As an established artist, Aaliyah lent her vocals to help sing the chorus of their debut single “Up Jumps Da Boogie,” alongside a feature from fellow frequent collaborator and crew member Missy Elliott.  Released as the first single from their album Welcome to Our World, in July of 1997, it managed to peak at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 58 on the year end chart.

“Boogie” was released at the perfect time, just after Timbaland and Missy Elliott’s production success with Aaliyah’s sophomore album One In A Million was building her as a premiere R&B act; and likely marked the beginning of the superstar career which translated to success for Tim and Mag.  Certainly setting the tone for Hip-Hop and R&B music of the time, their entire crew received success during that era of music.  Timbaland and Magoo, Aaliyah, Missy Elliott, Ginuwine and to a lesser extent, success for Playa and Nicole Wray as well.  For Timbaland this success wasn’t ending anytime soon either.  In the mid 00’s he achieved another whirlwind of success with popular crossover acts Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado to name a few.  While on the other hand Magoo hasn’t really remained active within popular music outside of the Timbaland and Magoo success which seemed to become a pastime memory post releasing their throwback infused single “Cop That Shit,” released in 2003.

The post For The Nostalgia: “Up Jumps Da Boogie” by Timbaland & Magoo appeared first on THE 97.

But for the first time ever, she took a “year off” (but not really; she was actually on tour and still promoting Daydream).  In July of 1997, Mariah dropped “Honey” and shocked the music world with a liberating “new” sound, and look.  Really, though, the sound wasn’t all that new for her … but read more on that here.

The song was a collaborative effort, written and produced by Mariah (of course) alongside Puff Daddy, Q-Tip and Stevie J.  For the first time, Mariah’s lead single was undeniably urban.  If you stripped away the vocals on “Honey,” you would think it was a hip-hop track, thanks to its two ’80’s hip-hop samples: “Hey DJ” and “The Body Rock.”   The remix featured guest raps from Ma$e and the LOX, who were fresh to the scene in ’97.  Of course, the guest rappers were relegated to the remix (she only won half the battle with the label this time), but “Honey” was still a defining moment for MC.

A large reason that “Honey” became so iconic was its video.  It was Mariah’s biggest production yet, and with MTV arguably at its height, every artist was trying to make great videos.  “Honey” was no different.  The video had a storyline that began with Mariah tied to a chair in a large, empty mansion, under interrogation by an older Italian man.  This storyline became quite controversial.

Why?  Because it created quite the parallel to her own life.  In real life, Mariah actually lived in a big mansion in upstate New York with her then-husband, Italian-American Tommy Mottolla (head of Sony Music at the time).  She later referred to their home as “Sing Sing,” nicknamed after an infamous prison also in upstate New York, because she was trapped and the only thing she was allowed to do, was sing.  At the time, she denied the comparisons and refuted any claims that it was related to her life.  However, the imagery insinuates otherwise.

After breaking free from her entrapment, Mariah jumps into a pool and strips out of her clothing to reveal a sexy new ensemble before running off to a remote island to be with a new, younger man.  This was compared to her budding relationship with New York Yankees star Derek Jeter.  Not long after the release of “Honey,” Mariah and Tommy announced their split and eventually divorced in 1998.  Shortly thereafter, Mariah and Derek became an item.

“Honey” is a pivotal moment in Carey’s career, not only because she had her third #1 debut on the Hot 100 with it, but because of the symbolic significance of the song.  She broke out of her shell, and experienced a metamorphosis… like a butterfly reborn from her cocoon prison.  She was finally allowed to show the world her true self: musically, visually, and personally.

And she never looked back.

We will explore the Butterfly album in greater depth beginning on September 16th, its 17th anniversary.

Bonus: the remix video!

The post Breaking Out of the Cocoon: A look back at the debut of Mariah Carey’s “Honey” appeared first on THE 97.