Rainbow is Mariah’s seventh studio album, and by the time I was drafting my 1999 Christmas list, “Heartbreaker” was all over the music channels, with an unforgettable music video to boot. A movie theater stakeout led to a bathroom fight scene between Mariah and a brunette Mariah (Bianca), meanwhile in the midst of all the chaos Jay-Z appeared on the movie screen to recreate an iconic scene from Scarface. I was enraptured by the song and accompanying music video.

Throughout Rainbow’s 13 other tracks, Mariah’s pen paints over a diverse landscape of genres. She furthered her immersion in hip hop that dominated her 1997 magnum opus Butterfly, while still incorporating elements of pop, R&B, and even gospel into the tapestry of the album. There are catchy, radio-friendly hits, big ballads, and sharp-as-ever lyrics. Rainbow is a colorful palette over which Mariah’s diverse artistry and big voice shine. 

It took me years to properly dissect Rainbow: much of my listening in those early days revolved around putting the album in my boombox before bed and setting the sleep timer, or my Walkman on long car rides, because my parents were not trying to listen to Rainbow (not more than once or twice at least). I focused a majority of my energy around the album’s first 3 songs, and naturally gravitated to the album’s other 2 singles. 

On and On and On

One of my favorite cuts on Rainbow is the third track: a nearly 6-minute Minnie Ripperton ode called “Bliss”. Mariah leans into her whistle register more than she ever did before, and it drives the hook. “Bliss” is a slinky, sensual cut, that’s as sexual as it is soothing. When I got Rainbow at 9, I had no idea what “Bliss” was actually about. It was just a smooth track that I could fall asleep to. As I’ve aged, I’ve obviously realized the true subject of the song. But as a kid, the easy pace of the drums, keyboards, and limitless whistle notes provided for the perfect backdrop to fade out. With age, the brilliance of “Bliss” became more and more apparent. The doubling of the her whistle with an airy range vocal on the hook, the progression to the climax, the divine moment when she doubles her whistles, those fleeting seconds when she comes out of her upper register to sing and even slightly belt a note, and a moment of choir? It’s a masterclass in vocal arrangements, and a middle finger to the numerous critics who had something negative to say about her using her whistle register in excess. On “Bliss”, the whistle register is what makes the song a standout. 

She embraces west coast hip hop on the remix to “Heartbreaker” and “Crybaby,” one cut sampling and another featuring the Dogfather himself, Snoop Dogg. On the “Heartbreaker” remix Mariah reunites with friend Da Brat and “Babydoll” co-writer Missy Elliott for a full-blown men-ain’t-shit female posse cut, flipping a sample of Snoop Dogg’s misogynistic “Ain’t No Fun.” The three lament their dismal men, while the beat gives Mariah room to vocally show out more than the confectionary original.

There’s a similar pace to “Crybaby,” but it takes a different turn musically. It embodies characteristics of classic 90’s west coast hip hop, especially the meandering synth during the hook. She marries her airy upper register with cleverly placed vocal bursts, specifically the “why, is it 5am and, I’m still up spiraling?” and “I don’t get no sleep, I’m up awake, can’t stop thinking of you and me, and everything we used to be, it could have been so perfect see I cry” punctuated by an “I gotta get me some sleep.” It’s such a Mariah cut: lamenting her lack of sleep and being awake at all hours as she wanders around on her tippy toes. Snoop Dogg joins the party, effortlessly coasting over the beat with his smooth, unmistakable flow as if it was made just for him. 

Big Ballads

The ballads on Rainbow are arguably some of her strongest up to that point. She soars on the anthemic “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme),” unleashing an unyielding sense of resilience that, time and time again, has helped me persevere through some of my darkest moments. It’s a very Mariah composition, in that it has certain qualities that are hallmarks of Mariah’s writing, production, and vocal stylings, most notably a crescendo that is reminiscent of “Outside” and “Vision of Love,” other melodic tendencies that recall “Vanishing”. With all the challenges she faced at Columbia and Sony at the time as a result of her split from Tommy Mottola, Mariah sounds resilient and optimistic for the future. 

