Her debut album The Bridge was just being released internationally at the time. It came out in Italy, then her native Canada. England followed a month later. The United States had to wait though, with a release date set for November 10, 2009. I don’t like to wait. So I did the rational thing, found the leak, and spent my summer engulfing myself in The Bridge. When November 10 came around, I unapologetically cut biology lab to hit F.Y.E. in Center City, Philadelphia and secured my copy. Frankly, I’ve barely used biology since then and I still listen to The Bridge often, so cutting class was clearly the right move. It’s always important to me to buy a copy of an album, and I felt that to a higher degree with Melanie. 

Guided by the late, great Andrea Martin (who co-wrote half of Melanie’s debut and received associate producer credit on both of Melanie’s albums), Melanie bridged the gap between classic soul/R&B and today’s sonic landscape. Her voice was built for the task. Whether she was waxing poetic over a sample-laced record like the immense, sweeping “It Kills Me” or flexing her chops over an original like the Motown-esque “Monday Morning,” she captured the essence of a tapestry of soul sounds. She even went beyond, like on the acoustic “Teach Him” and the reggae “Sad Songs.”

Between projects, Melanie continued to soar. Most notably, she appeared on the single version of “Fool For You” from Cee-Lo’s acclaimed album The Lady Killer. That version was so well received that it won Melanie her first two Grammy Awards. 

I couldn’t get enough of her, and was ecstatic when the first taste of her next album arrived in early 2011. The one thing that really resonated with me was how she was describing her next album. She was calling her sophomore effort an album of “stadium soul.” Melanie already had me eating out of the palm of her hand, but now I was imagining an expansion of the soulful sounds she captured so effortlessly on her debut, magnified for the larger stage she was destined for, accompanied by bigger hooks. The title had a helluva ring to it too, and was a clever double entendre: The MF Life, which was released on March 20, 2012. I put together a ‘Top 5‘ to celebrate the 5th anniversary in 2017. Now I’m going deeper to celebrate a decade.

“Gone And Never Coming Back” was that first taste of The MF Life. Co-written and co-produced by Andrea Martin, it vacillates between quiet verses and surging choruses, something Andrea had been doing well for at least a decade and a half (see En Vogue’s “Don’t Let Go [Love]”). Though quiet on the verses, those choruses hit like a tidal wave. They encapsulate the ‘stadium soul’ sound Melanie used to describe the album. The title implies finality, and the delivery of the song perfectly reinforces that. It already represents growth from the material on her The Bridge, which didn’t delve into situations in such definitive scenarios. 

The next single, “4AM,” produced by Rico Love, couldn’t have arrived at a better time. “This muhfucka thinkin’ I’m stupid,” she sings as she vents her heartbreak over her man out cheating on her. “It’s 4am and my lover won’t answer,” she laments as she’s seen vacillating between concern and frustration in his cold, empty home, before alleging, “he’s probably somewhere with a dancer.” Once again, it has a big chorus that soars above the ruminating verses. The moody, 808’s fueled beat was complimentary to the sound that was surging to the top of the R&B and hip hop charts at the time thanks to Melanie’s former bandmate and fellow Canadian, Drake. That sound can be heard prominently throughout 2011’s Take Care. Interestingly, there’s even a hint of UK garage as the bridge reconnects into the hook.

Drake doesn’t just appear here in reference, either. He wrote “I’ve Been That Girl,” alongside longtime producer T-Minus, making it one of the few records Drake has written for other artists. With T-Minus handling production and Noah “40” Shebib handling vocal production, this song unsurprisingly sounds like it could fit perfectly alongside the more melodic side of Take Care. The hook is catchy, but reserved.

Though she didn’t score a Drake feature on The MF Life, Melanie stacked up a goldmine of first-rate features for the album, greatly contrasting her no-features debut. The album opens with the hard-hitting “This Time.” The song is poignantly declarative, opening lines “if only you knew, all the love I have inside,”  to a hook that radiates with optimism. “This time, I’m doing much better, love you like I’ve never, ever loved you before. Oh baby now this time, I’m giving my heart and soul and every drop of my love.” She also nabbed a feature from J. Cole at the optimal moment: just as he was breaking through. He bookends his verse with the killer bars, “if looks kill then Melanie you a felony,” and “know it’s deep when the girl of his dreams is the same one to wake him up.” 

