love for him(literally on my knees praying for him before the verdict) but now that I'm an adult I look back on things a little differently. I mean in his statements and music/videos he's embraced his blackness even when he was visibly lighter and I give him credit for that. 

I just don't get the whole marrying Debbie Rowe for kids thing. Apparently he wanted kids with Lisa Marie but she didn't and i feel for him. I think there's is an issue tho when you're prepared to lie and pass off a child with the blondest of hair as your own(I know a lot of mixed kids can be white as snow and even have blonde hair but the likelihood of having 2 children with no black features is not that high) that's sort of the issue for me. If you're going to adopt kids, adopt them. But why wouldn't you adopt black children if you don't want biological kids? 

The kids have to defend him in death because of his decisions which is unfair and the family probably can't let them know the truth without being assholes. 

(sorry for the derailment of this thread lol)

Michael has always been conflicting to me. Because he has songs like They Don't Care About Us, the Panther segment of Black or White, Remember the Time, etc that are very obviously pro-black but on the other hand he tried to pass off two white children as his biological children. Like I used to be one of those fans that said those were his kids but it's clear that Prince & Paris aren't his(he's still their father because he raised them). Like that's deeper than self-hate to me tbh. Like I know he has statements of being a proud black man and he couldn't control his vitiligo(yes he bleached his skin to even it out) but still contradictory..

I think Janet is a proud black woman and I sort of wish she wouldn't have shared that video and included the #ALLIVESMATTER. Janet's intention isn't the same as white racists trying to derail but now she's grouped with people like Stacy Dash and Wendy Williams.

Also someone needs to tell Prince that he's white and honestly his opinions are irrelevant.  I don't care who your father is.

I think it might be a slight possibility. I also feel like the more she delays it the more dated the RN tour becomes. I think she was also singing live more during the RN tour and the vocals aren't really perfect at a lot of points so maybe the perfectionist side of her doesn't want that out for mass consumption. 

You can say now it's an issue of profit but she could've released it in the early 00's when she was still close to her peak of her commercial career. I think she's an artist that doesn't like to look back too often which as a fan of MJ who really didn't change much in terms of choreography and tour setup for almost 20 years I appreciated.

You realize African refugees were drowning too and the refugee crisis involves black refugees? Also BLM is used in the context of America

Janet singing "every life matters" in a song that references Palestinian oppression by the Zionist entity isn't the same as racist whites and JT saying #ALLLIVESMATTER to take the focus off of black pain and suffering. Janet will never sit down for an interview but I'm sure her saying that wasn't a diss to #BLM and if it was Janet is also of class where she doesn't experience the worst effects of structural racism against black people in America.

Janet also sang "because of my race I've heard no too many times. Because of my gender I've heard no too many... African-American woman I stand tall with pride." She also chose Chuck D for that song who was known for his politics with Public Enemy and is today's equivalent of Kendrick. Her lyrics about us all being the same is the truth. Yes there's one human race but that doesn't mean that structural racism doesn't exist and that work needs to be done to address it. You can't end the conversation with that, you need to work to build a world wear the color of man or woman's skin doesn't determine things like their life expectancy, imprisonment, etc

I don't respect obama for various reasons (drone strikes that kill civilians, record number of deportations etc.

Janet hasn't spoken out about #BLM directly but she's supported black causes and spoke about race. The black struggle predates #BLM and JT wasn't speaking out against racism before or after. Don't pretend that Janet & JT are on the same level when it comes to social activism. 

He should've listened to the speech and digested instead he took the bait and is rightfully being dragged. 

He reduced Jesse's speech to "we're all one race" which it wasn't about lol. Yes, we're all technically one but the message of Jesse's speech was for oppressed people(specifically black) to continue fighting and he also had a small bit about people wanting to consume and market black culture without caring about our lack of freedom even in 2016. Unless I'm unaware of JT's activist work, he hasn't actively supported BLM or used his platform to speak out against injustice so he's apart of the problem.

JT should've just kept it cute and ignored the person that rightfully called him out. Now he's retreating as the victim and displaying classic white fragility when he chose to go on the offense. 

I think Janet's over JT, she was more hurt by the public and the government/corporations trying to bury her. But I don't blame people for getting in JT's ass. I think music is universal but he does make R&B/soul/urban music and he stands on the shoulder of a lot of a genre created and pioneered by black people. He makes good music but his race has effected his marketability.

The issue isn't two women kissing but her reposting images of her VMA performances where she kissed Britney in the midst of this tragedy to me seems like self-promotion. Instead of elevating the victims it again becomes about her and her stunts.

Also the pictures she posted of the two black men kissing might be from porn? (Don't quote me on that)

If Janet posted an old picture of her kissing a woman with #loveislove when she's not explicitly apart of that community I would side eye her too. 

Pretty sure that Emirates videos was pre-scheduled before this tragedy happened as well as most of the social media for the past month and a half. The only time we're sure she's actually talking to us without her team is when she makes those videos in bed. 

I would rather Janet stay silent then post crap like this. At least she's not using this tragedy for her own self-promotion. 

Y'all make me sick with these reductive conversations about agency clouded in your own orientalism/racism. Agency is about having the right to display your body and/or cover it up, the key thing is choice. We don't know whether this is a natural progression for Janet, religious choice, etc but we need to respect it and if you can't then move on and find another artist. 

Janet before anything is an artist and that comes before selling sex/being a sex symbol. Did we expect Prince to still sell us sex and wear revealing outfits in his 50? No we allowed him to mature as an artist. 

Janet's body belongs to her and if she's done sharing it with the world, big deal. That doesn't mean she's repressed and judging from the tour and other things she seems as sensual as ever.

My favorite part is the "She cries I just want my baby back" and the gulp of air she takes. It makes the song for me. 