“Petals,” which takes more of a reflective approach, is one of her most personal ballads to date, in line with “Looking In,” “Outside,” “Camouflage,” and “Portrait.” She pens words to her estranged sister Alison, her former step-children, and others. And though there are repeated progressions, melodies, and variations, there is no lyrically repeated chorus, a nod to the earlier, equally personal “Looking In.” It’s lyrically pungent, with other lines focused on her ex-husband Tommy Mottola (“I know you really like to see me suffer… I wish that you and I’d forgive each other”), and her former writing partner Walter Afanasieff (“So many I considered closest to me, turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully, although that knife is chipping away at me, they turned their eyes away and went home to sleep”). Songs like “Petals” are a true testament to the artistry of Mariah Carey and her power as a songwriter. It’s a stark contrast from the songs that top the Billboard charts, but she possesses the versatility as a songwriter to write a “Heartbreaker” and a “Petals” and allow them to exist on the same album.

On the album’s sole cover, Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds”, her vocal show out is beyond. She takes the song’s original key, and reaches for the sky, despite hitting not a single whistle note, nor going as far as she could had she taken the key upwards. It’s striking, powerful, and impactful. In the UK, it was released as a single featuring boyband Westlife.

Mariah also included two interludes that bridge the gap between songs in the album’s sequence. “Vulnerability” is a quick vocal show-out that bookends the “Heartbreaker” remix, utilizing lyrics from the song’s hook. The album’s title cut on the other hand, “Rainbow,” is something that she’s explained just never got finished. It’s just a few lyrics that optimistically lead into the album’s final track.

The closer on Rainbow begins another tradition of sorts, a gospel-tinged ode. “Thank God I Found You” sounds like a confectionary pop song, but lyrically it reads like gospel. With a grand key change, the song ascends even further into the heavens. It’s also a very unique union of voices with Joe and 98 Degrees joining for the spiritual closer. Clearly it struck a chord with the world, becoming Mariah’s second number one from the album after “Heartbreaker,” and her record-setting fifteenth number one single. 

Remix Queen

Of course, like many Mariah albums before and after, Rainbow is enhanced through a series of remixes, on both the dance and urban sides. “Heartbreaker” aside, “Thank God I Found You” was also reimagined in the urban direction. Unlike “Heartbreaker” though which leaned more into rap, “Thank God I Found You” was reimagined in an R&B vein with the heavily influence of Keith Sweat’s “Make It Last.” Joe reprised his role on the remix as he had the original, and instead of 98 Degrees, Nas graced the remix with his presence.

Perhaps the most notable remix from the Rainbow era came from “Heartbreaker.” Though David Morales oft assisted in big Mariah remixes (“Dreamlover,” “Fantasy,” “Honey”), this time Junior Vasquez brought Mariah’s mainstream hit into the clubs. With new vocals in tow, “Heartbreaker” instantly became a club anthem, and received further invigoration through the incorporation of Val Young’s 1985 dance hit “If You Should Ever Be Lonely.” There’s brilliance in seeing Mariah continue to incorporate these 80’s hits into her current singles, as she’d done on the “My All” remix with “Stay Awhile”. In 2006, Mariah delivered a set of strictly dance mixes at Disneyland Paris, and included a performance of “Heartbreaker/If You Should Ever Be Lonely”:

She did reunite with David Morales on Rainbow, for a set of remixes to “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme).” Morales first created a mix for the clubs using the original track, in the vein of the remixes he and Mariah re-recorded together in the past. But that wasn’t the end of their reunion for Rainbow. Mariah did return to the studio for a version they dubbed as the “Morales Revival Triumphant Mix.” This mix is a 10 minute saga that evokes more of a jazzy house feel when stripped back, but still driven by a hard club beat. There are breaks where Mariah speaks, paraphrasing the song’s lyrics. It feels even more freestyled than previous remixes, as if Mariah just drops in as she pleases and sings what she wants. 

In a true full circle moment, I found myself sitting at a taping for Mariah’s appearance on TRL in November 2018, as she promoted her latest album, Caution. As she departed, she passed my way and etched her signature on my copy of Rainbow, grabbed my hand for a moment and held on to me before being quickly whisked away to her next stop. I walked down 7th Avenue with that CD in my hand, staring at it for nearly 10 blocks. Nearly 20 years later, I got to the other end of Mariah’s rainbow. 

