Song of The Year-No Sleeep by Janet Jackson featuring J.Cole

by Dan-O

At the height of her fame Janet was stuck smack in the middle between two of the most important female artists in history. Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey were in a high note arms race, holding the microphone and bending backward belting and holding, challenging the other to raise the stakes.

It makes sense that critics were not universally excited about Janet’s approach. No Sleeep is reminiscent of That’s The Way Love Goes in that it thrusts her into the spotlight while remaining hushed and casual. Her voice comes to us still in the frail whisper of a secret teenage phone conversation and that’s survived. The fullness and character in that harmonic murmur is the mother of so much of today’s R&B. The glass rattling diva era passed and Janet is still here.

This song isn’t just a great thing for Janet. J. Cole sounds focused and special. At his worst Cole sounds like a rapper you couldn’t pick out of a line up, picking sleepy beats and kicking pretty simple lifestyle analysis over them. He closes this song with all of his energy in it. This is post-Forest Hills Drive J.Cole and I hope he never looks back. “You bring cooked food, I bring desert” sticks in your mind because it’s a unique image and a realistic circumstance. The song flows into him so naturally that by its end you are ready to hit repeat and listen again. It’s a sneaky sleeper of a single that looms larger with every listen. I wonder how many of the toughest rappers in the game’s history have Janet in their car right now. How many of them grew up depending on her sincerity like I did? Like I still do.