NEW YORK (AP) ā , Barack Obama was in the second year of his first term as U.S. president, the iPad was released and Instagram was brand new.
āOn some days, Iām like that was just a blink away. But for the most part, yeah, it feels like a long time because Iāve been waiting. I felt stagnant, I felt stuck for a while, and conflicted,ā said the two-time Grammy-nominated artist. āIām very much approaching this like Iām starting over because thatās how it feels to me. Iāve lived nine lives since I last released ā¦ Iām a whole different person.ā
Hilson, the 42-year-old R&B star known for late 2000s hits like āKnock You Down,ā featuring Kanye West and Ne-Yo. and āPretty Girl Rock,ā . It's her third album, following 2010ās āNo Boys Allowed,ā and is the first of a trilogy set for release this year. Led by the sultry single āBae,ā the nine-track album delves into romance and introspection.
āI feel resolved, both with the art and within about stepping back into the light. So, I think that resolve kind of had to be found before I felt confident enough to release the body of work and also unleash myself to the world again,ā explained Hilson, who said sheās never stopped recording. āThere were songs in my past that I felt were political moves, songs I didnāt really love that I had to sing ā¦ I didnāt want to feel like that this time around.ā
THE DISAPPEARANCE
One of those songs was a leaked remix to her popular 2009 single āTurnin Me Onā featuring Lil Wayne, which peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Lyrics included
Hilson, who had yet to drop her introductory album, āIn A Perfect World,ā which debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 1 on Top R&B albums, claimed that she was forced to sing the lines, āShe can sing / But she need to move it to the left, left,ā assumed to reference BeyoncĆ©ās āIrreplaceable.ā She says she was threatened her album might not be released if she refused.
Last week, Hilson trended on social media following an interview with iHeartMediaās āThe Breakfast Clubā after recalling the incident. While she has talked about it several times in the past, during that interview, the singer publicly named those involved, including producer Polow Da Don who she was signed to. She did not name singer-songwriter Ester Dean. However, after social media users tagged Dean in posts, she later identified herself.
The ending of a decadelong relationship, a lack of control over her career and the intense, never-ending backlash from the BeyHive triggered depression and led to her retreat from music.
THE COMEBACK
During her time away, the Georgia native embarked on a journey of healing that included therapy, journaling and spiritual retreats.
āThere were some perspectives that I needed to uncover ... untruths, beliefs that I kind of picked up or inherited about myself,ā said Hilson, who shifted to acting.
Her comeback has included very selective press, avoiding what she describes as ānew mediaā outlets such as social media-driven platforms, saying monetization can reward the promotion of gossip or incentivize the creation of lies. The salacious blog culture of the 2010s was a driving force in fanning the flames of her perceived beef with BeyoncĆ©, who has never publicly commented on the situation.
Hilson ācan definitely operate and navigate within the realm of R&B. She has a fan base,ā said Keithan Samuels, founder of the popular website RatedRnB.com. āHer core fan base has matured ā¦ she can navigate within this new era of R&B where thereās a lot of diversity and sound.ā
THE MUSIC
Crafted with unofficial writing camps and records created throughout the years, āWE NEED TO TALK: LOVEā finds Hilson delivering vulnerable and flirty lyrics over a wide range of R&B sounds. Writing on all but one song, she avoided current R&B trends that developed during her absence, citing individuality as a key to her early success. She also believes algorithms have created a culture of musical homogeny, rather than creativity.
There are quintessential āMs. Keri Babyā songs like the fun, Pop&B styled āSomethin (Bout U),ā but thereās also the introspective āNaked (Love),ā and āSay It,ā in which she expresses, āI wonāt say I love you / ātil you say you love me.ā
āIām very āgirl bossā in my life, right? When it comes to relationships, I prefer to be a lady. I prefer to be approached. ā¦ I prefer for the man to say āI love youā first. I just prefer for a man to lead,ā said Hilson. āIām really a damsel ā without the distress.ā
The bedroom mood is set on the sexy slow jam āScream,ā while the bright āWhateverā floats with beautiful stacked harmonies.
āI feel like itās something I would have written for Whitney. And I actually wrote a song for Whitney that she never was able to record,ā said Hilson, who began her career as an in-demand writer whose credits include songs for Chris Brown, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears. āThis reminds me of a Whitney Houston record, where I think she would be now.ā
Samuels of RatedRnB.com says this project is evident of the newfound control Hilson has over her career.
āItās definitely not, to me, an attempt to have this commercial comeback ā¦ it feels more personal,ā said Samuels. āThe other two albums, I feel like were more catered to what was current then.ā
THE FREEDOM
Hilson says sheās still open to writing for other artists and giving away songs that may not fit her current musical era. She also has a new Lifetime movie, āFame: A Temptations Story,ā co-starring Keshia ChantĆ©, premiering April 26 at 8 p.m. EDT. Hilson says acting is now an equal part of her career.
Though Hilson may be cautiously re-emerging musically, fans are welcoming her return. After The Breakfast Club interview, fans flooded her with sympathy and positivity, possibly due to a combination of her finally telling her side of the story in detail, as well as the passing of time. Some fans said they forgot about the incident or were too young to know about it.
āI just control what I can control ā¦ I control what I allow to bring me up or down. These are realizations that Iāve had since Iāve been away,ā said Hilson. āI feel unburdened ā¦ Iām not projecting too much of the past onto now, and all of that is freeing.ā
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Follow Associated Press entertainment journalist Gary Gerard Hamilton at @GaryGHamilton on all his social media platforms.
Gary Gerard Hamilton, The Associated Press
