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Be sure to tune into Dr. Oz today to catch Monica!! Monica reveals the tragic moment that changed her life forever and the condition that could have ended her career. Check your local listings on http://www.doctoroz.com/
Baton Rouge and Surrounding Areas! Plan to celebrate your Valentines Day with for Love & Laughter 4 featuring Tyrese and Monica! The show is taking place at the Baton Rouge River Center Arena on Sun, Feb 14th! Be sure to get your TICKETS HERE!
It’s the ‘Code Red’ Takeover with Monica & Kelly Price! The ladies will rip the stage at Macon City Auditorium in Macon, GA on Sat, Feb 13th! Be sure to get your TICKETS HERE!
DC and Surrounding Areas! Come out and party with Monica as she HOSTS the 1 Year Anniversary for BLISS Nightclub on Saturday Jan. 16th! You can get your tickets at http://www.flavorus.com/event/MONICA-AT-BLISS/314713 !
Contemporary R&B is being eroded from multiple directions: Hip-hop has absorbed its melody, and pop has thinned out its signature vocal gambits. Anodyne traditionalists make hay in the genre’s adult contemporary wing, but the mainstream’s center is so diffuse that R&B is beginning to feel less like a genre and more like an accent.
Into this morass steps Monica, a consistent and reliable singer for two decades now, who is releasing “Code Red,” her eighth studio album. At 35, and a decade removed from her biggest hits, she’s in a liminal space — not an etched-in-stone elder but not an innovator.
On the tepid, noncommittal “Code Red,” that manifests in the tension between traditionalist instincts and modern music-making imperatives, which make for uneasy neighbors.
Though in places, like on the title track, Monica is almost sing-rapping, she’s far more comfortable with — and adept at — traditional soul singing. But throughout this album, almost every instance of elegant, strong vocals comes with a current-day caveat. On the jumbled “Just Right for Me,” it’s a thick drum arrangement and a Lil Wayne cameo. On “Hustler’s Ambition,” an elegant duet with Akon and one of this album’s best songs, it’s subject matter: The song is about the committed love between a criminal and his woman.
These are the choices of an artist trying to thread several needles at once. But Monica may truly be a nostalgist at heart. Near the end of the album comes “I Miss Music,” a song-length reminiscence-cum-complaint about the lasting value of music. She sings about Stevie Wonder, Lauryn Hill, Michael Jackson, Kurt Cobain. Over and over again, she asks, “What am I gonna sing to?” as if being the answer to her own question weren’t even an option.
#CODERED Alert!!! 🔥🔥 MonicaSoul.com is giving out 5 copies of Monica's new studio album CODE RED! Check out the contest rules below! Choose one of the following songs granted from Monica's CODE RED Pre-Order: Code Red, I Know, Hustler's Ambition or Alone In Your Heart to LIP SYNC to for your chance to win! Team Monica members are known to let loose and make fun videos, so let us see what you can do! Winners will be announced December 21st! Use the hashtags #Monica #CodeRedDec18 #MonicaSoulContest so that we can find you on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook! Good Luck!
Recap: Monica Graces Fans With The Full ‘Code Red Experience’ In NYC
It’s been a minute since Monica has hit that New York City stage for her enthusiastic fans, but last night (Decmember 13) at the Gramercy Theater, she finally made her return.
The R&B veteran wrapped up her Code Red Experience tour right in the middle of a bustling Manhattan, and she certainly went out with a bang. The tour was the main lead-up to her highly anticipated album, Code Red, that finally drops this week, and fans did not leave disappointed.
The evening started out with a few opening acts to tide over the crowd, just before R&B mastermind Rico Love hit the stage to perform hits off of his 2015 album, Turn The Lights On. As fans sang along to records like “Ride,” “Somebody Else,” and “Run,” everyone was reminded that this night was particularly made for the pleasure of real R&B heads. After a 30-40 minute long set, Rico set the tone for how the rest of the evening would play out.
By 9:30 or so, it was time for fans to have their wishes granted, as Monica was finally ready to hit the stage and take over. As fans, media, and VIP’s were warmed up by the DJ playing some classic New York hip hop, the audience started to become restless with anticipation. Soon enough, the lights went off, and a familiar voice was heard through the speakers, but it was not that of Monica’s.
The singer’s 1-year-old daughter, Laiyah, graced the screen, to the delight of the crowd, who told everyone to meet her mom’s arrival with enthusiasm, and told her how much she loved her. The moment was certainly a default highlight for the crowd full of fans who follow the hard-working mother’s move with her little girl. Following the video, fans were met to the sounds of Monica’s newest title track, “Code Red,” which has an introduction from little Laiyah, as well as an opening verse from the one and only, Missy Elliott.
During a brief pre-show interview we had with Monica, she spoke on working with the legend hit-marker:
“Our friendship always dictates the way we work. We don’t let the work dictate anything else. So we spent a lot of time together, and I’d go to her house in a lot of times in Atlanta, even sometimes and chill there. We talk about the things that mean the most to us, and we create the music around what’s kind of happening in my life, and things she knows about my past. So as we were working, it was really fun for me because I got a chance to tune everything else out. It was really really easy to work with Miss, and it’s always a relief for me as an artist since she loves the music first, and not the politics or the monetary part of it. Everything is really about the music for us.”
Although Missy was absent for the concert, fans knew that their fave hitting the stage would quickly turn that into a non-factor.
Next thing fans know, Monica finally touched the stage, and the whole venue was shaken up with extremely high energy. As she greeted the crowd, she transitioned right into her hit record, “Don’t Take It Personal (Just One Of Them Days),” much to the pleasure of the audience. Whether you’re a hardcore fan of the woman or not, there’s no denying that she’s got some timeless hits on her hands to go through. While everyone in the crowd adjusted happily to her presence, Monica gave us another throwback record, “So Gone,” which has always been a huge female favorite, as well as Monica’s, herself, as she admitted to the crowd. It wasn’t long before fans were bursting with joy, as she stepped into an even bigger hit, “Before You Walk Out Of My Life,” further proving the laundry list of hits this phenom has.
Although the energy was high consistently throughout the evening, there were some points where Monica toned things down for some of her slower love songs, giving her a chance to flaunt those powerful vocals of her. She brought out a mic stand to serenade fans with more recent tracks like “Love All Over Me,” as well as “Until It’s Gone,” which live on her 2012 album, New Life. She also gave fans a taste of what’s to come on Code Red this next week, as she performed her Akon-assisted record, “Hustler’s Ambition,” which sees some very strong vocals and content matter from both of the singers.
A couple of strong tracks later, Monica surprised the crowd by dabbling into one of her most famous hits of her two-decade-long career, “The Boy Is Mine.” Although some whispers of a possible Brandy sighting traveled through the crowd, it turned to be just rumors, though Monica still held her own singing the classic rivalry track.
After a brief musical intermission, giving Monica a few minutes to switch up her style, she made a comeback to the stage in some more red gear, including an incredibly fashion-forward coat. Despite her bringing the nostalgia to her fans, Monica still kept the focus in Code Red mode. She finally closed out the show with her hit single of this year, “Just Right For Me,” which features Lil Wayne. It’s a hard-hitting record that’s become an instant fan-favorite, leaving the crowd’s tastebuds more than satisfied as they await her project to come this Friday. If nothing else was made clear last night, it’s definitely the fact that Monica has longevity that cannot be denied, and fans that are here for the long-run. –Lindsey India
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