She closes the record with the cool, chill “L.O.V.E.” featuring John Legend, returning the favor for Melanie’s help on the title track to his 2010 covers LP with The Roots, Wake Up! The call for unity has a retro, Philly soul essence that compliments the source of their first collaboration. She even manages to recruit the legendary Nas on the Salaam Remi-produced, boom bap-laced “Running.” 

The top collaboration on the album though, goes to her record with B.o.B., “Change The Record.” “If you don’t like how he’s playing then change the record,” she advises as she aligns men’s shortcomings to records, some with scratches, fade outs, and skips. It works a perfect metaphor over a glittering staccato piano and hard-hitting bass drum beat. 

On the solo front Melanie is much more adventurous on this outing. She doesn’t confine herself to traditional R&B sounds on this stadium soul album. She reaches into other connected genres, delivering a twisted, dark, torch song in the form of “Bones,” which credits dynamic British vocalist Paloma Faith as a co-writer. The hook is a monster in both lyric and melody. “Straight through your skin past your soul to your bones… I need your bones… gimme gimme gimme gimme your bones!” It’s engulfing, and slithers inward with a progression that recalls Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ haunting “I Put A Spell On You.” 

There’s also a gritty, sassy, high energy record that orbits in the realm of Tina Turner’s solo rock material. “Watch Me Work” is “something different, something new. Out the box, out the blue.” It’s a much more overt rock-leaning track, unlike the rock undertones that filled out The Bridge’s playful “Bang Bang.” This is music that drives and energizes, with a motivational message. It’s best listened to while strutting in some high heels a la Melanie in the video (or me on a Friday night). 

While “Gone And Never Coming Back” was the lead heartbreak record, the album’s true heartbreak standout is the gut-wrenching “Wrong Side Of A Love Song.” Like “Gone,” the verses are mellow, and crescendo as they approach full choruses that pushes Melaine to the outer limits of her range as she wails “And I don’t wanna be, without you, cause I can hardly breathe without you. This is what it feels to be the one that’s standing left behind.” She emotes every single line and refuses to back down as she mourns the heartbreak. This is soul music at its finest. 

A bonus moment serves as a cheeky reminder of a coincidental fixation R&B had with late night/early morning hours at the time. Melanie had “4am,” and T-Pain had a record called “5 O’Clock.” Naturally, T-Pain suggested that they come together, and they created “6AM.” The record merges the two worlds, with T-Pain playing Melanie’s cheating lover, arriving home two hours after she’s wondering where he is. It’s an amusing convergence of two otherwise unrelated records. They each possessed enough ambiguity that they could be connected based on their timestamps. It’s fun, lighthearted, and features an entertaining back-and-forth between the two, best summed up by the first two lines of the bridge, where T-Pain chides Melanie with “what’cho ass doing up anyway?” and she instantly shoots back “fuck that! I was sittin’ here worried ‘bout you.”

A deluxe edition of the album adds four songs, and iTunes also added their own exclusive bonus track. The best of the deluxe bonuses is “Like I Love You,” a mellow, vocally heavy reggae record which harkens back to Melanie’s roots as a reggae singer and her first formal release (under the name Syren Hall), “Somebody Come Get Me.” 

The iTunes bonus is also notable. “Gone (La-Dada-Di)” is driven by ominous keyboard chords and accentuated by flourishes from a tuba. It’s one of those records that has some stellar storytelling bursting from the lyrics. A strained relationship is shattered by tragedy, as Melanie tries to process the horror, “hoping it was all a dream.” It’s one of the most impassioned vocal performances Melanie delivers on the album. Snoop Dogg glides through to deliver a verse that ties it all together before the record fades out. 

It’s been a decade and The MF Life remains the latest full-length release from Melanie Fiona, and it still hits just as hard as it did the day she released it. Since then, Melanie released a few singles in the mid-to-late 2010’s including the searing, reggae-driven record “Bite The Bullet,” and teased a third album that was to-be-titled Awake. As she continued to tour throughout the 2010’s she performed a number of songs that have never been released including “Love Needs Love” and “I’ll Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know.” In the time since she released The MF Life, she found love and became a mom, twice. Her daughter was just born in late 2021. Suffice it to say, she’s got no shortage of important things in her MF life, but music is still on the list. Two days before The MF Life turned 10, Melanie dropped a cover of “Don’t Explain” as part of a Nina Simone reggae tribute LP. It’s her first solo recording to be released in three years. 

