Black cap. Black military-style jacket with silver buckles. A single key dangling from one earring. A long ponytail, a red-lipped stare, and a few dozen dancers moving like one machine. In 1989, Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation” video gave pop music a uniform, and people are still wearing it.
In this Retro Fashion & Style feature, we look at the message behind the song, the outfit and where it came from, how the black-and-white video was made, and why designers and dancers keep coming back to it. The official video is waiting for you at the end of the article.
▶️ Want to see the look in motion? Scroll down. The official video is at the end of the article.
Janet in 1989: Ready to Say Something
Janet Jackson was 23 and coming off Control (1986), the album that made her a star in her own right. Her label hoped for more of the same. Instead, she and her producers, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, made something with a message. Janet had been troubled by the tragedies she kept seeing in the news, and she decided to put those concerns into dance music.
The result was Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814, released in September 1989. The title song calls for unity and an end to “color lines,” over a hard, funky groove built on a guitar riff inspired by Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin).” As Janet later put it, she knew a song couldn’t change the world on its own, but it might nudge “those who are on the fence” in a positive direction.
The Uniform: What She Wore
The “Rhythm Nation” outfit is one of the most famous costumes in music video history. As it has been described, it includes a black baseball cap with a metal “1814” badge, a black military-style shirt jacket with silver buckles and faux-leather straps and collar, belted black pants and chunky, strappy boots. Add that single key on a hoop earring, and you have the whole look.
Inspired by a Science-Fiction Film
The design reportedly took its cue from the firemen’s uniforms in the 1966 film Fahrenheit 451, the story of a future society that burns books. It’s a clever borrowing: a costume from a movie about control, turned into a costume for a song about standing together.
Why Black, and Why the Same for Everyone
Janet and her dancers, men and women alike, wore matching unisex outfits, a deliberate nod to equality. When one critic called her all-black wardrobe “drab,” Janet answered that she wanted, “for once,” black to represent something good. “Wearing black shows that for once you can represent something positive and not negative,” she said.
Making the Video
“Rhythm Nation” was the grand finale of Rhythm Nation 1814, a 30-minute musical short film directed by Dominic Sena, who had worked with Janet on “Let’s Wait Awhile.” It premiered on MTV on September 16, 1989. The three videos in the film were shot over about 20 days, mostly at the Glenarm Power Plant in Pasadena, California, with some interior and elevator scenes at the Bradbury Building in downtown Los Angeles.
The film tells the story of two young shoeshine boys who dream of being musicians. One is drawn into the drug trade, and tragedy follows. At the end, he stumbles into a boiler room where Janet and her dancers appear in their black uniforms and perform “Rhythm Nation.”
Sena shot it in black and white for a reason. “There were so many races in that video, from Black to White and all the shades of gray in between,” Janet explained. “Black-and-white photography shows all those shades, and that’s why we used it.” The choreography was created by Janet with Anthony Thomas, then a young dancer who also performed in the video. Her record company, A&M, reportedly tried to talk her out of making such an ambitious video, but she insisted.
Charts and Awards
- Hot 100: The single debuted at No. 49 in the week of November 11, 1989, and peaked at No. 2 in January 1990.
- No. 1 hits: It topped Billboard’s Hot Black Singles and Dance Club Play charts, and was certified Gold by the RIAA in January 1990.
- Grammy: The Rhythm Nation 1814 film won the Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video.
- MTV: The video won for Best Choreography at the 1990 MTV Video Music Awards, where Janet also received the Video Vanguard Award.
- Hall of Fame display: The outfit and Janet’s handwritten lyrics have been shown in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “Women Who Rock” exhibit.
The Look’s Long Shadow
Rolling Stone called the video “the gold standard for dystopian dance-pop music videos,” and you can see its influence everywhere. Britney Spears, Beyoncé, Rihanna and Lady Gaga have all paid tribute to its outfits or moves, and choreographers such as Wade Robson and Travis Payne have named it a major influence on their careers. Entertainment Weekly put the look on its list of 50 stars who rocked fashion, praising its “crisp military look for the ladies.” MTV even credited the cap with helping bring the snapback hat back into style.
Janet herself has kept the uniform alive. Fans remember a Russian-style military suit on the Velvet Rope Tour in 1998, and the song has been part of every tour since 1990. In 2019, she even staged a special concert series celebrating the 30th anniversary of Rhythm Nation.
Her famous brother made history on MTV a few years earlier, too. Read the story in our “Billie Jean” feature, and browse more 80s Hits and Soul & R&B classics.
Get the Look, and the Sound
- The essentials: a black cap, a fitted black military-style jacket with buckles or straps, black belted trousers and lace-up boots. Finish with a single key on a hoop earring and a sleek ponytail.
- Learn a few moves. The routine is still taught in dance classes. Even the first eight counts will get your heart rate up.
- Start with the album. Rhythm Nation 1814 is the place to begin, then go back to Control (1986).
- For the hits, try Design of a Decade: 1986-1996 or Number Ones (2009).
- If you like this, try: “Miss You Much” and “The Knowledge” from the same film, and Sly and the Family Stone’s “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” to hear where the riff came from.
“Rhythm Nation” Quick Facts
| Artist | Janet Jackson |
| Album | Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989) |
| Single release | October 1989 (A&M Records) |
| Written and produced by | Janet Jackson, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis |
| Video director | Dominic Sena |
| Choreography | Janet Jackson and Anthony Thomas |
| Main filming location | Glenarm Power Plant, Pasadena, California |
| Billboard Hot 100 peak | No. 2 (January 1990) |
| Grammy | Best Long Form Music Video (Rhythm Nation 1814) |
Sources
- “Rhythm Nation” on Wikipedia (with its cited sources, including Billboard, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly)
- Rhythm Nation 1814 (film) on Wikipedia
- Janet Jackson on Wikipedia
- Janet Jackson at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
- Janet Jackson’s official website
Photo Credits
- Featured image: Janet Jackson in Washington, D.C., July 7, 1998 by John Mathew Smith from Laurel Maryland, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Glenarm Power Plant, Pasadena, California by Downtowngal, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Bradbury Building interior, Los Angeles by Levi Clancy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Featured image: Janet Jackson on the Rock Witchu Tour, Vancouver, 2008 by Andy L, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Interior of the Bradbury Building, Los Angeles by Daniel L. Lu (user:dllu), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Janet Jackson concert ticket, Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, July 24, 1990 by SarahStierch, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- In-article image: Janet Jackson in concert, Vancouver, 2008 by Andy Liang, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
