Janet Ms. Jackson’s Slow Jams

Written By Kensedeobong Okosun

I have stated elsewhere that I am a ballad junkie. I love my music nice, slow and easy, there is no need to hurry. And while Janet Ms. Jackson is prominent for her dance music catalogue, her ballads remain underrated and overlooked. These are suitable accompaniments to weddings, romantic outings and the copulation process.

The goal of this post is to highlight her brilliance in this aspect of R&B. There is no doubt that her work relationship with Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam enabled the harnessing of her full potentials and brought to fore her musical diversity. Her soft, sultry and sensual voice is the perfect conduit for romantic songs and it works everytime as you will discover in the playlist below.

  1. “Love And My Best Friend” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr8M5Ml8fec‍ ‍Janet Jackson (1982).

  2. “Forever Yours” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5riG9nbZzmU‍ ‍Janet Jackson (1982).

  3. “Let’s Wait Awhile” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cZ7IOApdfg‍ ‍Control (1986).

  4. “Funny How Time Flies (When You’re Having Fun)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2tyZjh-eD0‍ ‍Control (1986).

  5. “Lonely” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a61puhhuhEs‍ ‍Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989).

  6. “Come Back To Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo4r0o0Fo1M ‍Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989).

  7. “Someday Is Tonight” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHoP9UACqaQ‍ ‍Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989).

  8. “Again” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV94VttYZyE‍ ‍janet. (1993).

  9. “Where Are You Now” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lIev-ZxL9A janet. (1993).

  10. “The Body That Loves You” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BefbQM3IMV0‍ ‍janet. (1993).

  11. “Any Time, Any Place” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KcIAmqkXOU‍ ‍janet. (1993).

  12. “Every Time” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42NUqFE4qV0Velvet Rope (1997).

  13. “Anything” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0eZ6vYqa6g‍ ‍Velvet Rope (1997).

Kensedeobong Okosun

Kensedeobong Okosun is a music enthusiast, music researcher, music journalist with expertise in music selection & planning, vocalist and an author. Her academic article “Sisterhood and Soul Music as expressions of Black Power” is featured in the edited volume, Black Power in Hemispheric Perspective (Raussert & Steinitz, eds, 2022). She has reviewed Dorothea Gail’s Weird American Music for the Forum for Interamerican Research (fiar, 2019). Her work has appeared on Nigeria’s Sun News Online and The Nigerian Observer.

Kensedeobong’s blog highlights music’s interconnectivity with society and comprises personal music experiences, researched information, concept playlists for multiple themes, etc.

A hard-core 90s R&B fan, she utilises the vehicle of memory, to position long forgotten music of yesteryears on the front-burner.

She is persuaded that music is a core conduit of collective harmony, equanimity, vitality and healing. And as such requires criticality in the filtration process, in order to disseminate meaning. Her blog promotes music equality and diversity.

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Janet Ms. Jackson On The Loop