Listen to The MF Life:

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There are just three tracks that pre-date the union between Nas and Hit-Boy, and the only one worth listening to is “Dedicated,” an album cut from Mariah Carey’s 2014 Me, I Am… Mariah. The Elusive Chanteuse. Something must have been in the water when the pair reconnected in late 2019 to create an EP for Valentine’s Day. The energy shifted during the recording process and Kings Disease was born. Kings Disease II followed less than a year later. With each album being announced less than 2 weeks prior to its release, it helped create an explosive buzz, especially after Kings Disease was so well received. To up the ante, Nas announced Magic barely 12 hours before it hit digital outlets and streaming services.

The two foundational elements that create the conditions for this duo’s perfect storm of a collaboration are Nas’ lyrical dexterity and Hit-Boy’s broad sonic profile. They seem to feed off of each other, with Hit developing tracks made just for Nas and Nas tailoring his flow to compliment the nuances of Hit’s beats. The production has an underlying maturity to it with just the right dash of nostalgia, accentuating the place Nas finds himself in at this stage of his life while honoring his legacy as one of New York’s finest MC’s.

This is an EP about progression, and song after song that progression is evident. “I’m 21 years passed the 27 Club,” he opens with on the EP’s first cut “Speechless.” He merges one of his most common topics, introspection of/on his adolescence, with advice for the young rappers in the game today. He encourages them to “stop plottin’ on each other,” and instead to “plot on millions.” While he discourages plotting on one another, he encourages defending yourself.

On “Meet Joe Black,” he rolls up his sleeves to fire blow after blow. He mockingly questions, “Your top 3, I’m not number1, how could you post that?” on the hook, separates himself and his work ethic from the rest of the pack by boasting “your most hungry place, I was past that at 28,” and calls himself the rap Sugar Ray Robinson while others are “ too out of shape to box with me.” The target or targets are unknown, making this a far cry from the “Fuck Jay Z”’s that echoed through 2001’s “Ether,” but the shots feel just as lethal. It’s a stark reminder that though Nas is refined, he’s still got all the grit he possessed two decades ago. 

“Ugly” demonstrates a similar progression, but in this case it’s Nas ruminating on the “distorted faces, solemn features” that result from murder. He paints a picture of the envy and conflicts that result in gun violence (“grown men jealous outside, grown ass women that’ll have you set up to die”), while name checking victims of gun violence from Marvin Gaye to Young Dolph. Again, it’s a stark contrast from 2001’s “Got Ur Self A…” with it’s Sopranos-sampling, gun-encouraging chorus.  

“Wu Is For The Children” is full of nuggets, first and foremost He dismisses the “Nas enthusiasts thinkin’ they know what’s best” for him more than he knows himself and sheds some light on the perspective of the veteran rapper watching sideline cats and young artists begrudging those who have found success. “Stop putin’ your faults on him,” he urges, before delivering one of the best bars of the EP, “the man in him is bringing the kid in you out.” 

Nas also makes his sole misstep of this set on “Wu.” He aligns J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake to himself, Jay-Z, and Biggie back in the day. But there’s a glaring contrast in that comparison: there were an abundance of other names that could accompany Nas, Jay, and Biggie in that trio. The three of them happen to all hail from ONE city, New York. The contemporary trio lacks a single New York rapper, serving as a reminder that this generation’s New York rappers don’t have the same hold on rap that those 25 years ago did.

In a nod to Illmatic, guests only join him and Hit-Boy on one track, where they connect with A$AP Rocky and DJ Premier. Hit-Boy’s arsenal of nostalgic samples drive “Wave Gods,” which are accentuated by Premier’s scratching. Listening to Nas’ verse, he sounds like a veteran hitting his stride as he glides over the production and effortlessly subjugates yet another of Hit-Boy’s pristine productions. 

With projects like this, it’s hard to deny that Nas is in a renaissance era. Magic proves that there’s still more success for him to find with Hit-Boy. If Magic is any indication, that’s bound to continue with the impending release of Kings Disease III. Needless to say, Nas feeds the buzz like a Michelin-star restaurant.

90/97

Stream Nas’ Magic

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Executive producer Swizz Beatz is the biggest problem with Exodus. He doesn’t bring his A-game to the album as a producer or in his occasional vocal contributions. Swizz’s lackluster work is apparent from the album’s opener “That’s My Dog.” It’s a far cry from the classics X and Swizz have crafted over the years (think, “Ruff Ryders Anthem” and “Party Up”), and while The LOX go hard over the menacing beat, Swizz’s near-monotone “that’s my dog-yeah” hook disrupts and diminishes their impact. X doesn’t even appear on the song until 3:35, which becomes a common thread throughout the album. In fact, X only raps for about 10 minutes total throughout the entirety of Exodus.