It's a song I could definitely see on Rhythm Nation in the Lonely-Come Back to Me-Someday is Tonight section.

Also I would love for her to make a folk album.

I didn't mean to suggest that her life is over at 50 but I don't see Janet investing the capital(yes she has the money) into making the short films and artistic videos like she did in the past.  Not to say she won't give us something in the next 10-15 years but I don't really expect it. She doesn't have the drive of Janet. era/RN Janet and that's understandable because she's content in life and not trying to prove anything. Plus she's not on a major record label so she's investing in herself. A tour is a good investment, the music video era is over and I don't think any video Janet makes currently will increase her sales or make the difference between a smash single or flop. TBH beyond Beyonce(not including Janet) and a couple of other artists the music video is completely irrelevant.

I would love to see an interpretation of songs like "Black Eagle" or the Great Forever but who knows. From everything I've seen, I think Janet loves music/her fans but it's not her #1 priority and I don't blame her for it not being tbh. 

I mean do y'all really expect her to give you visuals and dance music in her 50s and 60s. Like what more can you learn about her in an interview? I've only seen 1 or 2 interviews in the past 15 years that were actually insightful and didn't ask her the same boring questions. 

If Janet became just an album artist with the occasional tour that would be good enough for me. Hell, I would take the album(s) if touring wasn't feasible. I'm just not seeing how her not promoting the album beyond social media is a demonstrative of her not being passionate about her craft. She has nothing to prove and the way she's been unbothered this era is refreshing and it seems she's finally putting herself and her private life first.

Yeah a fantasy of mines for a long time even before MJ passed away was them performing it together. I think it would have been perfect after the molestation trial or in London if This Is It ever happened. 

They were both at the VMAs  in 1995 when MJ did the medley and sampled Janet's interludes but I guess that was more MJ's moment. Also I don't get the whole loving Janet but dissing her brother thing when she obviously was ride or die for her brother. 

Janet's barely given interviews these past 8 years what makes them think she's going to become a public advocate? She's a very private person and you won't hear Janet talk about this unless she's trying to sell a book in a few years.

I don't believe they are all broke but just looking at how Jermaine lives, some definitely live above their means. There's evidence of them owing child support and not fulfilling their obligations, also it's clear from Janet's divorce settlement that she at times has supported her family members.

And yes they still make money from their Motown years and even the Epic/Jackson years but in the former they didn't write any of those songs and probably don't own their masters. I'm not saying money is the primary reason why the family is dysfunctional but I think it's obvious that it plays a role. Not to mention the industry is very self-centered by nature and basically the whole family with few exceptions are in the industry( a crumbling industry). 

I think in large families the dynamics tend to be messy and when you add fame and wealth into it just gets messier. Her brothers entered famein their early to late teens and were already globetrotting so I doubt they've all spent many years together as a family(most of them with the exception of maybe Latoya & Michael married soon as they could). I think at the end of the day they love each other but the relationships aren't as strong because of the family being so large, age differences, and the declining revenue & fame of most of the family.

Also MJ left his estate to his kids and only provides for Katherine while she's alive so I think there's going to be tension over that in the near future. 

The ending of Night does recall "Sexy Dancer" and maybe Prince could make a case but I don't think it's a direct sample.

I used to be a little more jaded with Beyonce, lol

Plus the way she executed the On the Run tour and the VMA vanguard performance within the same year made me skeptical. But yeah I guess that type of stunt doesn't really help her brand. 

So I guess Solange and Jay in the elevator wasn't a publicity stunt?

This is better than the self-titled tbh. Glad to see she's involving and I love the collaborations(with the exception of the Weeknd)

She's really the only artist right now that makes music an event (Adele sort of does that when she releases an album but it's not the same as Beyonce, plus Bey is an overally entertainer) 

I think it's way too early to be making assumptions that Prince was a drug addict. The flu is nothing to mess around with especially with Prince not really taking any time to rest and could have easily become pneumonia. It could have been a drug overdose but that doesn't mean he was an addict. 

I think comparisons to MJ are sort of moot. Prince wasn't doing shows because his fiances were messed up and Prince was pure musician and Prince didn't have to dance until he was 50 he could sellout shows with him just at a piano which were what his last shows were. Coincidentally Prince holds the record for the number of 02 shows(Michael would've broken it if he ever managed to pull off the 50 shows) and he's probably the only black artist alive able to command such an audience not only in America but internationally as well. 

Prince had the mystique that I admire he never was in your face for projects and I think he cared more about his craft than commercial success seeing as he could've changed things up to get some hits in the late 90's and 00's. He never seemed desperate(sorry if I associate Madonna with that).

I honestly don't care. I fell in love with Janet not because she was a Christian, Muslim, Jew, etc. I'm only concerned about her religion if she starts spouting hate or harms someone. 

We don't 100% know anything until we hear it from "her lips"(lol). I think she is but again that's more my opinion based on being Muslim and seeing this era unfold. And yeah whether it's a cultural or religious thing it doesn't erase the fact that she was born and raised in a Western country, I don't think marriage to someone of a different race/religion/etc erases your identity(also her husband was educated in the West and we shouldn't ignore that). 

Prince is the one artist that I will acknowledge is better than my faves even if I don't stan for him as hard(still a big fan but it's a little harder to follow when you have 30+ albums and tbh his commercial peak was in the early 90s) 

He's like Stevie Wonder where he can make an album playing 10 different instruments and write, arrange the music. 

I think the only people happy about his demise are Warner Brothers but I think Prince was very protective of his music while alive so I"m sure he has a good executor. 

Muslims do use the word "God". Also Muslims don't believe that their "god" is a different one from Jewish and Christian beliefs btw.