mixtape maestro (2.0)

Remember when Monica fancied herself Ciara and dropped that out-of-character collabo with the “Lean Wit It, Rock Wit It” boys a few years back? Perhaps it did bump for a second or two, but in the end, it didn’t fuel album sales the way she probably imagined it would (matter of fact, the LP it led off, The Makings of Me, turned out to be the worst selling release of her career). On new single, “Still Standing”, the artist at-once recognized as ‘Miss Thang‘ is once again flirting with trendy conventions to launch a new album era; but rather than urge listeners into some simple-minded snap dance, she uses the triumphant glow of Southern hip hop’s synthesized wall of sound fetish as a prop-up to serve some “real” lyricism.

“This is more than just a song to me”, the singer asserts, following meaty verses that note her perseverance in the face of haters (“I been through the storm/ Had dirt on my name”) and a sad personal tragedy (“I had a lover take his own in front of me/
I asked God, ‘Why is this happening to me?’”). From day one, Monica has always had a strong sense of maturity in her R&B, a trait that helped her stand out amongst the other teenaged diva-to-bes that came about in the mid-to-late-’90′s, and with even more life experience under her belt, the wise words she projects here penetrate the brain with even more weight (“(They say) Whatever don’t kill you make you stronger/ Well I must be the world’s strongest woman”), making this one of her best recorded achievements to date.

With Ludacris putting aside his wacky wordplay for an inspiring guest sixteen, “Still Standing” resonates as the kind of substance R&B is in dire need of these days. Hopefully, urban radio playlist-makers won’t be timid about supporting a tune that doesn’t carry strip-club potential or be afraid to fully support a modern-day message-oriented cut not done by Alicia Keys.

DL: “Still Standing” (YFH)

(Shouts to DMarcus)