In 1991, at the age of eleven, Monica was discovered by music producer Dallas Austin at the Center Stage auditorium in Atlanta performing Whitney Houston 1986's Greatest Love of All. Amazed by her voice, Dallas offered her a record deal with his Arista Records-distributed label Rowdy Records and consulted rapper Queen Latifah to work as Monica's first manager. Shortly afterwards Dallas and then staff producers Tim & Bob entered the studio with Monica to start writing and producing her debut Miss Thang which was eventually released in July 1995 and scored number thirty-six on the U.S. Billboard 200 and number seven on the Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million store-shipped copies and produced three top ten singles, including debut single Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days) and Before You Walk out of My Life both of which made Monica the youngest artist ever to have two consecutive chart-topping hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart. Miss Thang subsequently won Monica a Billboard Music Award and garnered her an American Music Award nomination in the Favorite Soul/R&B New Artist category.
After a label change to Clive Davis's Arista Records, Monica mainstream success was boosted, when Diane Warren-written For You I Will, from the Space Jam soundtrack, became her next top ten pop hit. The following year she was asked to team up with singer Brandy and producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins to record The Boy Is Mine, the first single from both of their second albums. Released in May 1998, surrounding highly publicized rumors about a real-life catfight between both singers, the duet became both the biggest hit of the summer and the biggest hit of 1998 in general in America, spending record-breaking thirteen weeks on top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It earned the pair a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal and garnered multi-platinum sales (to date, it remains as one of the top twenty most successful American singles in history based on Billboard chart success).
Jermaine Dupri, David Foster and Austin consulted on the album The Boy Is Mine, which was released later that year and eventually became Monicaโs biggest-selling album, becoming certified triple platinum by the RIAA for more than three million store-shipped copies. It yielded another two U.S. number-one hits with The First Night and Angel of Mine, a cover of Eternal's 1997 single, as well as a remake of Richard Marx' Right Here Waiting. Rolling Stone Magazine proclaimed it as "closer to soul's source... hearking back past hip-hop songbirds like Mary J. Blige and adult-contemporary sirens like Toni Braxton," while Allmusic called the album an "irresistible sounding [and] immaculately crafted musical backdrop [...] as good as mainstream urban R&B gets in 1998."
In 2000, Monica contributed chorus vocals for I've Got to Have It, a collaboration with Jermaine Dupri and rapper Nas. Released as the Big Momma's House theme song, the song saw minor success in the United States only. The following year, she released the Ric Wake production track Just Another Girl, recorded for the Down to Earth soundtrack, as a single.
A year later, Arnold channeled much of her heavily media-discussed experiences into the production of her third studio album, All Eyez on Me, her first release on mentor Clive Davis newly-founded J Records label. "I just wanted to give the people back something that had personal passion, instead of just, 'Oh, let's dance to this record'," she said about the issues worked into the tracks. The first single All Eyez on Me a Rodney Jerkins-produced R&B-dance track, saw minor to moderate success on the international charts but failed to enter the higher half of the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. A follow-up song, Too Hood, also got a lukewarm response and as a result, the album's tentative release was pushed back several times. "I don't think people wanted to hear a big fun record from me, after knowing all the things that I had personally experienced," Monica second-guessed her new material which saw both early and heavy bootlegging via internet at that time.
After the Japan-wide release of All Eyez on Me Monica was asked to substantially reconstruct the record with a host of new producers, and as a result the singer re-entered recording studios to start work with songwriters Kanye West, Jazze Pha, Andre "mrDEYO" Deyo, Bam & Ryan and Dupri-replacing executive producer Missy Elliott. Finally released in June 2003, After the Storm debuted at number one on Billboard`s Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and on top of the official Billboard 200, with sales of 186,000 copies emerging as Monica's first and only number-one album to date. It eventually received a gold certification, and has sold over one million copies domestically. Media reception of the CD was generally enthusiastic, with the Allmusic saying the album "has all the assuredness and smart developments that should keep Monica's younger longtime followers behind her โ all the while holding the ability to appeal to a wider spectrum of R&B and hip-hop fans." The album's lead single, Elliott-penned So Gone, was one of Monica's biggest commercial successes in years, becoming her first top ten single since 1999's Angel of Mine. In addition, it reached the top position of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks and Hot Dance Club Play charts. Subsequently, After the Storm spawned another three singles, with final single U Should've Known Better reaching number nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In 2005, Monica appeared on the Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman soundtrack. The track was one of Monica's last production by Dallas Austin.
