ENTERTAINMENT
From Issue #10
Monica
Life has dealt some heavy blows
her
way - she talks about how to heal
by Kate Miles
For R&B On star Monica,
music isn’t just something to play in the car. “Music
is therapeutic, not only for the listener but the person
who makes it,” says the soulful singer who has released
a bold new album, “All Eyez on Me.” Life has hit Monica with some heavy blows since “That
Boy is Mine” was released in 1999. But the 21- year-old
R&B sensation has turned to song writing as a tool
for healing heartbreak. “Sometimes when something
bad happens to you, it just doesn’t feel natural,”
she says. “Music can help make that feeling go away.”
Growing up in the fast-paced
whirl of the music business can be tough, but Monica has
stayed on track since her debut at age 14 with the hit
album, “Miss Thang.” She credits her family
with helping her keep it real through two double platinum
albums and three consecutive #1 singles on the pop charts.
Monica’s mother raised her children in the Methodist
church, and Monica first unleashed her awesome voice singing
in a gospel choir at the age of two.
But mother and daughter
have sung together only once. Two years ago both attended
the funeral for Monica’s ex-boyfriend and best friend,
Jarvis Knots. It was there in grief, that Monica’s
mother joined her soul star daughter in song. “It
wasn’t planned, she just got up to help me through
it,” says Monica. “My mom is my back-bone.
If she senses I need her to be there, she’ll be
there.”
Losing her friend to
suicide was a tragedy that forced Monica to question who
she was and what she needed. “Jarvis needed me to
support him, but after his death, I’m not ashamed
to admit that I needed support for me,” says the
singer. Monica credits her strong faith and family with
helping her through the crisis, but ultimately found solace
in the healing power of music.
Monica began writing music with “I Wrote This Song”
which is dedicated to Jarvis. “Making music is very
healing for me,” she says. “Problems don’t
go away, you just find a way to express them. Sometimes
when life gives us problems, we try to live around them
by going out with friends or shopping. I was raised to
face problems head on.”
Monica wrote several more songs on her new album, but
says the creative spark never appears the same way twice.
“I like song writing, it allows me to start from
scratch,” says Monica. “I used to start with
singing the song, now I feel like the process starts with
writing it.” Listening to Monica talk about her
life and her songs, it is clear that her deepest music
comes from within.“Self-respect is the key,”
says the singer. “You can look to other people for
guidance, but the best place to start is within yourself.
Knowledge is something you can never have enough of. Talent
isn’t everything. Knowledge gives you leverage.
Know what you’re talking about, and people learn
to expect the unexpected.”
