Janet Jackson has updated fans on the status of her long-awaited 12th album ‘Black Diamond’. 

The legendary entertainer, who welcomed son Eissa in 2017, announced the project in early 2020, but the record and its accompanying tour were put on hold when lockdown hit.

Opening up about the future of her recording career, Janet says she will put out another record but hinted that she has no immediate plans to release the LP. 

“It’s so funny because I see the fans asking, “When are we going to get ‘Black Diamond’?” “Will you please release?,” she tells Essence. 

“There will be music at some point. Exactly when? I can’t say just yet […] My number one job is being a mama.”

Speaking in her recent documentary series ‘JANET’, the star suggested she’s looking to wind down her career onstage to spend more time being a mum, commenting: “I wanna go out with a bang. With a nice bang. A big bang.”

During the series, she premiered new song Luv I Luv and has since confirmed plans to release the track as a single. However, it’s unclear whether it will lead the way to Janet finally releasing ‘Black Diamond’ and hitting the road on her ‘Black Diamond Tour’, which was axed due to the pandemic. 

Of the project’s title, she previously shared: “It’s the toughest of the stones—of the diamonds—to cut. And I heard that immediately as it’s hardest to hurt and destroy. And I’ve come to realise in recent years that I’m incredibly strong. I see myself as this rock.”