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September 21, 1999.

Almost exactly 16 years ago, Mariah Carey hit #1 with “Heartbreaker,” the lead single from her 7th studio album Rainbow; a track Pitchfork has referred to as an “untouchable roller-rink jam.”

The track is notable for featuring Jay-Z delivering a rap verse as the male counterpoint to the female protagonist, and it’s even more notable for being the first Hot 100 #1 by a solo singer to feature a guest rapper. It was Jay-Z’s first #1 on the Hot 100, and he was featured on the main version of “Heartbreaker” and not as an add-on for a remix. “Heartbreaker” was by no means the first song by a singer to feature a guest rapper (this was actually Mariah’s 11th song to do so), but its ascent to #1 was certainly a signpost for how music had shifted. By the late ’90s, urban music had become pop(ular) music, and Mariah Carey was a big reason why. After being seen as a pop princess for the first half of the ’90s, by the end of the decade Mariah had taken her music in a more urban direction. Mariah has said it was clear music was heading in that direction, and she hopped on the front of that train. Jody Rosen of Slate said the hybridization of styles in music was “an inevitability” but also something Carey “saw earlier than others.” Music critic Amy Linden wrote it as, “For better or worse, Mariah’s five-octave, pop/R&B stylings set the diva standard.”

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“Thank God I Found You” was the second single from the album (released in January of 2000) and followed in the footsteps of lead single “Heartbreaker” – it became yet another #1 hit for the diva, her 15th. It also secured Mariah her 11th straight year of #1 singles – she had had one every year from 1990 until 2000. Of equal significance, the song was also the final track on Rainbow and follows the title track (interlude). In that interlude she sings, “I know there is a rainbow for me to follow to get beyond my sorrow, thunder precedes a sunlight, and I’ll be alright, if I can find that rainbow’s end.” The love ballad follows, symbolizing finding true love at the end of a stormy time.

#? of The #1’s

Otherwise, the song kind of falls short. Most fans agree that it is their least favorite in Carey’s long list of #1’s. It is an unremarkable ballad, with an unsurprisingly impressive vocal from Carey. The song features vocals from R&B crooner Joe and pop boy band 98 Degrees. Although the combination is still worth note – it is one that would have only happened in 1999.

The late 90s and early 2000s were an interesting time for Pop music. Of course, commercially, it was perhaps the industry’s golden years. Music sold like hot cakes and pop-tarts like Britney, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, etc. took over the scene. At the same time, big-voiced divas like Mariah, Whitney and Celine still had a stronghold on radio. Crossover R&B solo acts like Brandy and R. Kelly, or groups like Destiny’s Child and Next flourished too. “Thank God I Found You” by Mariah Carey, Joe and 98 Degrees encapsulates this moment in Pop music history better than perhaps any other song. It’s a vocal diva, an R&B male, and a pop boy band singing a clichéd piano-driven love ballad. What better sonic time capsule of the late 90s can you ask for?

The Classic Mariah Carey Remix Treatment

Well, Mariah has an answer for that question, too. There was another genre untouched by “Thank God I Found You” – a favorite of Mariah’s – hip-hop. The song’s R&B remix is actually a re-interpretation of Keith Sweat’s 1988 single “Make It Last Forever.” More or less, it is a cover, with a retooled instrumental (helmed by DJ Clue). Some alterations to the lyric to include “thank god I found you” references – and a rap from hip-hop icon Nas. Since 1995, Mariah had been an innovator, known for her ability effortlessly combine pop, R&B and hip-hop in her songs and remixes. The “Make It Last Remix” of “Thank God I Found You” is no different. Collaborating with Nas (and again with Joe) for this cover-of-a-quiet-storm-R&B-ballad-as-a-remix-of-a-pop-ballad-featuring-an-iconic-rapper is distinctly, uniquely Mariah. None of her peers dared. The original may have been long ignored by fans and even by the diva herself. However, its remix made “Thank God I Found You” last forever indeed.

Photo Credit: The Mariah Network

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“I ain’t giving you nothing!  I’m sick of you coming in here asking for my keys! You trifilin’, you need ya own car!  No!  Here.  Take ’em.  I’m sick of you,” she asserted, with unparalleled sass.  As she stormed away, he frustratingly asked, “Beyoncé, why you buggin’?”

It was the first time I heard her name; it was the first time I had heard of Destiny’s Child.  I had no idea that Destiny’s Child would go on to become the top girl group of the TRL era.  I had no idea that, at this pivotal moment of my own life, I would latch onto these ladies as a sort of support system and remain a fan and supporter to this very day.

“Bills, Bills, Bills” was the lead single from Destiny’s Child’s sophomore album, The Writing’s on the Wall.  Released 15 years ago last week, on July 27th, 1999, the set was a defining moment in Destiny’s Child’s career.  It made them unforgettable; it made them superstars; it birthed an icon.  It changed me, too.

The album was my reward after being succumbed to the torture of having braces put on my teeth that August.  We stopped by the now-defunct store Coconuts, and my mother bought the album for me.  It was the first album that I had ever listened to and loved all the way through, and finally, at age 9, I had found “my favorites” – and they have remained ever since.

Beyoncé, Kelly, LeToya and LaTavia were only 17 and 18 years old at the time of release, but it was hard to tell from the maturity in their music.  Perhaps, it was just four girls having fun with a team of writers, producers, and record company executives… perhaps, they weren’t cognizant of the depth of the album they crafted.  Most likely, they were merely after the “girl world” throne and tried to have their music embody the concept of “girl power,” like the Spice Girls.  In reality, “girl power” is nothing more than a simpler way to say “female empowerment” and that was a constant within the album.  However, in retrospect, there is more depth to the female empowerment message of The Writing’s on the Wall than appears on the surface.

The album opens with a strange but intriguing introduction.  Its premise is based on The Godfather movies, and Beyoncé is The Godfather.  However, it completely went over my head at the time.  Obviously I knew that that wasn’t their normal speaking voices, but, for whatever reason, I actually thought Beyoncé’s name was Beyoncé Corleone (until I read the album booklet more thoroughly).

In the intro, the ladies summarize their problems with men.  At the end, Beyoncé offers a solution: Destiny’s Child’s fourteen “Commandments of Relationships” – interludes that precede, and set the theme for, each track on the album.  For example, “thou shall pay bills” is spoken before the lead single “Bills, Bills, Bills.”

However, this introduction is significant for more than just setting up the album’s concept.  An important aspect of the introduction is the fact that the ladies of Destiny’s Child seemingly flip expected gender roles.  Beyoncé becomes the Godfather, and the other ladies put on husky voices as they emulate the male characters from the film.  This theme is continued throughout the album, as Destiny’s Child reverses expected gender roles and the stereotypes of women and men in relationships.

“Feminist – a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.”

Over fourteen years after the release of The Writing’s on the Wall, Beyoncé included this quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her feminist manifesto, “***Flawless.”  However, if we look back at her music, beginning with Writing’s, we see that this theme has been ever present.  While Beyoncé may have only found the perfect wording in 2013, thanks to Adichie, this feminist ideal (or as the 90s called it, “girl power”) has been a constant in Destiny’s Child’s and Beyoncé’s music since 1999 – when they assumed reign of Girl World.

First, there is “Bills, Bills, Bills” – one of music’s most misunderstood songs, lyrically.  The prominent criticism of the song was to call Destiny’s Child male-bashers, or to say that they were money hungry (which in 2014, is laughable, considering Beyoncé’s net worth).  However, if those critics had actually listened to the lyrics beyond the chorus, the song tells quite a different tale.

Essentially, the male antagonist in “Bills, Bills, Bills” spent all of her money and is too broke to give it back.  So, in all actuality, the man is the money hungry one in the song – not Destiny’s Child.  With this simple song, they completely flipped the typical expectations of a male-female relationship and the societal expectation that the man is the bread winner who takes care the woman.  The stereotype that woman chase men for money is an unfortunate one that has been wrongfully perpetuated across all sorts of media.  However, with “Bills, Bills, Bills” Destiny’s Child dared to challenge that notion.  Remember, “feminist – a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.”  Here, Destiny’s Child addressed the social and economic expectations of women in relationships.  And this continues.

