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 Monica’s 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 — 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."
So Gone Remix
Monica Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, lil Monica, woo
Silly of me (uh huh), devoted so much time
To find you unfaithful boy
I nearly lost my mind (woo)
Drive past your house every night (uh)
In an unmarked car (uh huh)
You make me feel (yeah) (uh huh)
I'm so gone
So unreal
You make me feel(uh huh)
You make me feel
Whoa and I love to love you baby (uh)
So unreal (ooh)
Nights I couldn't sleep, uh
You let the sun beat you home (uh huh)
I ask myself over again
What am I doing wrong (woo)
To make you stay out all night (uh huh) and not think to call (uh)
What does she have over me (uh huh)
To make you not think to call home?
You make me feel
You make me feel I'm so gone (woo) (uh huh)
So unreal
You make me feel
You make me feel
Whoa and I love to love you baby (woo)
So unreal (ooh)
Listen boy I'ma rowdy chick
Sometimes I have to fight 'cause my mouth too slick
Baby why you doin' me like I ain't worth shit
Make me wanna ride past your house and sit
Kick down your doors and smack your chick
Just to show you Monica not havin' that (uh huh)
So in love with you like a drug habit get
So unreal
You treat me so unreal (unreal)
What she do I do I do better (uh huh)
What she do to make you love her? (uh huh)
(What did she do)
Is it real or forever? (uh huh)
Oh (is it real)?
Baby please can we stay together? (come on)
What she do I do I do better (uh huh)
What she do to make you love her? (oh)
Is it real or forever?
Oh (is it real)?
Baby please can we stay together? (woo)
Whoa and I love to love you baby
Whoa and I love to love you baby
Whoa and I love to love you baby, ooh
Whoa and I love to love you baby
Whoa and I love to love you baby
Whoa and I love to love you baby
Just to show you Monica not havin' it
You make me feel (yeah)
You make me feel I'm so gone
So unreal (oh)
You make me feel
You make me feel
Whoa and I love to love you baby
So unreal (ooh)
Said that I need you
I don't really need you
Said that I need you, ooh
Said that I need you
I don't really need you
Said that I need you
You treat me so unreal
The So Gone Remix by Monica featuring Busta Rhymes is a song about an unfaithful lover who gets caught and suffers the consequences. The song starts with Monica announcing that the remix is so hot and introducing herself before Busta Rhymes takes over the track. He acknowledges that he's a womanizer but insists that Monica should look closer and she will see that he's actually a god. Monica responds with a no-nonsense attitude, warning him that she will step to any girl she thinks he's messing with. She also admits that she's prepared to fly off if he continues being unfaithful.
The chorus of the song, "You make me feel I'm so real, oh, and I love you to love you, baby, I'm so gone," communicates the emotions that Monica, the singer, is feeling towards her cheating lover. The verses take us through her pain and confusion as she struggles to come to terms with his behavior. The line "What does she have over me, to make him not think to call home?" depicts the angst and helplessness of the situation where Monica is left questioning why she's not enough for him.
Overall, the song is a powerful and emotionally-driven depiction of the experience of heartbreak, betrayal, and the journey towards moving on. It resonated strongly with listeners and helped cement Monica's position as an R&B icon.
Line by Line Meaning
It's the remix playa it don't get any hotta than that
This version of the song is the best you can get, it's hot and unmatched.
A hot beat on some wax Monica what you say about that
Do you like the way the beat sounds on this record? I do!
I'm Monica I got people out on every block
I'm Monica, everyone knows who I am and I've got fans all over town.
And them say you been cheatin' what the blood clot
There are rumors that you've been unfaithful, what's going on?
Dem rude boys why you thinks you a hot shot
Why do you act like you're the man when you're just a disrespectful guy?
You come back like them addicts look for crack spots
You come back to me as if you're addicted to me like a drug addict seeking their fix.
You must've fucked up how dare you got me on lock
You messed up somewhere and now you have me trapped in this situation with you.
You got me open like a chest with pneumonia
You have me feeling exposed and vulnerable, like a person with pneumonia whose chest is aching.
I fit ta run up on ya you and ya chicks I'm here to warn ya
I'll come after you and the other women you're seeing to let you know I'm not playing around.
