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“Say Yes” may have been on your cuffing season soundtrack back in 2003 when neo-soul group Floetry dropped their debut album Floetic. Or maybe you became familiar with singer Marsha Ambrosius when she released her solo effort Late Nights, Early Mornings in 2011. Either way, you know that if Ambrosius is involved, all things sultry, sexy and seductive are being served. VIBE recently caught up with the now married mother of one as she shared why her all-nighters are no longer due to just making music. In the past two years fans have witnessed her marry boyfriend Dez Phillips whom she referred to as “fine” from the first moment she laid eyes on him. The two also welcomed a daughter, Nyla. Love, family and creativity are the fundamentals of the British artist’s latest effort named after her daughter. But the 41-year-old wants to reassure fans that being a mother and wife won’t take away anything from the bedroom ballads she is known for, except for maybe she’ll be cursing a little less:
“I have a swear jar in the house so I keep it PG-13 language wise in front of my daughter. But other than that it’s finding room in my heart to love at the level that I do now because of being a mother and being a wife. I didn’t know I was capable of loving and being loved like this. Creating, I’m thinking ten steps ahead. If I was thinking five steps ahead before, its 10 now ’cause I have so much to be accountable for, and I know Nyla will one-day press play on songs I’ve done prior to her being here.”
“If you’ve been riding with me for the past what is about to be two decades, my narrative hasn’t changed. It just remained consistent and I’ve always spoken about what I’m going through in life. So tone down the sexy? Why? I just had a baby, I feel all glorious like I can do anything! So it’s empowering. It’s more so empowerment and now if it was toned-down before, it’s turnt up now.”
She also shared what the honor of singing a tribute to the legendary Anita Baker felt like at this year’s BET Awards and learning that the “Rapture” singer was actually a huge fan of hers as well after she tweeted praises for her latest single:
“Yes, I met her a few times and it’s crazy. We follow each other on social media also and a week and a half or so prior to the BET Awards she tweeted, ‘Old Times’ and hashtagged something like ‘old music is coming back.’ She passed the torch. This is someone I respect on too many levels. So come BET Awards weekend and I get the call that there’s a slight chance that I may honor her. I’m just waiting on the callback, like, ‘Just tell me when it’s real.’”
“I just remember getting on stage and seeing her face and her reaction to me and it was like no one else was in the room. And I just saw her rise from her seat with tears of joy. And I’m seeing my daughter’s face and my husband in the audience and I was overcome with emotion. I was like, how do I even sing this song? I don’t even know how I got through it.”
Unfortunately, if fans are holding out for a Floetry reunion, you may not want to hold your breath. Ambrosius shares that although the duo have made the effort at least twice since venturing on their individual endeavors, that chapter of her song book is closed:
“We did, in 2015 and 2016, and that was that.”
“I think–well it really was the end of 2015 but ultimately 2016–the second reunion tour. One weekend I find out that I’m pregnant and I’m terrified and excited all at the same time but I get through the end of the tour. The closure really was in knowing that over a course of years–if you viewed and you knew a friendship one way and you’re told it was exactly the opposite, it kind of shifts your focus a little bit. I came to forgive, reconcile, admit my fault or flaw or what I could’ve done to better a situation. You can’t change how the other person feels about you. So if I’m your permanent trigger of who you wanna forget, there’s nothing I could do to change that and vice versa. There are certain things that I’m not saying can’t change, but it’ll take time.”
“I don’t have the time to worry about what somebody else is worried about. My worries had to disappear and once they did it was blessings on blessings on blessings. Then I meet my husband, now we’re pregnant, now we’re engaged, now we get married, now I don’t have to do life alone and that’s all because I could then let down all of these guards that I had up.”
Lastly, we all know that when it comes to subtly addressing social issues through her music, Marsha Ambrosius is one of the best, addressing her feelings on suicide after losing a best friend on her single “Far Away.” The visual for her latest single “Old Times” features her real-life husband and daughter as she comforts her daughter at home praying that her husband returns safely in a world where violence and police brutality can so easily befall black men. Ambrosius shares she included them in the video to portray those feelings in an authentic way:
“I’ve never really done your stereotypical video. I’ve always managed to keep it true to life and what better way to do it with this one because it’s so personal and being a wife and mother. It’s that ongoing feeling that your loved one goes out to handle business and you just hope they make it home to dinner, you know? I’ve always envisioned the visual to this audio clip that is “Old Times” to be me just sitting at home rocking my baby side to side, singing it to her as a lullaby. I know my husband grinds every day and works hard every day to provide for us and make sure that we’re safe, but is he safe? I can’t pretend with someone else’s husband, someone else’s kid.”
You can read more about the singer’s plans for future duos here and check out the video for “Old Times” below:
