Photography by Anthony Alden
Chene Park Detroit: Monica, hit the stage Friday, June 23,2017 with a supercharged 90's R&B lineup that included: Ashante, Donnell Jones and Case at Chene Park Detriot. Monica opened up that she recently underwent an almost 8-hour surgery after becoming ill. She told her fans with heartfelt compassion "In life we have to count it all joy and know the unplanned may be in his plan May 30th I had an almost 8-hour surgery to remove my endometriosis thank God I'm back performing". Looking a little weak and frail yet still "fine as wine" she was determined to give her loyal fan base her best live performance. Pushing her vocal talents to their limits Monica displayed why she's a true diva.
The Atlanta R&B vocalist Monica debuted in 1995 with the platinum Top Ten singles "Don't Take It Personal (Just One of Dem Days)" and "Before You Walk Out of My Life." After appearing on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith later that year, she recorded another killer duet with Brandy, "The Boy Is Mine," which spent several weeks at the top of the singles charts during summer 1998. Monica has sold over 5.3 million albums in the United States alone. With a career lasting over 20 years, she became the first artist to top the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart in the 1990's, new millennium. In 2010, Billboard listed Monica at number 24 on its list of the Top 50 R&B and Hip-Hop Artists of the past 25 years.Today the R&B scene is at an all-time low in the category of performers, Monica has always managed to produce real music and/or music with a creative substance which is severely lacking in today's music scene.
Monica most recent album Code Red breathes life into a world that was musically dead; there is hope for resuscitation. Monica stated in an interview she did on the album that she titled the album Code Red because of she, like many others, feel that R&B Music and music, in general, is in a state of emergency. She further said that she knows she can’t revive the genre on her own, it has to be a group effort, she mentioned the likes of Tyrese, Tank, Brandy, and others who share this mutual feeling.