Why did I review the album? It
was on my list of top five albums I want to hear in 2014
Did I like it? Yes
Will I listen again? Absolutely
I’ve listened this album seven times, and each time I listen I uncover
more hidden gems.
This album reminded me of Beyoncé, but each track isn’t nearly as solid.
There is something on this album for everyone. There are 90’s influenced
tracks (Cry), some lighthearted and upbeat tracks (Meteorite,
Money & You Don’t Know What to Do),
Gospel (Heavenly).
The most impressive part is that she managed to integrate a myriad of
sounds and covered many bases with her music choice, but still managed to
create an incredibly personal album.
My Favs
3. Meteorite
2. Dedicated
1. One More Try
Overall Rating: 79 with a recommendation to listen then
decide
Cry-
She opens the song with some classic Mariah. What happens when someone
continually holds their feelings in? Well, at some point they’ll reach their
breaking point and it will find its way out.
This is classic Mariah. 4/5
Faded-This
song reminds me of Amnesia by JT. In Amnesia JT is scarred by hurt, but
then realizes the value of having the woman by his side. In this case, it’s a
bit more chaotic than that. She reverts from feeling lovesick to pretending he
doesn’t matter then rages anger and jealousy. 4/5
Dedicated-
I love this one. As the song promises it’s dedicated to old school music,
specifically the late 80’s. The song opens with Steve Stout announcing that the
summer of 88 is his favorite moment. Given the song’s dedication to old school
music, I find it poetic that he is put on the song because he was instrumental
to the careers of both Nas and MC, so I see his inclusion as paying homage to
his efforts.
She starts the song with a sexual
metaphor that relates her feeling about music. She loves it, and part of loving
it means she has to let others explore music as others let her. Even if they
twist it into something she doesn’t like. Either way, she’ll continue to show
her love for it through singing. Along
the way she pays homage to Eric B
To Mariah, music is a friend, it
has always been there. It has changed through the years due to other people
influence (and hers) but she like the original version she met best.
Nas jumps in for the third verse.
He doesn’t want the old days back again, but he wishes the new rapper weren’t
“fake”.
He then asks who the best of all
time is, and ironically he doesn’t give an answer. But, by listen to the people
he decides to pay homage to later in the verse we can get an idea which artist
he respects. I think the point Nas is trying to make is that people are too
hung up on ranking and categorizing. It doesn’t matter who you think the best
of all time is because someone else will have a different answer. And thirty
years down the road those names you mentioned then won’t even be mentioned,
they’ll be replaced by newer names and faces. He wants us to realize that
everyone loves music and making songs is the way people try to show their
appreciation for it.
He knows what his favorite type
of music is, and every time he writes a verse he tries to evoke that sound and
feeling that listening to those songs gave him. I think that’s what he tried to
do with Life is Good.
I have one issue with what Nas
said though. He says he doesn’t wish the game was old again, we wish it wasn’t full
of Draconian phony men. Well, by saying that, you are admitting that
back then, people did not behave that way. So, at least in part, you want the
game to be the way you envisioned it back then.
I love this song because it
doesn’t belittle rappers/singers today (well not much). MC and Nas love the
80’s and want to tell you why. They don’t tear down today’s artist to prop the
older artists they love and respect. 5/5
#Beautiful-
I forgot about this song. I heard it when I used to listen to the radio. I
thought it was on a previous album.
I can see why it was chosen as a
single. It’s a soft and easy listen that puts a smile on my face, even when I
don’t want it to.
Towards the end Miguel uses the Adorn sound
that I loved.
I’ve heard both perform better
duets, but this one is fine. 3/5
Thirsty-
I don’t like this one. I know I say that artists should use experience to make
music, but this time it failed.
I found this song incredibly mean
spirited. It aired dirty laundry that I didn’t want to know and frankly don’t
care about.
I did find it comical however
that this song is told from the viewpoint of an ex-lover. Considering how the
relationship between the two formed, that’s an extra slap in the face to Minaj.
2/5
Make it Look
Good- This is the classic story that is fascinated by a man because
he has the elusive “it.” that makes him far better than everyone else. A
beautiful voice and the use of a harmonica(I think) pushes this song past
average. 3.5/5
You’re Mine
(Eternal)- This song reminds me of a weaker version of Don’t Forget
About Us. The subject matter is
the same, but the execution is far better in Don’t Forget About Us (DFAU).
With DFAU she went into precise details
about why they were inseparable and why neither would find a better equal. But
with this song I kept asking myself WHY. Why can’t you keep him out of your
mind? Why did he make you believe you would be living in this fantasy forever?
Why where you the best? This song is WAY too general about those details, and
because of that I couldn’t sympathize with her felelings. Therefore I couldn’t
build a relationship with the music and that’s a shame because it sounds
beautiful. 3/5
You Don’t Know
What to Do- I thought it was hilarious that Wale acts like a hype
man in the beginning. And, is that Master P at 1:22(MC Yall)?
