He graduated from the Cleveland School of the Arts in 1995 where he majored in theater. He is best known for hits such as "Separated" (the remix to which features Kelly Rowland), "My First Love," which one version features Keke Wyatt, and "Read Your Mind" (the remix to which features Snoop Dogg on the extended promo vinyl). He was featured in the remix to the Lloyd Banks song "Karma" from the 2004 album The Hunger for More, and has also had a cameo appearance in the 2004 feature film BarberShop 2: Back in Business.
He also did a remix of The Pussycat Dolls song "Stickwitu." He stated that he refused to cooperate with The Pussycat Dolls at first until they offered him a better contract and to perform it and sing his way for a better single. Avant has also appeared on the Oxygen Network reality TV show Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency when he asked Janice to have models dance with him during the release party of the album Director.
Separate Remix
Avant Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Avant and Kelly]
Mummmm ummm (on and on)
[Kelly]
I don't care what my momma say
I don't care what my daddy say
I don't care bout' what the preacher said for us to do I don't care about it
[Avant]
Listen here, I don't care what your brother saw
I don't care it was all your fault
How could you do what you did to me you wait till' I was sleep and call the damn police
[Chorus]
Separate, what we got to do
Separate, talkin' bout' me and you
Separate, how it's got to be
Separate, no more you and me
Separate, what we got to do
Separate, talkin' bout' me and you
Separate, how it's got to be
Separate, no more me and you
(1st time only)
(Watchin' me)
[Kelly]
I don't know what you callin' for
So don't you come tryin' to kick down my door
Everything is mine to keep
Money
Car
Crib
My kid everything
[Avant]
Everything but my boy you can have
And I don't care as long as you don't cross my path
and now I know you never cared at all
For 2 years you been my down fall
[Chorus 1x]
[Avant]
Listen girl
Never did explain when I saw you with your friend
[Kelly]
But what about the movies when you said it was your friend
[Avant]
Listen' in the bathroom talkin' low on the phone
[Kelly]
Well what do you expect when you aint ever at home
(Avant)
You see I'm workin' all day and hustlin' all night
[Kelly]
I'm cookin' and I'm cleanin' and all you want to do is fight
[Avant]
Why me?
[Kelly]
Why me?
[Both]
I think it's bout' time that we both move on
[Kelly]
We gon'
[Chorus till' fade]
In Avant's song Separate, the lyrics tell a story of a couple that has reached a point in their relationship where they must separate. The first verse sung by Kelly Rowland makes this quite clear as she declares her indifference to what her momma, daddy, or even the preacher has to say about their break-up. Avant then takes the lead in the second verse with his own gripes directed at his partner. He doesn't care about any excuses she might have for what she did. He feels betrayed and left with nothing except his son.
The chorus of the song signifies that the separation is necessary and it's time to move on. It's clear that both parties have their issues with each other, and things can never be the same again. They've concluded to go their separate ways to leave a toxic relationship. The last exchange between the two of them shows that the relationship is falling apart, and both parties have no reason to stay together.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't care what my momma say
I'm not gonna let what my mom says affect me
I don't care what my daddy say
I'm not gonna let what my dad says affect me
I don't care bout' what the preacher said for us to do I don't care about it
I'm not gonna let what the preacher says affect me
Listen here, I don't care what your brother saw
I'm not gonna let what your brother saw affect me
I don't care it was all your fault
I'm not gonna let you blame everything on me
How could you do what you did to me you wait till' I was sleep and call the damn police
Why did you have to call the police on me when I was sleeping, how could you do that?
Separate, what we got to do
We need to break up
Separate, talkin' bout' me and you
We need to end our relationship
Separate, how it's got to be
This is how it has to be
Separate, no more you and me
We can't be together anymore
I don't know what you callin' for
I don't know why you're calling me
So don't you come tryin' to kick down my door
Don't try to come to my house and cause trouble
Everything is mine to keep
I own everything
Everything but my boy you can have
You can have everything except for our son
And I don't care as long as you don't cross my path
I don't care what you do as long as you stay out of my way
and now I know you never cared at all
I realize you never really cared about me
For 2 years you been my down fall
You've been the reason for my downfall for the last 2 years
Never did explain when I saw you with your friend
You never explained why you were with your friend when I saw you
But what about the movies when you said it was your friend
What about the time at the movies when you said your friend was with you
Listen' in the bathroom talkin' low on the phone
I overheard you talking on the phone in the bathroom
Well what do you expect when you aint ever at home
What do you expect when you're never at home
You see I'm workin' all day and hustlin' all night
I'm working hard all day and all night
I'm cookin' and I'm cleanin' and all you want to do is fight
I'm doing all the housework and you just want to argue
Why me?
Why does this keep happening to me?
I think it's bout' time that we both move on
I think it's time for both of us to move on
We need to break up
Separation is necessary
We need to end our relationship
We need to stop being together
This is how it has to be
Things need to be this way
We can't be together anymore
We're not good for each other anymore
Contributed by Lincoln F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Nakhia Staley
Dragon Boyz Ft 112
Shanice And Yasmin
Nakhia Haakim Andrew Ely
Slim Daron Q Mike
Sky Heroes Group
Bad Boy Records
Sony Records
Associate Producer Kenny Dejesus
Beats Engineer Daniel Kappes
Executive Director Bryan Michael Cox
Recording Enigneer Tyriek Walton
Composer Lyricist Johnta Austin
Performance Singer Ariana Grande
Background Vocals Tank And Tamia
Guitar Engineer Kathrine Stock
*JROCK-THE ACTOR*
I Love This Song! I try NOT to sing both parts, but I cant help myself...! 😂😂😂 Don’t get in the car thinking we going to split this song up, Naw, I got this!!! LOL
Elijah Cunn
😂😂😂 I’m dead
N
Dying
Ceantra McBee
Facts !!! Lol I’m taking over hahaha I’m sorry though lol 😂 this and contagious by Ronald Isley
Ceantra McBee
Aka mr Biggs
LaToya Howard
Who’s still listening to this in 2021? Forever a banger 🔥♥️
ChaseyC
2022 🔥
Nick Rod
Damn! Throwback! This came out when I was in junior high. The girls and boys would play Avant and Kelly and sing it to each other! Ahhh the memories.....lol
jdgeibe
I’ve been a fan of Avant since early 2000’s when I first heard the original “Separated”, but I somehow never knew about this great song🤔
Gorilla Black
🙏🏿