Urban World

Monica is still standing!

R&B diva, Monica has been absent from the scene for too long and has come back at the right time, when R&B has lost it's essence. Still Standing is Monica's 6th studio album, infusing her 90s flair over 10-tracks.

BET showcased her reality show entitled “Still Standing”, which followed the development of her album. The “Angel of mine” singer worked with grammy-award winner producer Brian Michael Cox and old time favourites Missy Elliott and Jermaine Dupri.

The theme song “Still Standing”, from her reality show, opens the album expressing her emotions, of her previous tribulations.

Her beautiful soulful voice delivers powerful vocals on “Everything to me”, sampled from the 1980s classic “Silly” by Deniece Williams and spiritually-sounding “Believing in me” is a cutting edge track, bringing a beautiful finishing touch to the album.

Everyone knows that Monica amazingly covers a great ballad, but she shows a funk style on retro-beat “If you were my man” written by Jazmin Sullivan and adds rapping skills.

What I like most about the album is, as powerful as Monica's voice is, she does not overdo it with exaggerated riffs. But some people many believe that there is not enough emotion in her songs. However it is an album, which you can listen to without skipping tracks and is consistently chilled.

Monica has progressed vocally, but with the long wait of her release the final cut was not outstanding and I thought for a comeback, she would have alot more to offer. It's a solid r&b album that her mature fans can enjoy and the younger generation can hear real R&B.

The album manifests her determination and strength that she is on top of her game!

Rating: 4/5