This song is kind of nonsensical
(in a good way). Wale thinks he has MC under his thumb and can do whatever he likes.
Therefore he plays games with her to entertain himself. At the same time MC
interoperates this as him not knowing what do/ not being serious.
The sound is produced well and
MC’s voice displays its usual distinctive range. Wale adds a comical verse that
includes a sports reference and has his characteristically natural flow.
It’s an upbeat song that could
possibly act as single.
Maybe I was expecting too much, but I was
disappointed by this collaboration. It’s nowhere near bad, but I thought it
would be a stronger product considering the artists involved. 3.5/5
Supernatural-
Beyoncé tried something similar with Blue and to be honest I like that one more
than this. I have the same problem with this song as I did with You’re Mine.
3.5/5
Meteorite-
I would love to ask her what her motivation for making this song because I have
many theories, but haven’t decided on one.
The song is clearly making fun of
people that shamelessly try to gain publicity for themselves. As long as they
are in the spotlight, they better entertain society while they have the chance.
If not they are wasting their time and ours.
She may be using the meteorite as
a metaphor for celebrity as well. To become a celebrity you have to have the
upmost faith in yourself that you will make it in your field. Once you do that
and achieve fame the public will take notice of you. They will watch you either
shine or crash into a ball of flame.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mariah
is also bragging here. In this song she’s saying that all of these people are
stars. But all stars have to burn out someday (It’s actually a pretty deep
concept but other song like JoJo’s Hollywood and Jay-Z ‘s Holy Grail
have covered, so I won’t go into it here ). But, the best stars are able to
forestall that burn out. Mariah has been relevant in the public eye for almost
25 years. So, she telling everyone who the real star is. In my opinion, if she
wanted to go after Nicki, as she did on Thirsty. THIS IS THE WAY TO DO IT, but I
digress.
This could be an effective
single. 5/5
Camouflage-
This is pure 90’s gold. In this song both Mariah and her man are wearing camouflage
because both are hiding behind fronts. Mariah suspects her man is cheating
although he is married and supposed to stay monogamous. His wedding ring and
vows are acting as a cover for his infidelity. Mariah wants to cry and release
the pain, but refuses to do so and instead opts for an indifferent approach.
I’m not going to lie, it not anything new (actually it’s pretty boring), but
the 90’s sound can make me forgive anything.
4/5
Money- WAY back in the day Fabolous was my favorite rapper, and I still
fond of his work, so I was expecting a lot from this collab.
I can’t explain this song. It’s
not what I was expecting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s the perfect summer song. It’s playful,
easy on the ears and could easily become a single if she chose to release it. 4/5
One More Try-
I had no idea this song was a cover of George Michael. Divine also did a
cover of this song. While each has its merits, this version is my favorite..
With that said, this song
confuses me. At points it seems like the teacher is life experience, but at
others it seems like an actual person.
Either way, this song chronicles
a young boy’s attempt to distance himself from his troublesome path. Along the
way he makes poor choices, and people abandon him as spirals. This song offers
a lot of depth about the possible mindset of city kids (and honestly anyone
that’s feeling a bit lost in life). It’s a slightly depressing song, but I
think it’s appropriate given the content. It asks hard questions to society.
How often does this happen? Are we doing enough about it? Who is to blame, the
environment, the child, or both.
Either way it’s a touching tale
somewhat akin to Macklemore’s Neon Cathedrals (although the subject matter is
different). It is similar in that the artist uses the psychology of a typical
person in that scenario and uses it to shed light on their experience and both
hide a social commentary.
I love this type of song because
they almost act as case study for someone in the situation being discussed.
Also, they usually hide a social commentary that asks us to consider something
of importance.
Tracks like these are always
great because there is a level of timelessness to them. No matter when someone
listens to this song, it has relevance because this issue will always exist.
For instance, the song was made in 1987 and was relevant to the culture. Over
25 years later this song still has relevance.
When I reviewed Xscape, I
commented that there was not a timeless track. This is the type of song I was
looking for. 5/5
Heavenly-
I love religious/ gospel songs. Not for the religious aspect, but it is my
belief that these songs always carry a sense of hope for the future. Who
doesn’t like that?
A lot of these songs discuss a
person looking for relief after trauma of some kind. That gives the song a
level of seriousness that attracts me. It also gives the song a somber
atmosphere. Despite that I always feel hope by the end. Considering the subject
matter, I find that entirely appropriate
The funny thing about this song
is that she never gives specifics. I killed a previous track for that but here
I think it works. She sing with so much ardor, that even without the details we
feel her pain and conviction. 5/5
Me. I Am Mariah… The Elusive Chanteuse- This track explains her reasoning for the
title of this album.
This was interesting for me
because I was curious about the motivation behind the title.
It’s an effective track because
it reminds us that celebrities are people too. N/A
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