Crazy like them gangs in California
I'm going crazy over you, just like how gangs in California behave.
Silly of me
I was foolish to have believed in you and given you so much of my time and trust.
Devoted so much time
I spent a lot of my time being committed and faithful to you.
To find you unfaithful, boy
Only to find out that you have been cheating on me with other women.
I never lost my mind
Despite being hurt and disappointed, I still kept my sanity intact.
Drive pass your house every night
Every night, I would drive by your house to see if you were there.
In an unmarked car
I would do this in a car with no branding or marking, to avoid being seen by anyone who may report back to you.
Wondering what she had on me
I always wondered what the other woman had that made you choose her over me.
To make you break my heart, yeah
What did she do to cause you to break my heart like this?
You make me feel I'm so real (So real), oh
You make me feel genuine and authentic, and that's wonderful.
Whoa and I love you to love you, baby, I (So gone)
I love you deeply and passionately, but I can't put up with your cheating ways any longer.
Nights I couldn't sleep, uh
There were nights when I couldn't sleep because I was too worried about what you were doing.
You let the sun beat you home
You stayed out so late that you came home when the sun was already up.
I asked myself over again
I would repeatedly ask myself the same questions over and over again.
What am I doing wrong
I wondered what I was doing wrong to make you stay out so late and cheat on me.
To make you stay out all night
You would stay out all night and not even bother to call me.
And not think to call
It was as if I didn't even exist, and you didn't care enough to call and tell me where you were.
What does she have over me
I couldn't help but think that the other woman had something over me that made you choose her instead of me.
To make him not think to call home
Whatever it was that she had, it was so powerful that it made you not even think to call me back home.
Aye Busta Rhymes let me know a mans point of view (yeah)
Hey Busta Rhymes, can you give me a man's perspective on things?
Cause I think all men are dogs and that's including you
I believe that all men are unfaithful, even you.
(Well Monica look closer tell me what you see correct your self
Well, Monica, take a closer look and really analyze what you're seeing and feeling. Correct yourself and your assumptions.
Cause dog backwards is spells god)
The word 'dog' spelled backwards is 'god,' so maybe there's some divine reason behind everything.
See I'm so gone and I be slappin any kinda chick
I'm so gone and heartbroken that I would lash out at any woman who comes my way.
And I will step to any bitch I think he messin' with
If I see a woman who I suspect is seeing you, I'll go after her and confront her.
(watch what you say and do sometimes I can't ignore it
Be careful and thoughtful about what you say and do, because sometimes I won't be able to tolerate it.
From how you rap and spas over you do and I love you for it)
From the way you rap and speak, I can tell that you're passionate and I appreciate that.
Well I'm a singer not a fighter
I'm an artist who sings, not someone who fights physically.
But don't test me I'm a raise a blade under the tongue as a security
Don't push me too far, or else I'll defend myself by hiding a razor blade under my tongue.
(now what you say first of all you know your still my baby my lady
Now, what are you saying? First of all, you know that you're still my baby, my lady.
What's with this crazy shit you talkin' crazy)
Why are you talking like this? It's crazy and doesn't make sense.
See bust see I'm down for my man if he act right
Busta, I'm willing to support and love my man if he treats me right.
But if he out freakin' yeah I'm on the first flight
But if he's out cheating on me, then I'm immediately leaving and not coming back.
(I know that you a hot head girl let me continue
I know that you're quick to anger, but let me continue speaking.
I don't mean to patronize you but I love sexy thug in you)
I don't want to come across as condescending, but I find your tough and sexy persona attractive.
What she do, I do better (Ooh, oh)
Whatever the other woman did to make you fall for her, I can do better than her, and I will prove it.
What she do to make you love her (What did she do)
What kind of things did the other woman do to make you love her? What did she have that I don't?
Is it real or forever
Is this love real and meant to last forever, or is it just a temporary fling?
Baby, please can't we stay together (Is it real or forever)
Baby, please tell me that this love is real and that we can stay together for a long time to come.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: William Henry Allen, Roy E. Iii Ayers, Edwin Birdsong, Walter M. Booker, Alfonso J Cervantes, Melissa A. Elliott, Kamaal Ibn Jonathan Davis Fareed, Ali Shaheed Jones-Muhammad, Charles Stepney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind