Janet Jackson is “Unbreakable”

Seven years! Seven could be the lucky number of JJ’s fans because it’s also taken her seven years to release a new album. Her latest album “Unbreakable” is her eleventh studio album. The 19-track album has only two features from Missy Elliot and J Cole.

"Unbreakable” is about love, a celebration of love, change and reflection.

The opening track on the album is an R&B song called ‘Unbreakable’. This song celebrates love and is the perfect opener for the project because even though Miss Jackson has been away, her fans have remained true to her.

Her collaboration with Missy Elliot on ‘BURNITUP’ takes me back in time to the time she featured Elliot on ‘Son of a gun’. Their new song is an up-tempo; get this party started kind of jam. Jackson features rapper J.Cole on the remix of her album debut single ‘No Sleeep’. In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock and haven’t heard this R&B jam about two lovers hoping to reunite, it’s a sure-fire, guaranteed to get you nodding your head song.

Jackson proves she is up to date with trends. ‘Dammn baby’ is an upbeat track with a fusion of trap beats and sonic swings. She plays with electronic house on ‘Night’. Both songs are an absolute amusement to the ears.

Her voice at the start of ‘The great forever’ reminds me of her the legendary pop idol Michael Jackson. She is indeed her brother’s sister. She pays tribute to him on ‘Broken hearts heal’.

“We made-up songs to do our chores to

And harmonized while we all did our part

Danced and sang our way through most anything” she reminisces on the track.

The lyrics of ‘Shoulda known better’ and ‘After you fall’, have the power to induce one into thoughts. Most especially ‘After you fall’, the lyrics, the down tempo beat and her voice can force one into deep reflection. ‘Black eagle’ is a beautiful cryptic song; on one hand, it seems as though she’s talking about spirituality, but as the song goes on, it turns out she’s talking about social issues like racism.

“I'm singing this love song to show my support

To the beautiful people who have been ignored

With blind eyes and cold shoulders attacking them

Invisible people they won't let fit in

Let's open our eyes to the true barriers

Stereotypical things are the worst

Stand face to face with the real ugly truth

How would you feel if that was you?

Because every life matters” she sings.

The vocalist does something experimental on ‘Take me away’; she diverts from her usual genre of music, gambles with rock music and still sounds great. She also plays with soft rock on ‘Well travelled’. Interestingly she sings over guitar strings on ‘Lessons learned’, the tone of the song sets the scene and mood for the lyrics of the song, which is about a girl in an abusive relationship.

The album closes on a high note with a psychedelic tune influenced by old school funk and soul music. The production of this album is superb. It features production from Dem Joints as well as from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis who she’s worked with on previous projects.

The album consists of infectious dance-pop and R&B tracks. The variety of contemporary and recognized beats show that Janet Jackson remains true to her art. If you are an 80s or early 90s babe, you will definitely appreciate this.

Best songs: ‘Dammn baby’, ‘No sleeep’, Night’ and ‘Black Eagle’.