“Bug a Boo” is another track where a stereotype commonly attributed to women in relationships is flipped back on the man.  As its title suggests, the song is about an annoying man who is overly clingy and simply won’t give the woman any room to breathe.  She berates him for his aggravating persistence in a triumphant shade-fest.  Again, it was uncommon for a woman to come at a man in this manner, and by saying “men do it too,” Destiny’s Child strived to create a more level playing field in relationships.  “Jumpin’, Jumpin'” does this as well by placing woman in an equally dominant position “in the club.”

Similar to “Bug a Boo,” the ballad “Now That She’s Gone” also puts Destiny’s Child in control.  In this song, DC sings to a man who has cheated and wants to come back, but only because the other woman left.  The song is more or less calling him out and saying, “oh well, your loss.”  The song places the man in the vulnerable position, which is another stereotype that woman are often labeled with.

However, just as they showed that men too can do the very things that women are often accused of doing wrong, Destiny’s Child turns the tables twice more with “Confessions” and “Temptation.”  On these two sexy mid tempo tracks, they confess to being tempted by other men and… not exactly being on their best behavior.  This sort of unfaithfulness is a topic frequently sung about by women, but in the role of the accuser.  However, with these tracks, Destiny’s Child owns up to being the unfaithful party.  Perhaps this is done in an effort to show that women can do it too, serving as a warning to men who become too comfortably complacent in their relationships.   “If You Leave,” a duet with R&B group Next, is similar in theme as well, as Beyoncé and R.L. (the frontman of Next) duet about leaving their significant others for each other.

The album takes a more vulnerable turn on its most desperate track, “Where’d You Go,” which seems a bit out of place.  On it, they plead with the man, begging him to come back.  And, while there is a certain strength in embracing vulnerability, “Hey Ladies” quickly follows up with a “snap out of it!” message of female empowerment.  On this track, they ask, “hey ladies, why is it that men can go do us wrong? … Why is it that we never seem to just have the strength to leave?  But, he’s got to go.”  The ladies serve a bit of cockiness (with a hint of jealousy) on “She Can’t Love You,” as they throw shade at the “new girlfriend.”  This track follows the career defining hit “Say My Name,” which illustrates a phone conversation laden in suspicion and jealousy due to a man who’s “acting kinda shady.”  While vulnerable in places, both songs have an underlying message of empowerment: “She Can’t Love You” and “Say My Name” are both commanding tracks that once again find DC reacting to each situation with strength and sass, rather than sadness or desperation.

The mix of vulnerability and empowerment continue on “Stay,” a song that encourages women to be in control of their sexuality.  The lyrics deal with the internal struggle of giving in to sex (before you’re ready) to coerce a man to stay.  The message of the song is summed up by the lyric, “promise me one thing, no matter what, you’re gonna stay.”  This idea of the female having control of her sexuality is essential to feminism.   The song, and Beyoncé and Kelly’s subsequent sexual freedom in their recent music, echo Janet Jackson’s “Let’s Wait Awhile” when compared to her later singles like “If” and “Any Time, Any Place.”  So, yes, while Beyoncé and Kelly might seem hyper-sexual on songs their 2013 releases, “Partition” and “Kisses Down Low,” it is only because they both choose to be.  As the commandment says, “if thou can wait, then thou shall stay.”  As married women and mothers in their thirties, Beyoncé and Kelly clearly have found men who were willing to wait until they were ready.

“Stay” is followed by “Sweet Sixteen,” which is a story of a young girl who gave into her man, to make him stay… and ends up pregnant.  The preceding commandment is “thou shall cherish life,” and overall, the song has a positive message intended to uplift, inspire and empower young girls to make wiser decisions in their relationships.  Similarly, the album’s opening track “So Good” encourages positivity and unity, frowning upon the naysayers.  Meanwhile, its closer is an a cappella rendition of the inspirational Christian hymn, “Amazing Grace,” lovingly dedicated to Andretta Tillman, the woman who discovered and built Destiny’s Child (before Mathew Knowles took over).

The Writing’s on the Wall was not only career defining, but it also defined and identified one overarching theme in Destiny’s Child’s music: girl power, a.k.a., feminism.  Again, it may have been unintentional, but the fact that it happened organically just makes it all the more authentic.

Destiny’s Child: established in 1997, defined in 1999, and forever changed in 2000.

To be continued…

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