After a rocky start, things go further south on the long-anticipated “Bath Salts” featuring Jay-Z and Nas. It should be a monumental occasion to have this trio of 90’s New York legends united. Instead it’s a jumbled mess. There’s a quality issue with the mix. Jay-Z sounds so muffled it’s hard to even listen to him. X sounds similar, like he’s rapping in a tube. Nas is the only one who sounds okay, and drops a few decent bars (but not memorable enough to quote). The drastic contrasts in quality detract from the final product. It’s a major disappointment after being teased for years. The retooling done by Swizz for the album removes the song’s hook and Jadakiss’ verse heard on the initial version of the record (as well as a recently-teased J. Cole verse).

The rest of the album’s first half is full of misses. “Dogs Out” featuring Lil’ Wayne (a far cry from the song of the same name on Grand Champ) sounds like Swizz retooled his superior Lil’ Wayne record “Uproar,” to diminished results. “Money Money Money” featuring Moneybagg Yo is annoying and forgettable. Pop crossover attempts “Hold Me Down” featuring Alicia Keys and “Skyscrapers” featuring Bono are generic and underwhelming. The latter is like Eminem and Ed Sheeran’s “River.” With the big hook delivered masterfully by Bono it had potential, but the production by Swizz sank this record before it even had a chance to float (which may be why it’s been sitting in a vault for 10 years).

For some reason, an intense “Stick Up Skit” follows the inspirational Bono record, but it marks a turning point. Immediately after, X feeds off the energy of the Griselda Records crew on “Hood Blues” and delivers one of his best verses on Exodus. The beat is simple, but effective. The sad jazz vibe sets the tone for the verses that follow. X goes off, threatening “I got that cannon that’ll remove your head and shoulders” before tossing out the scariest threat: “Sometimes I can’t manage all the shit in my head.” It’s an intense verse that closes with X yelling “I’m not 50 years old for nothin!” He sounds ready to fight, rob, and attack. It’s classic X. No doubt he needed to be calmed down after getting so in the zone on this one.

Snoop Dogg and X trade bars over a masterfully chopped up “Sexual Healing” sample on “Take Control.” The verses aren’t anyone’s best, but the sample is so strong it makes up for it. X delivers another strong verse on “Waking In The Rain,” once again alongside Nas. It’s an introspective cut about resilience with reflective bars like, “Every time you go through somethin’, there’s somethin’ to gain, And you only truly suffer if you remain the same, Let the dirt you go through change you, Don’t forget, evеn Satan was an angel.”

“I don’t know what you thought about my use of drugs, but it taught you enough to not use them drugs” X delivers on the sobering “Letter to My Son (Call Your Father).” Despite X’s largely heartfelt verse delivered as a letter to his oldest son, he disappears after delivering the single verse. Usher delivers a strong hook, and a violin solo is emotionally ravaging. But like other records on Exodus that only possess a single X verse, they’re just filling the gap. At first it’s frustrating, but then it’s depressing. It begs the question: Is it sadder that Exodus is DMX’s final body of work, or that X isn’t still here to give us the hope for a musical redemption in the future?

Listen to DMX’s Exodus:

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Beyond Khaled’s overbearing ab libs, Khaled Khaled is a par for the course Khaled LP. Bloated with guests and the occasional unique or exciting-looking pairing, it’s another mediocre album that fails to innovate, and far from classifies as a body of work. It rarely prompts strong performances out of the legends and up-and-coming stars Khaled lines up to perform around his vocal drops.

One of the most anticipated records on the LP reunites Nas and Jay Z. “Sorry Not Sorry” is a slow burner that evokes the immaculate “Song Cry.” But “Song Cry” this is not. Instead, the two legends drone on and deliver tepid lyrics that don’t stick. Okay, they’re getting older and it’s time to stop talking about the pre-fame days. But do they have to make middle age sound so boring? These are two artists who once hurled some of the most legendary diss records at one another. And this is the best they’ve got? No one will even remember this record by the end of 2021. Beyoncé buzzes through to drop some harmonies and ad libs under the pseudonym “Harmonies by The Hive,” but even she can’t save this snoozefest. Sorry not sorry.

