BOOK REVIEW
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Before diving into The Velvet Rope by Ayanna Dozier, I had no prior knowledge of Bloomsbury’s 33 1/3 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. Not understanding the concept of the series stood in the way of me being able to
appreciate the book from the very beginning. Had I known more about the series, I would have been better prepared for the book’s content. I struggled with the the first 35 pages of the book. However, I hung in there and it got better.
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Dozier is clearly passionate about Janet Jackson’s album The Velvet Rope. The album had a great impact on her life which can be felt throughout the book. I was able to appreciate the extensive research that was put into this project. Dozier took the reader deep into Janet’s world. I found her analysis of the album’s lyrics impressive. For instance when discussing the song 𝑬𝒎𝒑𝒕𝒚, she goes into detail about internet culture. When she discuss the song 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕, Dozier dabbles into the topic of physical abuse in relationships.
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I like that she incorporates quotes from Janet Jackson’s book titled 𝙏𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙪. She discussed everything from body image, and sex, to domestic violence and depression.
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However, I got the feeling if Janet was to ever read this book, she would think the author over analyzed it all.
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I must admit, I found it difficult to connect with the author’s writing style. It didn’t appeal to me. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒕 𝑹𝒐𝒑𝒆 read like a college thesis. Minimally entertaining. And for the reason I give the book 3/5⭐️.
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I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book. Thank you Bloomsbury Academic Publishing for allowing me access to this digital copy via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

As ever with these monographs, there are a multitude of approaches that range from entirely personal to the wholly academic. The 33 1/3 series is even more tricky in some ways because music, even where constrained by an album, is that little bit harder to write about - not that there aren't stacks of music journalism out there attempting to do that. So this take on Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope is an interesting one as she is lucky to be unearthing an album that was seen at the time to be a slight critical misstep, and commercially slightly less successful (it would be wrong to say it was a flop in any way). Ayanna Dozier was a kid when the Velvet Rope came out, her mother bought it and its transgressive sexuality and conversations on abuse and depression made it a strange fit in her house's record collection - and also therefore became her absolute favourite. The monograph flies when we get a window into this world, the personal touch really works here, though it is clear that due to her own personal attachment she is very keep on making as reasoned and evidenced an argument for it being good on its own terms rather than just her subjective experience.

Writing about Janet Jackson in 2020, but about a 1997 album comes with baggage. Writing about any Jackson comes with family baggage, not just Michael but our knowledge about how Joe Jackson was a patriarch and some of that legacy. Wisely Dozier parks Michael right at the beginning - not least because as an artist Janet has always been compared to him, often in a belittling and derogatory sense. Also we are seven years before her effective cancellation by MTV and US radio after the Superbowl incident, it has no real bearing on The Velvet Rope (beyond underlining some of the misogyny and hypocrisy that was embedded in the media). There is a terrific moment where Dozier talks about how freeing the early days on the internet were (there is a dial-up modem interlude on the album), and for me recalling what the media and world of 1997 was was difficult, history to her, memories for me. All of which to say thematically, personally and musically this does a great job of picking apart the Velvet Rope and making it feel like a masterpiece.

Is it a masterpiece? That's an interesting question - I hadn't heard it beyond most of the singles (I wasn't doing pop in the mid nineties much). I listened to it before I read the book. I liked it so much I listen to it quite a few times, and then listened to it while reading, and the arguments are persuasive. This is an album that surprises, plays with genre but with a central superstar sounding vulnerable and unsure. I'd like to think if I had just listened to it without knowing I was going to read the book I would have a similar response, but the book definately allowed me to wallow in it, enjoy some behind the scenes takes and some subtext that I probably wouldn't have otherwise delved into. A good read on its own, it manages to unfold the album and make a case for it at the same time - along with enough personal history to illustrate yet again how music, and an album, can really affect someones life.

[Netgalley ARC]

I won't be reviewing this one.. But thank you for the opportunity.
I won't be reviewing this one.. But thank you for the opportunity.

I have fond memories of listening to Janet's music on my Walkman as a child. Seeing the journey and process of what went into creating this album of hers was so nostalgic. An amazing read or present for a fan of her music!

I have ALWAYS loved Janet Jackson my entire life since I was a little girl. Being able to actually read this and get to know the journey is such a treat. Any fan of Janet or even just a fan of the rise to fame will absolutely love this.

Thank you netgalley for this amazing treat!!

Velvet Rope is an underappreciated album in Jackson's catalogue and I'm glad it received the 33 1/3rd treatment. It's hard to follow two certified smashes like 1989's Rhythm Nation and 1993's Janet. with ANYTHING, let alone an album with this subject matter. I remember being pretty underwhelmed by VR myself in 1997 (with the exception of "Together Again". Still holds up!) but this book gave me a better sense of the personal and professional struggles Jackson went through while making it.

