Control is Janet Jackson’s declaration of independence—a sleek, synth-pop masterpiece that married Minneapolis funk with pop perfection. Produced by the then-unknown Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, it turned a former child star into an adult icon. If you only know Rhythm Nation, start here.
She walked into Flyte Tyme Studios in Minneapolis with something to prove. Not to the industry—to herself. Janet Jackson was twenty years old, fresh off a marriage annulled before anyone could blink, and ready to stop being Michael’s little sister.
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis had just been fired from Prince’s camp for missing a session. The story goes they were delayed by a blizzard while producing a track in Atlanta. Prince didn’t care about weather. He cared about discipline. So Jam and Lewis found themselves in a basement studio on Chicago Avenue, working with a kid who had been singing since she could stand.
They started with a drum machine. The LinnDrum, programmed with a heavy swing, became the backbone of every track. Jellybean Johnson played live drums on top of it, giving the machine a human kick. The result was rhythm that felt both programmed and punched.
“What Have You Done for Me Lately” opens the album with a bassline so fat it still vibrates through car speakers. That’s Jam on a Prophet-5 synthesizer, running through a fuzz pedal. He was trying to make a synth sound like a guitar. He succeeded.
Then comes “Nasty.” The line “Nasty boys, don’t mean a thing” was ad-libbed. Janet had been harassed on the street days before. She walked in and let it out. The track’s snare crack—a combination of a sampled rimshot and a handclap—became the defining sound of 1986 R&B.
But the real miracle is “Control” itself. A song about firing your father as your manager. Not a breakup song. Not a love song. A woman telling the world she manages herself. Joseph Jackson had controlled every aspect of his children’s careers. Janet ended that with a song she co-wrote.
The album was recorded in four months. Most of it was tracked live in the studio—no click tracks, just the musicians locking in. Then Jam and Lewis would spend days layering triggers and samples on the AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay, creating those cavernous snare hits that defined the era.
Critics were skeptical at first. Pop albums by child stars were supposed to be manufactured. But Control hit #1 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the R&B chart. It spawned six singles, five of which reached the Top Five on the Hot 100. Rolling Stone ranked it among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
What holds up isn’t just the production. It’s the voice. Janet never had Whitney’s range or Tina’s gravel. But she had precision—a cool, conversational delivery that made every line sound like she was telling you a secret. That’s what Jam and Lewis captured. Not power. Intimacy.
The album closes with a reprise of “Control”—just the instrumental, faded out. It feels less like an ending and more like a loop she can step back into whenever she wants.
Thirty-eight years later, that loop still plays. You hear it in every pop star who writes lyrics about their own career. You hear it in every drummer who dares to let a machine sit beside them. You hear it every time somebody calls an album a “statement” and actually means it.
Control isn’t just Janet Jackson’s first great album. It’s the moment pop music learned to be both personal and unstoppable.
Why is 'Control' considered such a landmark album?
Because it marked Janet Jackson's artistic and personal break from her father's management and established her as a co-writer and co-producer. Its fusion of Minneapolis funk, synth-pop, and streetwise lyrics set the template for 1990s R&B.
Did Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis really get fired by Prince?
Yes. They were members of Prince's band The Time and were fired in 1985 after missing a studio session due to weather delays. Prince never forgave them, but the firing gave them the freedom to produce 'Control' — which Prince reportedly disliked.
What gear did Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis use to make 'Control'?
A LinnDrum drum machine, Prophet-5 synthesizer, a Roland Jupiter-8, and an AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay. The bass sounds were often the Prophet-5 run through a fuzz pedal. The snare sound was a hybrid of sampled hits and acoustic drums.
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