Cardi B’s contribution “Big Paper” got added to the track list less than a day before the album’s release. It sounds like it too. For all her bars her delivery isn’t quite on-beat; at least not for the first or second listen. During initial listens it lands harshly on the ears and detracts from the punch her rhymes could pack. Best guess: someone edited the record incorrectly. By the third listen it starts to make sense, but no record should take 3 listens just to sound relatively on-beat, especially coming from someone who can ride a beat like this.

As has been the case with other recent Khaled successes, the album relies on weaving in familiar melodies to a fresh beat to evoke nostalgia. Opener “Thankful”’s use of “Ain’t No Love In The Heart Of The City” executes this well and exudes a triumphant energy, but the song itself is tepid. “I Did It”’s incorporation of the universally known “Layla” by Derek and the Dominos fares better. With a familiar sample and cast of Megan Thee Stallion, Post Malone, Da Baby and Lil’ Baby, it certainly has hit potential.

Diddy (returning to his initial “Puff Daddy” moniker because sure) pops up on “This Is My Year” to play the hype-man role he began nearly 3 decades ago. Big Sean delivers some strong bars with a strong flow “My momma pray to God and she got me; She pray to god and I was the reply; I’m my only enemy if I don’t win it’s self-sabotage. You chasin’ the hoes that chase money that chase me.” But Rick Ross steals the show here. Gliding in over a percussion-free break in the beat, Ross delivers a barrage of bars flexing as only he can. It feels like his song and his year. Then Puff yells for longer than anyone cares to pay attention, for reasons that are still unclear. This is not his record.

One of the album’s strongest performances comes late though. Academy Award winner H.E.R.’s appearance on “I Can Have It All” (her second feature on the LP), hits all the right notes. She compliments and elevates the sample-laden beat. H.E.R.’s performance epitomizes putting a track in the hands of a capable and complimentary voice. The rest of the album could take notes.

Khaled Khaled neither breaks new ground nor leaves a lasting impression. It’ll likely launch another hit or two (Drake’s two solo lead singles “Popstar” and “Greece” both cracked the top 10 over the summer), and fade from memory. And that’s exactly what the album’s feature-bloated track list is supposed to do: generate hits. Unfortunately it doesn’t leave anything that has the potential to linger beyond one season, aside from the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound of DJ Khaled yelling an oversaturated catchphrase over an otherwise fine set of songs.

Rating: 30/97

Stream Khaled Khaled:

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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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For this week’s Journey to Freedom challenge, Michelle Williams challenges us to “celebrate a mindful moment of self-love.”  Self-love, Michelle says, is an essential precursor to being able to obtain romantic love.  After all, if you don’t love yourself… how can you expect someone else to love you?  This is an important stepping stone in one’s journey to freedom, especially if one of the goals of your journey is to experience love from another person.

With the songs selected this week, the artists all have very courageously shared their own internal conflicts with the world.  Some of the songs also encourage the listener to love his or her self as well.  So, without further adieu, lets take a look at the list!

1.  “One Is the Magic #” by Jill Scott puts things very bluntly on this midtempo, latin-flavored track off her debut album released in 2000, Who Is Jill Scott?.  With a sass that only Jill can infuse into a neo-soul song, she asserts that “there’s just me, one is the magic number.”  While illustrated through a series of clever wordplay, her point is clear, that she must live for herself and disregard the opinions of others.  My favorite lyric: “So many times I defined my pride through somebody else’s eyes.  Then I looked inside and found my own stride, I found the lasting love for me.”  Well said, Miss Scott.

2.  “Me,” by Tamia has an interesting concept.  In the song, taken from 2006’s Between Friends, Tamia is ending her relationship with an unfulfilling lover.  As she does, he asks if there’s someone else, and she says yes, there is… another woman.  However, that other woman’s name is “Me.”  She proceeds to tell him about all of the things that he has done wrong to “Me.”  This cleverly written, emotional track is most definitely worth the listen.

3.  “Crooked Smile” by J. Cole features TLC on this “Unpretty” reminiscent track from his 2013 sophomore release, Born Sinner.  I considered including “Unpretty” on the list as well, but since both essentially share the same thing, I opted for the song I prefer: “Crooked Smile.”  On this song, Cole directs his words towards anyone who is insecure, but specifically women, encouraging women to embrace their imperfections.  It is nice to see a male hip-hop artist send such a positive message to women considering the rampant degradation that lives in music by some other rappers.  Cole has always set himself apart from the rest by having a mostly positive, socially conscious air about his work.  My favorite line, though, is about himself:  “I keep my twisted grill, just to show the kids its real.  We ain’t picture perfect, but we worth the picture still.”  

