{"id":1766,"date":"2015-12-28T22:29:05","date_gmt":"2015-12-28T22:29:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/?p=1766"},"modified":"2015-12-28T22:44:32","modified_gmt":"2015-12-28T22:44:32","slug":"monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/12\/28\/monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing\/","title":{"rendered":"Monica&#8217;s &#8220;Code Red&#8221; Album Proves R&#038;B Music is Still Standing"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up as a child in the 90&#8217;s, I had the joy of listening to great music in all forms. Unlike today&#8217;s sound, with repetitive lyrics and empty value, music 20+ years ago had meaning and captured the essence of true soul. As a child, my siblings and I eagerly anticipated nightly countdown shows with music videos on BET. The art of the <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/07\/17\/the-resurgence-of-the-music-video\/\" target=\"_blank\">music video<\/a><\/strong> doesn&#8217;t exactly have the same effect in 2015. Back then, it was one of the only ways to see a singer&#8217;s various form of talent outside of the music.<\/p>\n<h3>Monica&#8217;s star quality immediately grabbed my attention and still captivates me, 20 years after her debut album, &#8220;Miss Thang&#8221;.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"ast-oembed-container\"><iframe title=\"Monica - Before You Walk Out Of My Life (Official HD Video)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ptiz0KtR16E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>I remember singing every word of every Monica song as if she and I were having our own dialogue. I rocked with her when she was <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=asXau88O5Is\" target=\"_blank\">taking things personal<\/a><\/strong> and searching for an <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=3eOuK-pYhy4\" target=\"_blank\">angel to call her own<\/a><\/strong>. Monica&#8217;s lyrics were similar to my own journey through adolescence.<\/p>\n<h3>When the &#8220;Code Red Experience&#8221; tour stopped in Charlotte, you already know I was in the building.<\/h3>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"6\">\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p style=\"margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;\"><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/-sXOFlw6sV\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Baby that&#8217;s just why I love you so much&#8230;&#8221; #monica #codered<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;\">A video posted by Starkey (@beingstarkey) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2015-11-30T03:02:56+00:00\">Nov 29, 2015 at 7:02pm PST<\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\" async=\"\" defer=\"defer\"><\/script><br \/>\n<\/center><\/p>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"instagram-media\" style=\"background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);\" data-instgrm-captioned=\"\" data-instgrm-version=\"6\">\n<div style=\"padding: 8px;\">\n<div style=\"background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/-sVQUCw6ot\/\" target=\"_blank\">&#8220;Before you walk out my life&#8221; My absolute favorite song<\/a><\/p>\n<p>A video posted by Starkey (@beingstarkey) on <time style=\"font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;\" datetime=\"2015-11-30T02:45:46+00:00\">Nov 29, 2015 at 6:45pm PST<\/time>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script src=\"\/\/platform.instagram.com\/en_US\/embeds.js\" async=\"\" defer=\"defer\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<p>As she discussed her motivation for her new album <i>Code Red<\/i>, Monica made it plain and clear about her intention to bring back real music. Immediately we had another thing in common.<\/p>\n<h3>I too miss REAL music!!!<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicasogone.gif\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1767\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/12\/28\/monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing\/monicasogone\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicasogone.gif?fit=250%2C141&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"250,141\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"monicasogone\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicasogone.gif?fit=250%2C141&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicasogone.gif?fit=250%2C141&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter  wp-image-1767\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicasogone.gif?resize=322%2C181\" alt=\"monicasogone\" width=\"322\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Now don&#8217;t get it twisted, I listen to a little bit of the new music, but very few and far in between. I would rather listen to an old school radio station or pop in one of my CDs from the 90s and 2000s. So I was extra amped when I found out that Monica had a new album coming out.<\/p>\n<h3>&#8220;Code Red&#8221; is a listening experience like no other.<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1769\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1769\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1769\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/12\/28\/monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing\/monicacodered\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?fit=450%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"450,450\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"monicacodered\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Credit: thisisrnb.com&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?fit=450%2C450&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1769\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?resize=450%2C450\" alt=\"Photo Credit: thisisrnb.com\" width=\"450\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?w=450&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacodered.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1769\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Credit: thisisrnb.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In an interview with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.essence.com\/2015\/12\/23\/monica-new-album-code-red-missy-basketball-wife\" target=\"_blank\">Essence Magazine<\/a>, Monica said, &#8220;I think that R&amp;B music is borderline extinct at this point. <i>Code Red<\/i> is just me saying, &#8216;We&#8217;re in a state of emergency as far as R&amp;B music goes.&#8217; It&#8217;s time for us to get back fighting for a genre that we all love. I miss music with a message, music with a melody, music that&#8217;s just well created with great artists and great musicians.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She seized every opportunity in this album, showcasing her talent as an R&amp;B artist with great staying power. In her first song on the album, Monica attests that music isn&#8217;t the same because artists are so focused on crossing over for money versus putting energy into taking chances for the sake of real music. <i>Code Red<\/i> is also sprinkled with collaborations ranging from a variety of producers and artists including Missy Elliott, Timberland, Lil Wayne, Akon, and her daughter Laiyah. I promise you can play the album straight through without skipping a track. My favorite tracks are, <i>Love Just Ain&#8217;t Enough<\/i>, <i>Saints &amp; Sinners<\/i>, and <i>Anchor<\/i>. Listening to the depth of Monica&#8217;s soul in each and every track, sums up the artistry built over the span of her entire career. For instance, there are songs on <i>Code Red<\/i> that reminds me of <i>Miss Thang<\/i> and <i>After the Storm<\/i>, only time she&#8217;s much stronger and wiser.<\/p>\n<p>If you are a Monica fan&#8230;scratch that. If you are a <strong>die-hard<\/strong> R&amp;B fan, I strongly suggest you pick up <a href=\"http:\/\/codered.monica.com\/\" target=\"_blank\"><i>Code Red<\/i><\/a>. You ears will thank you later.<\/p>\n<h3>Is R&amp;B loosing its essence or has the sound just changed? Tell us in the comments section about the state of soul music.<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicaconfused.gif\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"1772\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/12\/28\/monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing\/monicaconfused\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicaconfused.gif?fit=245%2C184&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"245,184\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"monicaconfused\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicaconfused.gif?fit=245%2C184&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicaconfused.gif?fit=245%2C184&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1772\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicaconfused.gif?resize=245%2C184\" alt=\"monicaconfused\" width=\"245\" height=\"184\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Growing up as a child in the 90&#8217;s, I had the joy of listening to great music in all forms. Unlike today&#8217;s sound, with repetitive lyrics and empty value, music 20+ years ago had meaning and captured the essence of true soul. As a child, my siblings and I eagerly anticipated nightly countdown shows with &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/2015\/12\/28\/monica-code-red-album-proves-rb-still-standing\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Monica&#8217;s &#8220;Code Red&#8221; Album Proves R&#038;B Music is Still Standing<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[375115053,8370621],"tags":[401381533,18,23157],"class_list":["post-1766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-be-original-be-free-be-you","category-entertain-this","tag-monica","tag-music","tag-rb"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1",900,900,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=768%2C768&ssl=1",768,768,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=510%2C510&ssl=1",510,510,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1",900,900,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=900%2C900&ssl=1",900,900,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?resize=300%2C300&ssl=1",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?fit=600%2C600&ssl=1",600,600,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/monicacoverphoto-e1451341530871.jpg?resize=100%2C100&ssl=1",100,100,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Crystal Starkes","author_link":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/author\/starkey1922\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Growing up as a child in the 90&#8217;s, I had the joy of listening to great music in all forms. Unlike today&#8217;s sound, with repetitive lyrics and empty value, music 20+ years ago had meaning and captured the essence of true soul. As a child, my siblings and I eagerly anticipated nightly countdown shows with&hellip;","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6P85j-su","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1766"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1776,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1766\/revisions\/1776"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/girltyler.com\/staging\/2937\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}