Returning from yet another musical hiatus, Arnold's fourth studio album The Makings of Me was released in October 2006. Titled after Curtis Mayfield's 1970 recording The Makings of You, the album saw her particularly reuniting with producers Elliott, Dupri, and Bryan Michael Cox, all of whom had previously contributed to After the Storm (2003). The Makings of Me received a positive reception from most professional music critics, with Allmusic calling it a "concise and mostly sweet set of songs," and Entertainment Weekly declaring it "a solid addition" to Monica's discography. While it debuted at number one on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and at number eight on the official Billboard 200, it received a domestic sales total of 328,000 copies, it widely failed to revive the success of its predecessors and became the singer's lowest-selling effort to date. Singles such as snap-influenced Everytime Tha Beat Drop featuring Atlanta hip hop group Dem Franchize Boyz and Elliott-produced A Dozen Roses (You Remind Me) failed to reach the top forty of the regular pop charts.
In 2009, Arnold lent her voice to the ballad Trust a duet with Keyshia Cole, that peaked in the top five on Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The recording of Arnold's sixth studio album Still Standing was chronicled by her BET reality series of the same name. Featuring production by Stargate, Ne-Yo, and Polow da Don, it was released in March 2010 and garnered a generally positive response by critics, who perceived its sound as "a return to the mid-'1990s heyday" of contemporary R&B, The album debuted atop on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums chart, and number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 184,000 copies, becoming the singer's second highest-charting debut since 2003's After the Storm. The leading single Everything to Me scored Monica her biggest chart success since 2003's So Gone, reaching the top position of the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Tracks charts for seven weeks. The album was certified gold by the RIAA with domestic shipments of 500,000 copies within a single month. With it success, the album and Everything to Me was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, presented at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011. In August 2010, Arnold joined Trey Songz on his Passion, Pain & Pleasure Tour, her first North American concert tour in ten years.
The New Life (Intro) Songfacts reports that New Life was Monica's debut release with RCA, following the disbandment of her former label, J Records in October 2011. The album was dropped on April 10, 2012 in the US. She explained the meaning of its title on Twitter: "A good word goes a long way. Life is hard enough. Me and my followers believe in God, love, strength, family, unity and growth [...] Don't be afraid of new things, new people, new opportunities or new love. It just may give you a New Life."
Slow Jam
Monica Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was feeling rather low
I needed someone to lift my spirits up
So I dropped in on a dance
Just to take a glance
And there this lovely thing was
She was more than enough
I asked her for her hand
So pleased that I had asked
She quickly took my hand
And we danced and fell in love
On a slow jam
Oh
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
Seems what you say is true
I feel the same way too
You see I've waited all night long
Just to dance with you
And when you touched my hand
I knew you were the man
To turn my world around
And make my dreams come true
The magic in your eyes, made me realize
That everything I feel, has got to be real
And we danced and fell in love
On a slow jam
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet (play another slow jam)
On a slow jam (for me and my baby)
For my baby and for me
Play another slow jam (play another slow jam)
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me (baby, yeah)
I've been trying to find someone who
I could give my good lovin' to
But never, ever did I dream I'd find someone, yeah
And I've been to find someone too (yeah)
I prayed to Heaven, and then I found you
I swear I fell in love the night you danced into my heart
Play another slow jam (oh, baby)
This time make it sweet (ooh, come on)
On a slow jam
Can I get a slow jam?
Do you wanna slow jam with me? Baby
Play another slow jam (come on, come on, come on, come on, yeah)
This time make it sweet
Can I get a slow jam?
Play another slow jam
Are you gonna slow jam?
Play another slow jam (dance with me)
This time make it sweet (dance with me, baby)
On a slow jam (dance with me)
Oh, dance with me, baby
Oh, dance with me, baby
Play another slow jam (dance with me)
This time make it sweet (know you wanna dance)
On a slow jam (dance with me, baby, yeah)
The song "Slow Jam" by Monica and Usher is a romantic ballad that tells the story of two people who fall in love on the dance floor. The lyrics describe the singers' initial hesitation and loneliness, and their eventual connection after they begin to dance together. They fall for each other during a slow song, and the chorus asks for "another slow jam" to keep the romance going.
