Mariah Carey's 2009 twelfth studio album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel was a really good album. In fact, it was a great one. But it was marred by mismanagement, terrible marketing and an overall shoddy rollout. All things which unfortunately carried over to its follow up, Me. I Am Mariah... The Elusive Chanteuse. An album which was handled in the most slapdash of ways that no Mariah album up until the point of its release had been. It was an absolute mess, even though the album itself from far from such.
I was genuinely surprised by how good Me. I Am Mariah was despite the wildly inconsistent singles. But as good as it is, there is an energy about this album which causes it to fall shy of the quality you would expect from a Mariah album. And it looks far worse now with it sat in-between the solid Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and the fantastic Caution.
Me. I Am Mariah marks one of Mariah's patchiest albums, which was probably a result of it being recorded over an extended period of time. A period in Mariah's life where there was a lil' turmoil behind-the-scenes, some personnel issues and the beginning of her image in the public eye taking a bit of a beating in a way it hadn't done since 2001. All of these things seemed to have a knock on effect on the music, which felt far less focused than any of Mariah's other albums. But it speaks to Mariah's craft that even in the midst of mess, uncertainty and a lack of direction, that she can still put out an album which isn't terrible. Because if there's one thing about Mariah, she doesn't have it in her to release an album that's bad. Me. I am Mariah is far from a masterpiece, but it still just about holds together and it features a couple of what I'd say are her best songs.
Me. I am Mariah saw the songstress take steps in new directions, bringing what could have been an air of excitement to a career and a discography that seemed like it could be veering into being all too safe and samey. But this all got wiped, because Me. I Am Mariah essentially got Glitter'd. Passed on for reasons which actually had nothing to do with the quality of the music itself.
Me. I Am Mariah gives you all of the things you'd expect from a Mariah album. A bunch of songs which intersect R&B, Pop, Hip-Hop and also Gospel. The album opens up with "Cry." which is an interesting choice for an album opener. It's not the song I would've chosen to open the album, but I admire the flex and the boldness. "Cry." is a hearkening back to Mariah doing Gospel. So those who lived for "Anytime You Need a Friend", "Fly Like a Bird" and "I Wish You Well" will definitely dig this, in addition to "Heavenly (No Ways Tired / Can't Give Up Now)" and Mariah's cover of George Michael's "One More Try".
Hoodriah puts on her heeled Tims and Gucci coat for "Thirsty", which feels like the third part in a trilogy following Charmbracelet's "Clown" and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel's "Obsessed" - as well as sharing a lot in common with E=MC²'s "Migrate". With Hit-boy on production duties, "Thirsty" carries a synth line reminiscent of Jay-Z and Coonye's smash "Ni**as in Paris" and knocks the same way. It's a fun record, which slaps and Mariah serves sass throughout. It was an ill advised single choice, especially without a music video, a better edited remix featuring Rich Homie Quan, and a push of said version, but it's a fun record. Hoodriah slows things down with the Mike WiLL Made-It produced "Faded", which feels like a successor to "We Belong Together" without sounding like a carbon copy of it, and knowingly trying to recapture it. The song knocks hard like a Hip-Hop banger, but has a slow R&B tempo. The lyrics on this song are also some of the best on this album and one of the few instances on the album where that Mariah pen fans know and love really comes through. I will never understand why this wasn't made a single, and why we got "You're Mine (Eternal)" (a lesser version of "Faded" sonically) instead. We gon' need #JusticeForFaded. Speaking of "You're Mine (Eternal)", it's aight. The beat is nice. The song is smooth. But "Faded" does everything it does, only bigger and better.
Mariah also delves back into Disco after skirting with it on E=MC²'s "I'm That Chick". As with "Faded", "You Don't Know What To Do" is one of the best songs on this album, and...again, as with "Faded", I am shocked to this day that this wasn't made a full-blown promotional single. "You Don't Know What To Do" would have gone a long way to having Mariah reach new audiences and put her back in Pop spaces. It's perfection. "Meteorite" throws back to the days of Mariah and David Morales, with a House inspired song unlike anything Mariah had done since the days of Butterfly with "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)". Mariah is always here for the gays, but these two songs right here? Gurl. "Meteorite" in particular would have gone down a treat with a glamorously camp music video and had Ryan Murphy putting it in all the things.
Me. I Am Mariah is largely business as usual, but there are some new twists, most of which feature collaborators. "Hashtag Beautiful" features the crowd dropkicker Miguel and it sounds like a Miguel song featuring Mariah - giving her a completely different groove than we're used to hearing from her. "Hashtag Beautiful" pretty much sets up the album, although not in the most obvious of ways, and it was something we didn't see back then, especially given the length of time between when "Hashtag Beautiful" released and the album formerly known as The Art of Letting Go eventually released. "Dedicated" features Nas, an interpolated Slick Rick line and a sample of the legend himself in a song with really nice old school groove, which just sounds like a lazy Summer in New York. Mariah is very much in the passenger seat of this song, with a male vocal accompanying her at all times providing a nice harmony throughout. It's rare we get these types of songs from Mariah, the last probably being "Say Something". We all know Mariah can sing and blow the roof off if she needs to, but we don't need it all of the time. "Dedicated" is such an easy-breezy song which would have made a great single, especially on Hip-Hop and R&B radio.
