When the ’90s ended so did much of Monifah’s mainstream career. The singer left us with singles like “Touch It” and “I Can Tell” but after she was dropped by her label, she did more low key projects, appearing in stage plays and things of that nature.
But now Monifah’s back. The 41-year-old is working on her fourth studio album and she’s also getting ready to star in a new reality TV show on TV One with Faith Evans, Keke Wyatt, and Syleena Johnson. Just he Fab caught up with the singer to see what she’s been up to all this time and what she has planned down the line. Here are a few snippets from the interview:
What happened to make her leave the industry
“Life happened. When I did the third album, it didn’t do as well as the others. It did well to not have any promotion behind it, they just sort of threw it against the wall to see if it would stick. I wasn’t really anyone’s baby at the label once Heav left the CEO position… Teddy Riley produced that album and creatively it felt like the best of me up to that point. I was very happy with the project…
“Universal decided to drop me…I fell out of love with the business and I kind of was depressed and drinking a lot.
Rumors that she left the business because of a drug addition
“Addiction came later. I was gone and didn’t have a deal before that part started. I’ve been clean for a year-and-a-half. I was using for seven years. I left way before that but in the interim after that, depression, not really having a passion, trying to find my way, led me down a path of numbing, not dealing, and not just because of the business. Our experiences shape us as children, things that you go through as a child affect you so the abandonment issues were dredged up once I was dropped from the label. I lost my dad, I lost my brother, I lost my aunt and I don’t think I dealt with the loss in the correct way and the symptom of that was the addiction.”
What her new reality show, “R&B Divas,” will be about
“We’ve gone through some really trying times and have come through, by the grace of God, stronger and grateful and happy and not bitter and not blaming anyone and being accountable. We fight, love, and laugh… We’re real friends, we’re not people coming from obscurity trying to be famous. We work hard, we have our own brands, and we’re not coming into it to be famous. We’re coming into it to share our story.”
Monifah also spoke on why she and Heavy became distanced after he launched her career and how she handled news of his passing. Check out the full interview below.
Are you a Monifah fan?
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Brande Victorian is the news and operations editor for madamenoire.com. Follow her on twitter @Be_Vic.
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