Dope Writers - Andrea Martin

I have never been a big Melanie Fiona fan. I think that she is a good singer. But quite frankly I never felt like her songs were that great. I couldn't really connect. But then I heard "Gone and Never Coming Back" This was the first Melanie Fiona song that I could actually vibe with and I ended up really digging it.

Recently I stumbled upon the writer of that record, Andrea Martin. Turns out she has written so many hits dating back to early Monica and SWV. Always nice to see women with great catalogs! Men can seem like they dominate the charts sometimes.

Congrats to Melanie on the two GRAMMY wins. Check out Gone and Never Coming Back!

Dope Writers - R. Kelly

Say what you will about R. Kelly in his personal troubles. But one thing remains, he is one of the most talented musicians of our time. R. Kelly is one of those people you just always hoped got it right. He seemed to always be struggling with his spirit and his flesh. I hope that in the wake of such the sudden death of Whitney Houston that many of us will start to choose the spirit.

This song really didn't stick to me until now. I don't think at the time it was released that I really even thought about it as a spiritual record. But in the wake of all the buzz with Whitney's death, I turned on the radio one day and this was playing. It just meant something completely different to me now. Just a beautiful record! And it was written by R. Kelly. I really wanted to hear him kill it at her funeral, but I understand he was emotional. I hope that one day I can hear a version of R. singing this. I feel like it meant a lot for him to do this song with Whitney.

Anyway, Check it out here.

I was just thinking ... It Is Well With My Soul

Have you ever had that moment in life where you feel like you have everything you need? It’s really an amazing feeling. This is not to say I have everything I want, strive and dream for. But the reality is, I have all that I need. Funny in this business you run into so many people and you are constantly networking and finding yourself in situations where people are asking you “So what have you been up to?” It’s as if they’re waiting to be wowed about a huge placement or artist that you’re working with. I have resolved to just saying, “working.” I mean isn’t that what we’re all up to? Writing songs, making records … “I’m doing the same thing you’re doing.” LOL. I’m really looking forward to this year and hoping it will be a break out for me, but I am soooo content. I had the strangest thing happen to me in my vocal class, where my teacher out of nowhere says “yeah I know you are trying to get your funds together for something big but God is saying It is Well.” That really floored me. It really put so much into perspective for me. And these last couple of days, I couldn’t be happier to just be breathing, to wake up every morning, to know there are people that love me, and to continue on my journey in creating music. I am so blessed. And though on the daily I continue to work towards dreams and goals … I realize that I am closer than I think. Most of us in this business dream and harp on when we actually make it, but the reality is, that every day we create we are in the music business, doing the same thing that those that have “made it” are doing. It’s just on a WAY SMALLER scale. Lol. So I am thankful for the opportunity to write music with the talented people surrounding me. I can’t wait until the world catches up!

Here is a rendition of It is Well. It may seem a little dry at first. But listen to the words. And when you read the story of the writer, you really feel it even more!