Monica, and album, rise from the ashes

By Nekesa Mumbi Moody
Associated Press

R&B star Monica returns to the music scene with "After the Storm," which includes songs about her turbulent personal life.

In the four years since the release of her 2-million-plus selling album "The Boy Is Mine," Monica saw her first love commit suicide and an ex-boyfriend incarcerated on a murder charge. And she's become a parental figure helping to raise her deceased boyfriend's child.

Quite a load for a former teen R&B queen barely into adulthood. But the 22-year-old has emerged with her serene demeanor, positive vibe and trademark attitude intact.

The first hit off her new disc, "So Gone," shows a sexier side of the singer, including a feisty rap. There are no mournful songs on her disc — even the tune she penned about her ex-lover's suicide is an up-tempo groove that is not only a tribute to him but an affirmation of her own life.

"The positive side is that experience in those things and making it through makes me feel encouraged about continuing on," a relaxed Monica says from the offices of her label, J Records. "There's never been a time where I've said, 'I just can't make it.' "

That seems to be Monica Arnold's overall motto. She was just 12 when she was discovered by fellow Atlanta resident (and big-time record producer) Dallas Austin. A year later, she had her first smash hit: "Don't Take it Personal (Just One of Dem Days)," a groove brimming with attitude that belied her young age.

"She was very mature, and even though she didn't have a record out, she already acted like a true diva," joked producer Carsten "Soulshock" Schack, who, along with partner Kenneth Karlin, produced some of her earliest hits and three tracks on the new album.

The hits continued for Monica, from her Grammy-winning duet with fellow teen singer Brandy, "The Boy Is Mine," to "The First Night." By the time she was 18, she was an established R&B princess with millions of album sales to her credit.

Yet the self-described homebody never went Hollywood. Keeping her connection to the streets is how she grew close to Jarvis Weems, who was at one point involved in the drug trade. While some may have been surprised by the union, Monica says: "They wouldn't (be) if they knew me. I'm not one of those spoon-fed artists who grew up getting everything she wanted."

The pair dated off and on for a couple of years, and were together at the time of his death; Monica was next to Weems when he took out a gun and shot himself. He was distraught over the death of his brother, sitting in a car near the cemetery where he had just visited the grave.

The devastated Monica spent the first few months after Weems' death in denial and depression, helped with spiritual guidance from her mother and stepfather, a minister. Still, she doubts she'll ever recover.

"Afterward, I felt, what else could

I have done? You replay that situation over and over and you switch it around: Maybe if I had said this, or if I would have done that. It's just something that it's never possible for me to go back and change."

Monica endured another crisis with an ex-boyfriend when Corey Miller — rapper C-Murder, the brother of Master P — was charged with murder in the slaying of a teenager. Although Miller is in jail awaiting trial, the pair remain close: "I just feel more sad for him that he's not allowed his freedom until he's proven innocent."

Given all the drama she had experienced, Monica wanted her upcoming album to reflect the serious tone her life has taken.

"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.

Yet the first single released, "All Eyez on Me" — a fluffy dance track that borrowed its beat from Michael Jackson's "P.Y.T." — went nowhere on the charts. A followup song, "Too Hood," also got a lukewarm response. The album release was pushed back several times.

Monica believes her fans rejected "All Eyez on Me" because they were used to hearing songs from her with more substance.

"I don't think people wanted to hear a big, fun record from me, after knowing all the things that I had personally experienced."

It also was heavily bootlegged in Japan, according to J Records. That prompted Monica to go back into the studio and retool the album, with help from Missy Elliott, the album's executive producer.

"She grew majorly," says producer Jermaine Dupri, who also contributed tracks. "Missy's got her rapping; she's just a much more confident artist."

One tune from the old project that remains on the new disc is "I Wrote This Song," about her relationship with Weems, his lifestyle and his passing.

It includes the lines: "Now he says he wants out of here, But he's in too deep, And the only way that he will go is killing him or leaving me, So this is where I'm at and it hurts so bad, That I had to choose if I wanna live, or die with you."

Schack remembers playing Monica the first version of the tune. "It could have been a song about someone leaving a relationship, but Monica right away was like, 'I know where you're going,'" he recalls. "She started rewriting the lyrics. When she had to record the song, it was a very emotional experience for her."

Schack says the most amazing thing about Monica is that she's managed to stay positive.

"Obviously, she's a very, very strong woman now. And I think that she's looking at life like she's going through these journeys and she's trying to learn from it," he says.

"Sometimes, the smallest things happen to an artist, and everything just crashes," he adds. "She's found a way to deal with it."