janet jackson
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE
Source: Gilbert Flores / Getty
Janet Jackson seems to be fully down the rabbit hole of misinformation. During a recent interview, the music icon said she heard that Vice President Kamala Harris is not Black, and fans on social media are not happy about her apparent naivete.
To be clear, Kamala Harris has an Indian mother and Black, by way of Jamaica, father. So that makes her both Black and Indian—so, both. She has identified as Black her entire life, and even attended HBCU Howard University. So anyone entertaining the notion that she somehow is not really Black is either misinformed or operating in bad faith.
As for Jackson, in an interview that was published on Saturday (Sept. 21), she told the Guardian. “Well, you know what they supposedly said? She’s not Black. That’s what I heard. That she’s Indian.”
But when the writer told her that Harris was Black and Indian, she essentially doubled down on the ignorance, saying, “I mean, I haven’t watched the news in a few days. I was told that they discovered her father was white.”
For the record, Harris is 59 years old, meaning her daddy has been a known Black man for at least that long.
To add to the struggle, Jackson allegedly issued an apology on Sunday (Sept. 22) to Buzzfeed. However, her reps have since noted that the guy who provided that quote, Mo Elmasri, isn’t her manager as he claimed—so that mea culpa was not authorized. Also, Mr. Elmasri is now claiming he was fired by Jackson and Randy Jackson, with many pointing out that the latter has been known to believe conspiracy theories with his whole chest.
Man alive. Also, come on Randy.
Peep the reactions to Janet Jackson’s failure of the simplest of research in the gallery. Yes, Janet Jackson is icon, but she’s still going to catch this slander.
1. Cold world.
7. It’s real if they call her Damita
Happy birthday, Janet Jackson! The icon turned 57 years old on Tuesday (May 16), and we’re celebrating by looking back at some of her biggest Billboard hits. While Jackson has an impressive 47 songs that have made the all-genre Hot 100 songs chart, the pop star also has 27 top 10 hits and 10 No. […]
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Shannon Finney / Getty
Janet Jackson received a lovely surprise from Busta Rhymes in the form of flowers and a heartfelt tribute during her New York concert.
On Tuesday night (May 9), the superstar was performing on her Together Again tour before the sold-out crowd at Madison Square Garden. As the opening notes of “What’s It Gonna Be?” began to play, the “Gimme Some More” rapper stepped onto the stage to perform the hit track from his Extinction Level Event album released in 1999.
The moment was even more special as Busta began a moving speech to Jackson while someone delivered a bouquet of flowers he brought for her. “I don’t want to disrupt the programming too much, but I brought some gifts for you, queen,” he said. “We’re going to give you your flowers. I’m going to give you your bouquet while you can smell them.”
He shared the story of how they got to collaborate with each other. “In 1998 … I’m on the Belt Parkway going from Long Island to Manhattan,” he said. “I’m listening to Janet Jackson do an interview … Angie Martinez asked her, ‘What rapper have you never worked with before that you would like to work with?’ She said, Busta Rhymes. Excuse my language,” he added, “but I almost crashed my fucking car.”
“What’s It Gonna Be” would earn a Grammy nomination and Busta told the crowd that it was “the most expensive hip-hop video ever made.” (The cost of the video, directed by Hype Williams, is estimated at $2 million.) “You finally made a dream come true for me, queen,” he told Jackson. “I waited 25 years to be able to share this stage with you and perform this song. And I am so grateful that I’m fighting tears of joy right now. I just want you to know that I love you so much.”
Busta Rhymes also had a cake brought onstage by a stagehand and directed the crowd to shout “Happy Birthday” to the singer, who turns 57 next week. He also paid homage to her as a mother. “This is one of the most beautiful, most gorgeous, one of the most incredible souls as a mother walking the face of the earth,” he told the exuberant audience. “Please make some noise in advance for the beautiful Janet Jackson for Mother’s Day.”
The Atlanta Hawks are still alive in the NBA Playoffs, and that will force fans planning to attend Janet Jackson’s concert in the city this week to wait a day to see the music star.
The Hawks rallied to beat the Boston Celtics 119-117 in Game 5 of their playoff matchup on Tuesday night, sending the series back to Atlanta for Game 6.
It means that State Farm Arena was double-booked for Thursday night. The casualty was Jackson’s concert, Live Nation said in a statement following the the team’s victory.
The concert was moved to Friday, and all tickets for Thursday’s show will be honored for Friday night. Refunds will be available at the point of purchase for those who are unable to change their plans.
State Farm Arena’s Twitter account posted this message late Tuesday: “SHOW UPDATE: Due to tonight’s @ATLHawks Game 5 win, we will host Game 6 on Thursday, moving Thursday’s Janet Jackson concert to Friday. If you have tickets to the original show date, they will be honored for Friday’s date.”
Doors for Jackson’s show Friday will open at 6:30 p.m. and the concert will begin at 7:45 p.m.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Shareif Ziyadat / Getty
During a recent podcast appearance, legendary producer Jermaine Dupri opened up a little about his relationship with Janet Jackson, which lasted from 2002 to 2009, according to Complex.
Apparently, Dupri’s reluctance to produce for Janet caused issues in their dating life, which is wild because, of all the win-wins in the world, being able to date Janet Jackson and say you’re responsible for some of her music has to be among the win-winningest.
But during the episode of the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, Dupri was asked how he was able to “pull” Jackson, which, frankly, a lot of people were asking throughout their relationship.
From Complex:
It was suggested that he got her in the studio to produce music, but he clarified that he didn’t want her to think he had some sort of agenda.
