Bite Size Sound Snacks: Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson

written by Ivy Cofresi

Published 1/1/2026, Last edited 1/1/2026

Transcript:

We’re going back to the year 1989. These were the days of cassette tapes in walkmans, beautiful bold hairstyles, and the rise of MTV. Because of the national outlet that music television began to provide earlier that decade, more genres were getting national exposure and  really coming into the spotlight. For the first time in history, styles that rarely shared a stage now could be seen side-by-side in a swirling kaleidoscope of sound.

Janet Jackson (or Ms. Jackson, if you’re nasty) used this moment in history as a catwalk to highlight the best of her R&B and synth pop talent. She released her hit album Rhythm Nation 1814 as 20-track concept album inspired by the whirlwind of mass media happening as the age of television began to blossom. It masterfully blends T.V. samples and strong political statements between classic pop beats and lyrics about social injustice, especially surrounding drugs and violence affecting children.

Earlier in the year, Janet had been deeply touched by the 1989 Stockton school shooting, which took the lives of 5 young children and wounded 30 others. It was the most devastating school shooting in history until the Columbine shooting in 1999, 10 years later. The impact of this tragedy is clear throughout her lyrics, and she even used a sample of the tragic news report in her heartfelt ballad, “Livin’ in a World (They Didn’t Make)”. In another track, you simply hear her urgent voice saying “We are in a race between education and catastrophe.”

Then all of a sudden, In the middle of her heavy thoughts and shouts for unity, the mood of her tracks would randomly flip like the next T.V. channel, infusing her personal, playful, and sensual sides in paradoxical but welcome incongruity throughout the album.  

Alongside this work, she released the 30-minute tele-musical of “Rhythm Nation 1814” that further highlighted the themes in her lyrics. Janet portrays herself as a young girl navigating overwhelming tragedies and dangers evolving in the world outside, while simultaneously flipping channels with her friends and experiencing a passionate budding romance. She features her iconic songs “Black Cat”, “Miss You Much”, “The Knowledge”, and the song we’re highlighting today: Rhythm Nation.

Stock photo provided by Wix.com: a group of dancers in choreographed moves, representing unity with matching choreography. This is reminiscent of the powerful poses and dancing used in "Rhythm Nation 1814 Film", portraying dance as a form of freedom revolution.

Among other fantastic tracks, Rhythm Nation was an award-winning Billboard hit. Along with its iconic beat and easy dance track, it highlights a deeper, intergenerational call to action against racism, poverty, and oppression through small acts of protest like dance and community effort. Her lyrics wonder “People of the world today, are we looking for a better way of life?” and then call them to action by suggesting “This is the test, no struggle no progress. Lend a hand to help your brother do his best.”

The danceability of the track makes it energizing and motivating. The telemusical shows an army of people led by Ms. Jackson, chanting a pledge of unity and dancing to recruit a young boy who had just watched his best friend  get killed in a drive-by shooting. The pledge they state as they march into their dance positions is a powerful antiracist statement:

We are a nation with no geographic boundaries,

Bound together through our beliefs.

We are like-minded individuals

Sharing a common vision,

Pushing toward a world rid of color lines

Through music, poetry, dance, unity.

As we saw in our first episode, This Week in History, dance and song have been used as a form of peaceful protest for generations. Enslaved black communities have used coded songs like Go Down Moses, and later Billie Holliday haunted audiences with Strange Fruit. Even in the most recent popular outcry that “Joy is an act of resistance” – it  comes from historically black roots of protest.

And unfortunately, the world in 2025 is an even wilder and scarier place than Ms. Jackson was protesting against. In 2025 alone there have been 230 school shootings, with 148 victims on school properties. We hear this kind of news, though, and its easy to scroll past it on social platforms to find 90-second clips of sink pasta, sourdough bread, and lots of dark humor to help us to cope with the devastation. The resulting overwhelm can leave us feeling numb, lonely, unfulfilled, and helpless. And it’s no longer around a group television with friends, but often it’s alone doom-scrolling in bed until you’ve lost all sense of sleep or sanity… Not talking from experience here at all.

But history watched as Janet Jackson turned her grief into something constructive, and her small but genuine effort became an intergenerational talking point for people who want to rid the world of prejudice, ignorance and bigotry. Today we can use her words as a tool to reflect on the suffering we see in our own communities. How can we avoid turning their suffering into background noise, and also maintain our own sense of joy? What does it mean to “lend a hand” and work toward unity in an individualistic community where even if we had enough to give, reaching out feels intimidating and charity is laced in stigma?  If dance can be protest, what is your equivalent? Is it art, volunteering,  participating in marches?

Maybe it’s a little educational podcast.

Maybe the first step isn’t saving the whole world. Maybe it’s refusing to let the world go quiet inside you. We still flips channels from tragedy, comedy, outrage, distraction over and over until we forget what we just watched. But when the feed moves on, don’t you. Because the world doesn’t just numbness or loneliness or outrage. It needs our follow-through. And maybe the most radical thing you can do right now is to not go numb. Stay present. Keep the beat. And be a part of the Rhythm Nation. Because unity isn’t a channel you find, it’s a frequency you tune into.

Thank you for listening to this week’s bite sized sound snack. Remember to give us a like and follow us so you don’t miss an episode. If you want to support Elements of Us, please consider making a one-time donation through Venmo, or subscribing to our Patreon. Every dollar goes toward making this show possible, and taking it to new heights. We appreciate your support.

Sources

Dozier, Ayanna. “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814.” Library of Congress, 2020.

Fabian, Renee. Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation 1814”: For the Record | GRAMMY.com. Grammy Awards, 2018, www.grammy.com/news/janet-jacksons-rhythm-nation-1814-record.

Jackson, Janet. Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814. A&M Records, 1989.

Malik Jefferson. “Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation 1814 (the Short Film) (1989).” YouTube, 25 May 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF-0w90WTJY.

Riedman, David. “How Many School Shootings? All Incidents from 1966-Present.” K-12 School Shooting Database, 2025, k12ssdb.org/all-shootings. Accessed 16 Dec. 2025.

“Stockton Schoolyard Shooting.” Wikipedia, 4 July 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockton_schoolyard_shooting.