The first verse describes how the singer is feeling lonely and needs someone to lift their spirits up. They decide to go to a dance, where they see someone who catches their eye. They ask this person to dance and are pleased when they say yes. Over the course of this dance, the two of them fall in love to the sounds of a slow jam. The second verse shows that the singer is enamored with their dance partner, saying that they've been waiting all night to find someone like them.
Overall, the song is about the power of shared experiences, particularly those that occur on the dance floor. The slow jam serves as a metaphor for the way that music can connect people and foster romantic connections. The song is a celebration of the feelings that emerge when two people share a moment of intimacy, and the chorus serves as a call to keep that feeling going.
Line by Line Meaning
I was all alone
I was feeling lonely and isolated
I was feeling rather low
I was feeling sad and down
I needed someone to lift my spirits up
I needed someone to make me feel happy and hopeful
So I dropped in on a dance
I decided to go to a dance event
Just to take a glance
Just to have a quick look around
And there this lovely thing was
And then I saw this beautiful person
She was more than enough
She was perfect for me
I asked her for her hand
I asked her to dance with me
Said, "Would you like to dance?"
I asked her if she wanted to dance
So pleased that I had asked
I was happy that I asked her to dance
She quickly took my hand
She responded positively and took my hand
And we danced and fell in love
We shared a magical moment and fell in love
On a slow jam
We fell in love while dancing to a slow and romantic song
Play another slow jam
Please play another slow and romantic song
This time make it sweet
This time make it even more romantic and sweet
For my baby and for me
For me and the person I love
Seems what you say is true
I agree with what you're saying
I feel the same way too
I have the same feelings as you
You see I've waited all night long
I've been waiting all night for this moment
Just to dance with you
Just to share this dance with you
And when you touched my hand
I felt a spark of connection when you touched me
I knew you were the man
I knew you were the one for me
To turn my world around
To make me feel happy and hopeful again
And make my dreams come true
And to help me achieve my goals and dreams
The magic in your eyes, made me realize
Your eyes revealed something special and made me understand
That everything I feel, has got to be real
That my feelings for you are true and sincere
I've been trying to find someone who
I've been searching for someone who
I could give my good lovin' to
To whom I could show my love and affection
But never, ever did I dream I'd find someone, yeah
But I never imagined I would find someone like you
I prayed to Heaven, and then I found you
I asked for help from the divine, and then I met you
I swear I fell in love the night you danced into my heart
I fell in love with you when I first saw you dancing
Can I get a slow jam?
Can you please play another slow and romantic song?
Do you wanna slow jam with me? Baby
Do you want to dance a slow and romantic dance with me?
Know you wanna dance
I know you want to dance with me
Are you gonna slow jam?
Are you going to dance a slow and romantic dance with me?
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: Belinda Lipscomb, Boaz Watson, Kenneth Edmonds, Sidney Johnson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chyyg370
I was all alone
I was feeling rather low
I needed someone to lift my spirits up
So I dropped in on a dance
Just to take a glance
And there this lovely thing was
She was more than enough
I asked her for her hand
Said would you like to dance
So pleased that I had asked
She quickly took my hand
And we danced and fell in love
On a slow jam
Ohh
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
Seems what you say is true
I feel the same way too
You see I've waited all night long just to dance with you
And when you touched my hand
I knew you were the man
To turn my world around
And make my dreams come true
The magic in your eyes, made me realize
That everything I feel, has got to be real
And we danced and fell in love
On a slow jam
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
For my baby and for me
I'm trying to find someone who
I can give my good lovin' to
Never, ever did I dream I'd find someone, yeah
Now I've been to find someone too
I prayed to heaven, and then I found you
I swear I fell in love the night you danced into my heart
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
On a slow jam
Can I get a slow jam
Do you want to slow jam, baby
Play another slow jam
This time make it sweet
Can I get a slow jam
Play another slow jam
Are you gonna slow jam
@linitadudley1269
It's 2024 and I still come here to remind me of my childhood โค, I miss the 90's๐ข
@callieraquel
โค
@mumof6164
Yesss
@ZakandZuri143
Me too๐๐๐
@madeobazee
It's 2023 and this track is still hit different .....Can't get enough of this record
@tithonamweraful
Babyface is a beast.
@rhondacummings
Sho you right.
@pheishablake9005
As๐]p
@destinyh2008
I'm watching Soul Food on HULU and I had to pause to come listen to this slow jam...forever a classicโค
@micest221
It's 2022 and this track is still jamming ....love it to the core.