Introduction
Love is the most discussed topic in art, especially in music. Women’s love and its specifics began to be expressed relatively openly in art, specifically music, only in the last 150-200 years. R&B and soul were among the first channels through which women of all backgrounds could express their feelings publicly. The theme of this work is the multidimensionality of women’s experiences in love, from disgust to happiness.
Women’s Love Experience in Songs
Leaving a Cheater
The opening song of this thematic album is the early 00s hit, “He Wasn’t Man Enough” by Toni Braxton, just like it was on “The Heat” in 2000. It is classic R&B vocals accompanied by slightly Latino-influenced instrumentals that gradually develop and get more complex from chorus to chorus, along with an unfolding plot about a cheating ex-boyfriend (Braxton 03:30-04:35). For me, “He Wasn’t Man Enough” is the perfect encapsulation of early 00s hip hop soul musically and lyrically. The singer’s contralto voice is worth noting, as it creates an aural contrast with the instrumental part and backing vocals during the verses and bridge.
Disappointing in Love
Bad experiences in relationships usually lead to disappointment in love, and Amy Winehouse’s “Love Is A Losing Game” from 2007’s “Back to Black” captures that feeling perfectly. Audibly, the song is old-school R&B with a prevalence of jazz elements; one can already hear them in the opening chorus (Winehouse 00:22-00:27). I love this song for its melancholy and the fact that the young artist was not afraid to release an old-school-like track in 2007 when popular trends were very different.
Letting It Go
Sadness cannot be everlasting, and one has to let go, and that is what the 2000s “Bag Lady” by Erykah Badu from her “Mama’s Gun” is about. This song is an experiment with hip-hop-influenced instrumentals, an old-school-styled bridge, and slow traditional R&B vocals (Badu 2:57-3:33). The vocalist’s calm manner of singing and the self-affirming lyrics are why I love this track. The abrupt change in instrumentals during the short bridge makes the track unique on this list.
New Love
“Day Dreaming” by Aretha Franklin from 1972’s “Young, Gifted and Black” teaches that love is all-consuming. It describes the feelings a Black woman experiences when a new partner takes over her mind (Franklin 00:25-00:30). This song is an exemplar of a soul song from the 1970s, the Psychedelic era, and I love it because it calms me down mentally. The psychedelic sounds in the vocals and instrumentals distinguish this track.
Recollections of Falling in Love
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” is another song about love; its year of writing is 1957, and Roberta Flack covered and released it in 1972. It is the slowest song here regarding tempo, which makes one, me at least, recall and self-reflect. It is natural as the music is devoted to the moment a woman fell in love (Flack 00:20-00:50). It is a cover, so the song feels stylistically and structurally older than “Day Dreaming,” although these were released in the same year.
Love Is Divine
The next song is 1998 “Tell Him” from “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill,” sung by Lauryn Hill. It is a mix of Soul, alternative rock, and rap; one can hear it in the intro (Hill 00:00-00:40). As I see it, its motif is that when one finds love, they become peaceful, and peace and God are the same. This song is experimental and unusual on an inter-layer level, and I like it for that.
Love Is Control
Soul continues to be sung today, and Cleo Sol’s 2020 “When I’m in Your Arms” from “Rose In The Dark” proves it. Stylistically, it is modern neo-soul, and the paradoxical message of this song is that love makes one healthy and selfish while craving for being controlled (Sol 2:14-2:42). Returning to the old school, classic soul sound while being a new millennium song is what distinguishes this track musically from the others here.
No Shame in Selfless Love
The 20th century is full of great soul songs, and Anita Baker’s 1986 “Sweet Love” from “Rapture” is one of them. Its central idea and meta-message are that expressing a woman’s love, including music, should not be shamed (Baker 00:49-00:55). For me, it is the most academically structured piece of music on this list. Moreover, the song stands out on this album for its solid and impressive vocals.
Love Is Intimacy
1993 “Any Time, Any Place” from Janet Jackson’s “Janet” continues the themes of love and shamelessness. The track is the singer’s manifesto that women should be comfortable in their sexuality and expression of love (Jackson 2:30-3:00). I love this piece of music because it perfectly encapsulates R&B and Soul of the 90s. The lack of metaphors in the lyrics is why this song is unique in the context of the current album.
Love Is Lighthearted
1975 “Lovin’ You” by Minnie Riperton from “Perfect Angel” ends the current song list. Lightheartedness is the conceptual principle of this piece of music; this feeling does not need words to be effectively expressed (Riperton 00:50-01:02). “Lovin’ You,” like no other song, has the property of timelessness in the sound for me. The absence of bass and percussion makes this song sound unusual compared to others analyzed.
Conclusion
This work is a retrospective of women’s contributions to the R&B and soul genres. It reviewed how women sing about personal experiences of love. Their poetic devices and musical techniques were analyzed, too. The connecting theme of the chosen songs is the multidimensionality of women’s feelings of love. By listening to them, one can better understand the female character’s complexity concerning the sensation of love.
Works Cited
“Amy Winehouse – Love Is A Losing Game.” YouTube, uploaded by Amy Winehouse, 2009, Web.
“Anita Baker – Sweet Love .” YouTube, uploaded by LikeNew09, Web.
“Aretha Franklin – Day Dreaming (Official Lyric Video)” YouTube, uploaded by Aretha Franklin, Web.
“Erykah Badu – Bag Lady.” YouTube, uploaded by Erykah Badu, Web.
“Janet Jackson – Any Time, Any Place (Official Music Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Janet Jackson, Web.
“Lauryn Hill – Tell Him (Audio).” YouTube, uploaded by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Web.
“Lovin’ You.” YouTube, uploaded by Minnie Riperton – Topic, Web.
“The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” YouTube, uploaded by Roberta Flack, Web.
“Toni Braxton – He Wasn’t Man Enough (Video Version).” YouTube, uploaded by Toni Braxton, Web.
“When I’m in Your Arms.” YouTube, uploaded by Cleo Sol, Web.