Posted by | Ray Cornelius

Multi-Grammy winning music icon JANET JACKSON is the latest celebrity to cover ESSENCE Magazine. Inside the reigning “Queen of Pop” gets candid about joy and happiness and admits that it hasn’t always been easy…even for a Jackson.

“In my forties: Like millions of women in the world, I still heard voices inside my head berating me, voices questioning my value,” Jackson shares. “Happiness was elusive. A reunion with old friends might make me happy. A call from a colleague might make me happy. But because sometimes I saw my failed relationships as my fault, I easily fell into despair.”

Life is very different now for Jackson, who recently turned 52-years-old in May. She claims that she now finds joy in her relationship with God, her friendships and in her baby boy, Eissa.

“The height of happiness is holding my baby son in my arms and hearing him coo, or when I look into his smiling eyes and watch him respond to my tenderness,” Jackson shares. “When I kiss him. When I sing him softly to sleep. During those sacred times, happiness is everywhere. Happiness is in gratitude to God. Happiness is saying, ‘Thank you, God, for my life, my energy and my capacity to grow in love.’ ”

Check out the behind-the-scenes video of Janet Jackson’s ESSENCE photoshoot below and pick up your copy tomorrow (Friday, June 22) when it hits newsstands.

Photo Credits: ESSENCE Magazine

Share