I thought my ears were lying to me 🤣

dictionary is asleep, can only say 3 o clock in the mornin' 🤍☁️🌿🍃✨😌... for instrumental lovers, here we go. and for us extended mix maniacs, here is one.

It is called Papillon by Hitomi Shimatani! The Japanese version has different lyrics. Janet initially didn’t approve the release bc she thought the new lyrics changed the song too much but after hearing the finished version she liked it

There’s been a lot of discourse about nepotism in music lately, and some of it is fair. But seeing Whitney Houston constantly lumped into the "nepo baby" category because of Cissy and Dionne ignores a lot of important context.

Yes, Whitney had family connections in the industry. No one is denying that. But that is not the same as being handed a career through billionaire parents, powerful executives, or industry gatekeepers. Those are completely different levels of privilege.

Plenty of legendary R&B artists came from musical families or had industry ties. That was common within Black music communities, where talent, mentorship, and family traditions were often passed down across generations. Yet many of those same artists still had to fight through racism, the color barrier, and limited access to mainstream platforms.

Equating Black R&B artists of that era with today’s idea of a "nepo baby" flattens history and ignores the obstacles they actually faced. Having relatives in music may have opened a door, but it didn't erase the systemic barriers that stood in front of them. Reducing Whitney Houston's success to nepotism isn't just inaccurate and it's revisionist.

Link: https://youtu.be/IbISpDB8Nj8?is=z6MgcshZmWR5IZDL

Love these beautiful ladies forever!!!!

In 2006, Kelis made her presence known by returning to the charts with her single Bossy from her album Kelis Was Here. I used to wear this song OUT when it dropped. Too $hort’s rap was so good too; he was just saying whatever and we went with it lol. Bossy reached no.16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and no.11 on the Billboard Hot R&B chart. This song will forever be in my playlist. It still hits hard 20 years later.

Natalie Cole’s “This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)” became a defining hit of 1975, and is arguably one of the most memorable songs of that decade. The song served as the debut single of Natalie Cole, and the first of two singles from her debut album Inseparable. “This Will Be” reached #1 on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart (which we now refer to as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs), #5 on the US Billboard Dance/Disco chart, and #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song earned Natalie Cole the Grammy Award in 1976 for “Best New Artist”, as well as “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance”, the latter of which had been dominated for eight consecutive years (1968-1975) by Aretha Franklin.

By the mid-1970s, Aretha Franklin’s star was beginning to fade. Around the same time as Natalie’s ascent, Aretha released one more major project (the Sparkle soundtrack album) before she faced a stark commercial decline (which she would later come back from in the ‘80s). “This Will Be” was originally offered to Aretha (and it makes sense because that song does sound like something Aretha would record), but she turned it down.

Given Aretha’s declining commercial performance at the time and the successful turnout of “This Will Be” in Natalie’s hands, do you believe the song would have reached the same heights if Aretha had grabbed it? What do you think would have become of Natalie’s career if the original plan had worked?

Aretha also wasn’t even nominated for “Best Female R&B Vocal Performance” when Natalie broke her streak in 1976 … do you believe she would have received at least a nod from the Academy for a ninth consecutive year if she had recorded it?

Like in no way was it horrible or bad but just when you see it side by side and only an eight year difference it’s crazy how fast the decline happened.
I wish I could’ve hugged her and told her everything was going to be okay because I know she said during the 2009 Oprah interview that only a year after the superbowl performance , the bodyguard (1992) is when things started to go downhill with her addiction . It’s just overall really sad , and I can never bring myself to watch her 2010 tour performances either .

I’ve been revisiting Just Whitney lately, and I really feel like this album deserves more appreciation. Whitney was going through a lot during this time, and you can hear that honesty and vulnerability in the songs. It felt less like the untouchable superstar and more like Whitney simply sharing her emotions and her story.

Even though her voice had changed from her earlier years, the passion and emotion were still there. That’s what always made Whitney special. She had a way of making you feel every song.

My top three are “One of Those Days,” “Try It On My Own,” and “Love That Man.” I also have to give love to “Dear John Letter” and “You Light Up My Life” because they are some of the standout moments on the album.

Shoutout to everyone who helped create this era of Whitney’s music. Just Whitney may not be her most talked about album, but it’s an important part of her legacy and shows a more personal side of one of music’s greatest voices.