Janet Jackson at the 2004 Super Bowl

In 2001, Janet Jackson was on top of the pop music world. Her blockbuster album All For You had just made her the first artist in the history of music to produce five consecutive number one albums in a row, her singles were making millions of people happy, and a mere live television performance on HBO brought in 12 million viewers alone.

And then? A “wardrobe malfunction” saw Janet blacklisted from nearly every avenue that had once championed her.



In this episode of Discography, Marc With a C continues his trek though all of Janet’s canonical albums taking on All For You and the slept-on Damita Jo, while making an unfortunate, but necessary, detour away from the music and into tabloid territory. “Nipplegate”, as the Superbowl incident has come to be known, casts a long shadow that very much impacts everything that came afterward. Fortunately funkmeister and Jacksons expert Chris LeBrane is along for the ride to add some sugar to this sour note in Janet’s legacy.

What did her albums sound like after the world stopped paying attention to Janet’s every move? That’s journey begins now, and it’s gonna get weird.