We’ve been blessed with new music from two of R&B’s most amazing artists – Toni Braxton and Ne-Yo.
Toni Braxton – Long As I Live
Toni Braxton “Long As I Live”
Toni Braxton’s new song, Long As I Live, has literally been on repeat since I first heard it a few days ago. In the song, Toni is singing about tripping over the love of her life, also her ex, who has moved on and she’s having to hear about another woman living the life she once lived with him. It’s really one of those songs you play on Friday night while drinking all the wine in the house and then drunk dial your ex. However, I like it because Toni’s vocals are so mellow, yet give so much life – and the beat just flows. The overall vibe of the song is late 90s to mid-2000s and I’m all the way here for it. We need more of this – a revival of R&B music.
Ne-Yo – Good Man
Ne-Yo “Good Man”
If art is imitating life, Ne-Yo must be a very happily married man. His latest song, Good Man, is basically an ode to his significant other with proclamations of fidelity, assuring her that her that the day he married her he was committed to being a good, honest, faithful man – despite what the haters and naysayers have to say about it. The song samples a bit of D’Angelo’s legendary song, How Does It Feel, and the overall vibe of the song is mid to late 2000s.
I get super excited when I hear new music that has a pure R&B sound. Being a genuine music lover, I listen to EVERYTHING, but my first love was R&B and my favorite era was the 90s, so I obviously have an affinity for love songs. Toni Braxton and Ne-Yo are two artists I can always turn to for a good R&B fix.
“All I need in this life of sin, is me and my girlfriend.”
Hip hop royalty — Beyoncé and Jay-Z have been rocking for a decade and a half. In the beginning of their relationship, the dynamic duo was bent on keeping things on the low-low, which made perfect sense at the time. Beyoncé was emerging as a solo artist with a lot to prove & Jay-Z was a well-established rapper with a bad boy persona. Imagine the field day the media could’ve had with their love story back in the early 2000s. There was so much at stake and they made sure to protect their love with a shatter-proof layer of secrecy.
Although they would collaborate in the music studio together, they never really discussed their relationship in the media. Everyone had solid suspicions of their commitment to one another, but Bey & Jay were to remain mum on the subject until they were good & ready to “come out”.
The pregnancy rumors. The rumors of Jay-Z cheating. The rumors of Jay-Z having kids. They moved past it all and eventually tied the knot in a top-secret wedding on April 4, 2008. Jay-Z reportedly dropped $5 million on the wedding ring! But, why wouldn’t he? Beyoncé is worth every dollar – she’s kind of a big deal. Beyoncé could have easily chosen to live her life focused on her career as many other powerful, successful women have chosen to do. Based on the trajectory of her career – from Destiny’s Child to one of the most iconic entertainers to walk this earth – you would think she had no room in her grand scheme to settle down with a family. However, there’s obviously a side to the innovative beauty that values love and family. Her father and mother provided the foundation for family and although their marriage ended in divorce, I’m sure Beyoncé set out to do it bigger and better in her own life.
And who else could tame a roguish guy like Shawn Carter other than Beyoncé? Based on the content of his music and the plethora of women he was attached to back in the day, you would think Jay-Z would not be the marrying type. It’s possible that Bey and Jay were on and off in their relationship for many years as Jay continued to sow his wild oats. In the end, he realized that there is only one Beyoncé on this great, wide earth and letting go of a diamond to go chase cubic zirconia probably started to seem a bit foolish at some point. He held on to his Queen and she fell dangerously in love.
The power couple welcomed their first princess, Blue Ivy, into the world in January 2012 and Beyoncé was officially a mother. Although naysayers would want to say otherwise, she wore pregnancy well and even kept those 6 inch heels on deck. How could someone make pregnancy looks so good? But there was, once again, trouble in paradise when Jay got caught up with “Becky with the good hair.” We heard all about it when Beyoncé released her visual album, Lemonade, in 2016. However, the couple was triumphant in the fight for their marriage and kept it moving past all the infidelity and pain. We even got blessed with a set of twins, Sir Carter and Rumi, afterwards. Jay-Z went on record, literally, to express his remorse and discontent with his actions in his iconic album, 4:44, which was released in 2017 and it’s apparent that he is a changed man after it all.
The two together are worth billions of dollars and we get to witness their grandeur on Beyoncé’s Instagram account when she sporadically updates with her artsy photographs. Beyoncé is in collaboration mode in her music career, recently releasing singles with rapper Eminem, and singer Ed Sheeran. Jay-Z is on tour for his album 4:44 and still making business moves daily. They are raising three beautiful children up in royalty and loving life along the way. The story of Beyoncé and Jay-Z shows us all that love always wins.
Drama + Controversy 