“It wasn’t about no music sh*t,” he explained. “I was just on some like hang out. I wasn’t on no music sh*t, though. I never wanted to produce her. We got in an argument about me not producing her because she was around me watching everybody else get hit records. I never wanted her to think that’s what my agenda was. ’Cause so many people was saying that… When Janet met me she got picked up from the airport in a [Bentley] Continental T. … It wasn’t never no situation where I wanted her to believe that I was trying to do this.”
Dupri admitted that he didn’t really know how to talk about the situation with her, and said he didn’t want to “be the person to mess it up.” At the time Janet Jackson was working with the likes of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, so ultimately Dupri believed that she didn’t even need him to work on great records to begin with. “You don’t need me, but in her eyes… It didn’t sound right,” he said. It caused “a little bit” of a rift throughout their relationship.
OK, I get Dupri wanting to make it clear that he wasn’t trying to finesse a studio session into a courtship with the Queen of Pop. But if you’re already in the relationship men all over the world are bound to be envious of—and Janet is clearly more offended by you not producing for her than any “agenda” one might perceive—I’m just saying, maybe the “Welcome to Atlanta” producer was trying to be a little to chivalrous for his own good.
Anyway, Dupri ultimately did end up putting in a lot of work on Jackson’s 2006 album 20 Y.O., but the relationship was still a wrap a few years later. So obviously, his initial refusal to produce for her wasn’t the only issue. It’s still weird that he allowed that to be an issue at all.
I mean, it’s Janet Jackson.
An outpouring of R&B film projects are coming soon, thanks to A&E and Lifetime.
A+E Networks has greenlit Janet Jackson’s new documentary chronicling her upcoming Together Again tour, alongside a TLC doc and a Keyshia Cole biopic starring the R&B singer herself.
Titled Janet Jackson: Family First, the doc is a continuation of the legendary singer’s wildly successful 2022 documentary, which brought in 21 million viewers to the networks, according to the press release, and will be executive produced by Jackson herself and her brother Randy Jackson.
“I was touched by the love and support from the wonderful fans who enjoyed the documentary last year,” Janet said in a press release. “I am excited to continue to share my story and welcome fans into my life and the ‘Together Again’ tour. Thank you for your never-ending support, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter.”
Janet Jackson: Family First will also give an inside look at the reunion of the Jackson family band for their first performance together in 40 years. “In this next chapter in the documentary, Janet and I are thrilled to welcome viewers on the road with us as we embark on the ‘Together Again’ tour, celebrating the milestone of 50 years of Janet’s career with fans across the country,” Randy said in the release. Directed by Ben Hirsch, the documentary is currently being filmed, with no release date shared yet.
Janet’s Live Nation-produced tour kicks off April 14 in Hollywood, Florida, with rapper Ludacris as opener for all 33 dates. Other stops include Atlanta, Memphis, Nashville, New York, Atlantic City, Milwaukee, Dallas, Los Angeles and Portland, Ore., before coming to a close June 21 in Seattle. The tour will be a celebration of Janet’s 50 years as an entertainer, featuring songs from some of her most critically acclaimed albums, including 1993’s janet and 1997’s The Velvet Rope.
The Cole biopic, titled Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story, will feature the Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter playing herself. In addition to making her acting debut, Cole is also serving as executive producer of the film. Keyshia Cole: This Is My Story is set to air Saturday, June 24, at 8 p.m. ET as part of Lifetime’s celebration of Black Music Month.
Also in June, Lifetime and A&E will simulcast TLC Forever, a new two-hour documentary telling the story of Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes and Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas, who comprised the best-selling American girl group of all time, according to the RIAA. In 2002, Lopes died at age 30 in a car accident during a trip to Honduras. Directed by Matthew Kay and executive-produced by Academy Award-winning director Roger Ross Williams, TLC Forever will cover the celebratory moments as well as the darkness, controversy and tragedy throughout TLC’s unprecedented run.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Jacopo Raule / Getty
If you watched the 2023 Grammys, you probably know that Lil Wayne was honored with the Global Impact Award. What most people likely don’t know is that the award was reportedly going to none other than pop legend Janet Jackson, until things got too deep when Jantet’s people demanded CBS atone for villainizing her after the infamous Super Bowl XXXVIII half-time show incident with Justin Timberlake.
Actually, TMZ Sports noted that it’s unclear whether both Wayne and Jackson were supposed to receive the award or if Wayne got it once things went south with the “Control” singer. But what is clear is that since the half-time show where Jackson’s breast was exposed due to a wardrobe malfunction was broadcast by CBS, and CBS disinvited Janet to that year’s Grammys ceremony because of it, the network was going to need to make things right before Ms. Jackson (if you’re nasty) just lets bygones be bygones and graces the stage this year. Obviously, none of the above ended up happening.
From TMZ Sports:
Sources connected to The Grammys tell us … the Grammys wanted to bestow Janet with a Global Impact Award, but there was a snag. Recording Academy honchos wanted Janet to attend a pre-Grammy event with the Black Music Collective days before the main event to accept the award, but her schedule wouldn’t allow it. From there, we’re told discussions pivoted to a way Janet could receive the honor during the actual broadcast, but that presented another problem … CBS never made amends with Janet for making her persona non grata after the wardrobe malfunction
It was Super Bowl XXXVIII, broadcast on CBS, when Justin Timberlake ripped Janet’s top, revealing her breast. The network received a ton of flack over the incident, and CBS CEO Les Moonves pulled Janet’s invite to the Grammys that year. Our sources say Janet’s team and Grammy organizers began talking about ways CBS could either apologize or figure out a way to acknowledge how she was treated by the network, but things just got too complicated and talks ended.Honestly, Janet Jackson and her team should be commended for sticking to their guns and not allowing CBS or the Grammys to be blessed with her presence without first acknowledging the harm they caused. It just sounds like Janet chose herself over some janky award stage that didn’t want her when it wasn’t convenient. And that was the right choice.–
Photo: Getty
-
Pages