Dozier dares to challenge those who oppose Janet, shining an otherworldly light on her innovation, genius, and soul. Using a blend of black feminist theory, publicly available interviews with Janet and parsing the album and music videos, Dozier paints a vivid picture of the singer's emotional state; her velvet rope. In the text, Dozier provides readers with a magnified insight into how Janet drew from everything from the blues to Ghanian symbols to afros to rock and in turn influenced the next generation of artists going forward. Janet was a pioneer, there's no denying it. What gave her that power was rejecting the notion of black respectability and using sex to illustrate not only her emancipation, but the roots of her soul. Dozier doesn't outright make this point but I'm pretty sure she alludes to it; Janet is a living representation of black emancipation in one of the more true senses—her emotions, searing and blazing red, are worn on her afro, she won't make herself in anyone else's image but her own.

Dozier does a fantastic job of pleading Janet's case, of loving Janet for who she is. However, some analyses feel a little far-fetched, ahem, LMP, I can appreciate them though. I'm also a little lost as to why no connection was drawn between the X in Free Xone and Malcolm X; it's so obvious! Another point I would have appreciated Dozier's insight on is how the dial-up tone and disconnection function as synthesised call and response. Dial-up sucked back then too; running with the image of basing a relationship on a frought connection that was bound to fail could have been fun.

This is personal taste, but also why I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5. Due to the academic lens this book adapts, the lack of emotion inherent to that writing style smacks you in the face. I found myself on the verge of tears time and time again reading about Janet's struggles, especially ones I could intensely relate to, but I lost my momentum when it came down to tonally dissonant analysis that read like Wikipedia in comparison. You could sense Dozier's soul in her anecdotes, but that's it. I'm not saying I wanted Dozier to turn this into a autobiographical account—as Janet has shown, you can withhold as much or as little as you want—I just wanted more vulnerable and lyrical prose. It fits the subject matter much better, for starters.

I'm excited to follow Dozier's work regardless, I just hope she infuses more of herself into her prose.

This book gave me a new insight into what Janet Jackson was going through when she created “The Velvet Rope”. There was a lot of suffering and emotional turmoil for Janet while making this album. But, by making it out of that dark time and pouring her soul into her art, she was able to create “The Velvet Rope”.

Dozier does a great job of interspersing Black feminist concepts with discussion of the creative process behind the album. After creating janet., Jackson moved on from her former image as a cleaner cut pop star to a more erotic image. Dozier explores the context around how black women have historically been sexualized in very specific ways by society. Venture out of that bubble, and society immediately tries to box you back in. This is seen most starkly in the comparison of male vs female reviewers of the album. Men saw the album as boring and thought Janet manufactured her pain to sell records; many women were similar but the only reviewers who understood the point were women. We still have a long way to go as a society, but we can help get there by learning from books like this one.

I recommend this book.

This was such a unique concept for a book! It’s all about how Janet’s iconic album influenced culture and the author herself. Very entertaining read as a Janet fan, and I look forward to more books in this series.

In 'Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope', Ayanna Dozier gives not only insight into the album, but what it has meant to her throughout her life. This book, of course, tells the story of Janet Jackson's seminal 1997 album, 'The Velvet Rope', which chronicles, as the author puts it, "her journey to self-actualization". I had already listened to the album beforehand, and I had liked it, but I had no special connection to it. However, this book has given me a newfound appreciation for it. While there were some minor problems I had with this, there wasn't much I took issue with.

First of all, I liked Dozier's writing style. While it isn't extremely distinctive, it keeps the reader's attention and makes them want to keep reading. There would be times where I would have to go do something, and I would curse myself for having a life because I wanted to keep reading it. I don't care all that much about Janet Jackson, but this book made me for the few hours I was reading it, and now I understand her a lot more than before.

This book was more than I was expecting it to be, which at times was positive and negative. On the positive side, I gained a lot of insight into the context of the album going in, which I really appreciated, and I also gained a lot of perspective about Janet's life. There were also sections where Dozier would talk about her own life, both concerning her experiences with the album and how this album had changed her mindset as a young woman. These were some of my favorite parts of the book, and they were a pleasant reprieve from the slightly more dense sections discussing the album itself (although I also really enjoyed those sections too). The only slight issue I had with this at times was that the author would spend a little too much time on subjects that didn't really relate to much else. However, she would eventually find a way to tie them back into the album.

Relating to the subject of Dozier's personal life and her connection to the album, I loved the sections where she would discuss this in greater detail. As a white man, I won't be able to see this album through the lens of a Black woman, especially through the lens of the time this was released. Hearing what this album did for Black culture, as well as our culture in general, really put this album into a much better perspective.

I also appreciated the clear dedication the author has to this subject. It's obvious, not just in the way she tells us how much this album means to her, but also in the way she talks about the album. She's very learned on the subject, and it's clear she has put a lot of thought and time into this album and book. It's also very clear how passionate she is, and it bleeds through the page.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is wanting to buy it when it comes out (September 3). I would give the advice of listening to the album first (and watching at least some of the music videos) so that you have a better idea of the music going in. Even if you're in the same boat as me and you don't love the album, I think you'll find that this book will give you a lot to think about in relation to 'The Velvet Rope'. I would give it a 7.5/10, but I'm bumping it to an 8/10 on the Goodreads scale.

TW: Discussion of sexual actions and content (the sexual content already being part of the album, videos, and tours), some language (although it's not everywhere in the book)