You're Just too Good to Be True

Ever since I was little girl I loved to listen to music. On my own I had my favorites but I was also exposed to my parent's favorites. Anita Baker was a staple in our home and car. I learned to love her and soon would sing every song word for word. I mean come on, how cool was she singing "Caught Up in the Rapture"? Her voice was so smooth and she executed every song with such passion and soul. "No One in the World" had a voice like her until Toni Braxton came along.

What teenage girl of the 90's didn't have "Un-Break My Heart" playing on repeat in her Walkman? As if we knew the true pain of love? But you couldn't tell us anything back then. We felt every word that Toni painfully sang as she exposed her hurt and soul in "Another Sad Love Song". We soon snapped ourselves back together and jammed with her while blasting "He Wasn't Man Enough".

As liberated as we thought we were, we sometimes needed reminding and for that TLC came to the rescue. "No Scrubs" was blasting in every club I would go to in 1999. When on the way to the club it was blasting in my friend Allyn's BMW. As we sped down the highway we would sing it full holler and extremely off key!! TLC was always giving us advice we could use. When we were younger they made sure they put us on game with "What About Your Friends".

One singer had us looking for friendship. We all wanted to be friends with Aaliyah. She was so cool and talented and who didn't emulate those outfits and hair? Talk about a life cut too short. Her death left us wondering what was next for her? She had countless hits and was turning up on soundtracks of multiple movies. "Are You That Somebody" was a great song along with "Try Again". Her songs like "4-page Letter" and "The One I Gave My Heart To" prepared us for the queen of Gen X and Millennials everywhere.

Our queen came in the form of a group at first. "Say My Name" became every girl and woman's anthem at the time. Women everywhere listened to Destiny's Child and were suspicious just because she was called some pet name and not her full government name over the phone. So then out of spite they grabbed their girls, hopped in the, let's say, Mustang (I had one) and pulled up to the club. "Jumpin Jumpin" had us jumping all up in the club until 2a. You couldn't tell us a thing because we were in there looking "Bootylicious". After-all, we were "Independent Women" so much so, they had to make two parts of the song.

Just like us, Beyonce parted ways with her past and ran solo. We were "Single Ladies" looking for someone sporting a "Halo". Beyonce exuded confidence with every song. Her talent is beyond measure and makes us feel like her every word is a testimony of what our life could/should be. "Run the World" became an anthem of females of all ages and emboldened them to take back their power and reclaim their time. We were in charge and wouldn't hesitate to "Upgrade U" should you slack and fall off with your swag path.

Speaking of swag this lady had swag for days. Lauryn Hill taught us "Everything Is Everything". When you heard her raspy voice you knew it was about to be a chill time. "Nothing Even Matters" featuring D'Angelo was for those nights your swag game was on 100. You weren't leaving the house when that song came on. From spring cleaning to driving around town "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You" served as a great background soundtrack song.

Unlike the guy in Jennifer Hudson's song, "Where You At", black women in music have been with us every step of the way. They gave us an opportunity to do what Fantasia told us to do, "Free Yourself". We could escape into each song and revel in every word being sung by some of the best voices in the history of music. Thank you for being the soundtrack to my most formative years. Thank you for empowering us through music.