4.  “Take Me As I Am” by Mary J. Blige is pulled from her 2005 album, The Breakthrough, which, like No More Drama, is seen as one of her defining albums released at one of the defining moments of her life, for several reasons.  Mary sings to her haters in this self-love anthem.  “She’s confident this is not the end.  Ask me how I know?  Cause she is me,” sings Mary.  There comes a point in every person’s journey to freedom where they finally come to love who they are, as they are.  This song encapsulate’s that moment.

5.  “Pretty Hurts” by Beyoncé is another song dealing with the topic of imperfection, which was a theme across the BEYONCÉ album.  However, “Pretty Hurts” is a bit different.  The song is beauty-pageant-themed, and opens with “Miss Third Ward” being interviewed, and asked what her aspiration in life is.  Her response?  “To be happy.”  And really, that is what the journey to freedom is about.  A journey to freedom… to find fulfillment, and happiness.  However, “Pretty Hurts” specifically deals with the unhealthy expectations to be “pretty” and thin that is placed on young girls in our culture.  Beyoncé ends the song with this affecting verse:

“When you’re alone all by yourself, 

And you’re lying in your bed,

Reflection stares right into you, 

Are you happy with yourself?  

You’ve stripped away the masquerade, 

The illusion has been shed… 

Are you happy with yourself?”  

Self-love is about finally being capable of looking at your reflection in the mirror, and loving who looks back for you… physically, and mentally.  When you can truly do this, then you truly love yourself; imperfections and all.  Beyoncé closes the song by answering her own question, with a ‘yes.”

6.  “I Can” by Nas is an uplifting inspirational track aimed at young people.  The song encourages the youth to follow their dreams and strive toward whatever dream they most desire.  Specifically, the song encourages young African-American children to aspire without limitation.  Nas serves a history lesson on “I Can,” with a flow and a vocabulary that few of his peers can compete with.  I still recall how impressed I was by Nas’ historical flow on this song when I first heard it back in 2002.

7.  “Can’t Take That Away” by Mariah Carey is also called “Mariah’s Theme.”  The song, released on the Rainbow album in 1999, came at a pivotal, transitionary moment in Mariah’s career.  She had just divorced her husband (and head of Sony Music), Tommy Mottolla, and was on her way out of the label.  Feeling as though “people” were out to get her and sabotage her career, she wrote this song about perseverance and self-love.  She also says that it was in part inspired by the tragic Columbine Shooting in 1999.  “Can’t Take That Away” also became a single from the album after an intense fight with the label ensued.  Mariah eventually won, with the help of a fan petition, and got the song released with an emotional video featuring her fans. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very successful.  Regardless, the song is a highlight in her catalogue for both personal and musical reasons.  The vocal run at the end of the bridge is perhaps one of her most impressive.  Its lyrics, while a bit cliché, are extremely relatable and inspirational, and often cited by fans as a song that has helped them through hard times.

8.  “Dot” by Destiny’s Child is a bonus track on the Charlie’s Angels Soundtrack which birthed the more notable “Independent Women Part 1.”  While it’s title really makes no sense aside from the fact that the sound is repeated on the song’s chorus, otherwise, the song is most likely born from a personal place.  Written by Beyoncé following the drama that swirled around Destiny’s Child in 2000, it features lyrics like, “if something’s wrong, blame it on me, B-E-Y-O-N-C-E.”  Undoubtedly, Beyoncé wrote this song to uplift herself after having been torn down by the media who called her dozens of harmful names.  Which would be a hard thing to deal with for any 19 year old.  Perhaps, that’s why she felt the need to pass this inspiration message along to her fans: “Love yourself enough to live life for you, and nobody else.”  

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As a child of divorce myself, I don’t find it entertaining. I find it disgustingly disheartening, especially in both of these two cases. Why? Because there are children involved. While they might be toddlers, too young to understand the stories from the media, let’s not forget that the internet lives on forever. The last thing those children need is to hear or read things about their parents as they grow older. Yes, their parents are celebrities and the gossip comes with it, but they are still human.

Imagine they were your parents; how would you feel seeing these stories in the news? Ask yourself that question next time you excitedly gossip about whether or not Jay-Z cheated on Beyoncé, or if Nick is leaving Mariah because he thinks she’s “crazy.” Yes, they’re celebrities and yes, they’ve shared their happy moments with the world by sharing photos and videos of their weddings and children, but that’s only natural. We all want to share our happiness with others. Moments of pain should be handled sensitively and respected – kept private until that person is comfortable speaking openly about it.

It’s been confirmed by Nick that he and Mariah are separated, so why must the media hound them about it any further? Let it be until they are ready to speak. Personally, it breaks my heart to think of how Monroe and Moroccan’s lives will be forever changed as a result of their parents’ split. Ironically, Mariah’s parents split when she was 3 as well. I can imagine the pain she must be feeling, as I have been in similar circumstances.

Beyoncé and Jay-Z haven’t directly spoken about it, but at the VMA’s last night they displayed their love for each other. Of course, this won’t be enough to quell the rumors, because people opt for the negative story; it’s more dramatic and entertaining.

As a result, this latest weekly series on our site will highlight a selection of songs about divorce by some of music’s most popular artists. There will be songs where the artists sing from the perspective of being a child of divorce themselves, and others where they sing as a participant in the divorce. The goal is to raise a bit of awareness of the pain that divorce causes, so perhaps people will think twice before speaking about it like some kind of entertaining joke.

Here are the first four song selections:

“Love For a Child” by Jason Mraz
Well, we might as well get right into it. “Love For a Child” is one of the most heartbreaking songs on the list. On this ballad, Mraz opens up about his experiences as a child of divorce himself, saying that “the song pieces together some memories. I remember hearing all the arguments, but I also felt their love.” On VH1 Storytellers, Mraz shared his mother’s reaction to the song with the audience: “I try not to listen to that song very much. It’s a beautiful song, but I just wish it was about somebody else.” Two of the song’s most poignant, hard hitting moments are:

Was it mom who put my dad out on his ass or the other way around
Well I’m far too old to care about that now

It’s kinda nice to work the floor since the divorce
I’ve been enjoying both my Christmases and my birthday cakes

With both of these quotes, Mraz encapsulates the feelings of most other children of divorce. Children often wonder: “whose fault is it?” and, “who is the blame?”. The first set of lyrics does a great job of relaying that state of mind. Additionally, the second set about the “positives” of the divorce are tongue-in-cheek. While these things may seem fun to a child, and are the parents’ way of distracting the child from the harsh reality, the two Christmases and the two birthdays will never quite compare to a unified holiday celebration.

“The D Word” by Toni Braxton and Babyface
Last year, Toni Braxton and Babyface released their first album of collaborations, Love, Marriage and Divorce. Having both experienced divorce, they seemingly felt it apt to address the issue on their album. “The D Word” obviously insinuates divorce and the song finds the pair grappling with the emotions that a couple would feel as they go through a divorce. They battle with the feelings of separating yet still wanting to be together on some level. They acknowledge the harsh realization of becoming single once again, and thus being rendered alone. The song ends with the reminder that, “although we’re apart, you still own my heart, Forever and ever, and ever, ’cause I’ll always love you, forever think of you…”

“I’m OK” by Christina Aguilera
With this song, we go back to the child’s perspective. On “I’m OK,” from 2002’s Stripped, Christina opens up like never before. On this heart-wrenching track, Aguilera tells the story of her childhood and the challenges she faced growing up. Mostly, “I’m OK” is about her abusive father. Christina recounts memories of her father abusing her mother, and the pain that it brought her as a child. “Hurt me to see the pain across my mother’s face as my father’s fist would put her in her place,” is one of the songs saddest lyrics. However, probably the only lyric in the song that isn’t completely sad is: “Every morning that I wake, I look back on yesterday, and I’m ok.” There is strength in her confessions, and makes “I’m OK” one of the highlights in Christina’s catalogue.

“Bye Baby” by Nas
Nas is renowned for his honest, poetic storytelling and “Bye Baby” is no exception. He speaks very candidly about his divorce from Kelis on the track, outlining his reasons for the divorce, and pouring out his feelings. From Nas’ point of view, the blame lies on Kelis, and his pain is evident in the song’s first verse. However, on the second verse he opts to reminisce on the happier moments of their relationship. Finally, he finds solace in the situation and acknowledges the good that came from their relationship: his son, ending the song by saying, “It’s a beautiful life, goodbye.”

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