Mariah also delves back into Disco after skirting with it on E=MC²'s "I'm That Chick". As with "Faded", "You Don't Know What To Do" is one of the best songs on this album, and...again, as with "Faded", I am shocked to this day that this wasn't made a full-blown promotional single. "You Don't Know What To Do" would have gone a long way to having Mariah reach new audiences and put her back in Pop spaces. It's perfection. "Meteorite" throws back to the days of Mariah and David Morales, with a House inspired song unlike anything Mariah had done since the days of Butterfly with "Fly Away (Butterfly Reprise)". Mariah is always here for the gays, but these two songs right here? Gurl. "Meteorite" in particular would have gone down a treat with a glamorously camp music video and had Ryan Murphy putting it in all the things.
Me. I Am Mariah is largely business as usual, but there are some new twists, most of which feature collaborators. "Hashtag Beautiful" features the crowd dropkicker Miguel and it sounds like a Miguel song featuring Mariah - giving her a completely different groove than we're used to hearing from her. "Hashtag Beautiful" pretty much sets up the album, although not in the most obvious of ways, and it was something we didn't see back then, especially given the length of time between when "Hashtag Beautiful" released and the album formerly known as The Art of Letting Go eventually released. "Dedicated" features Nas, an interpolated Slick Rick line and a sample of the legend himself in a song with really nice old school groove, which just sounds like a lazy Summer in New York. Mariah is very much in the passenger seat of this song, with a male vocal accompanying her at all times providing a nice harmony throughout. It's rare we get these types of songs from Mariah, the last probably being "Say Something". We all know Mariah can sing and blow the roof off if she needs to, but we don't need it all of the time. "Dedicated" is such an easy-breezy song which would have made a great single, especially on Hip-Hop and R&B radio.
Mariah has always been selfless when it comes to guest featuring artists on her songs, both in front of and behind the boards. Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel saw Mariah collaborate exclusively with The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, in place of guest featuring artists; where Me. I Am Mariah sees her bring back guest featuring artists as well as big producers, both new and old. Miguel, Nas, Wale, Fabolous and production from Mike Will Made it, Q-Tip, and Rodney 'Darkchild' Jerkins - marking rather shockingly, the first time we get a Mariah and Darkchild joint. There is a sense of Mariah just having fun with these songs and being wholly unconcerned with charting and having a hit. It's in this sweet spot where the album shines the most. The collaborations are what really drive this album. But they don't do enough to really anchor this album as a whole, because of the lack of consistency in the material, and also because of one collaborator in particular. Jermaine Dupri.
Jermaine Dupri has been a cornerstone in Mariah's career ever since "Always Be My Baby" back in 1996, right up to that smash that put her back on the map and the chart, "We Belong Together". Him being from Atlanta adds a certain flavour to Mariah's music. And in all honesty, Jermaine Dupri probably played a part in the imprint that Hip-Hop has in Mariah's music, even on songs and albums he didn't produce. But his sound is really inconsistent. I can't even chalk it up to whether it's dependant on whether his long-time collaborators Manuel Seal or Bryan-Michael Cox are in the mix, because there are inconsistencies there too. When a Jermaine Dupri production hits, it REALLY fucking hits. But when it misses, that shit is out by miles. I know Mariah and Jermaine go back like Dembabies and pacifiers, but his contributions to albums need to be better quality controlled and limited. This album could have done without "Supernatural" and "Make It Look Good". Yes, I know the former is about her babies, but the song is still stale as week old bread.
Going into this album, people had started to question Mariah's voice, concerned that it was deteriorating and all sorts of other mess. Mariah's voice isn't what it used to be on this album, which is no surprise. I certainly never expected Mariah to sing how she did in 1998 forever, and there was signs of Mariah's vocals changing quite a bit on E=MC2 and even more-so Memoirs of an imperfect Angel. The issue with Mariah's voice on this album isn't that it doesn't sound how it did during the 90s, it's the approach taken with it. Her vocals are really inconsistent between songs. Sometimes she sounds great. Sometimes she doesn't. Mariah doesn't sound like she has a handle on how to navigate how her voice was at the time. On "You Don't Know What To Do" she sounds amazing. But on "The Art Of Letting Go" she sounds really bad, and you can hear the limitations of her voice - like she's trying to sing how she used to, but can't and just resides to staying in a range and register which doesn't do her any justice. It's a real shame, because "The Art of Letting Go" is a really nice song and something different for Mariah, but her performance of it kinda ruins it, and that's not something I ever thought I'd say about a studio recorded Mariah Carey song.
There's always been a genuineness to Mariah's music, even during points in her career when she felt she wasn't able to give us every part of herself. Over the years Mariah has become really comfortable in displaying her humour and playfulness in songs. E=MC² and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel saw Mariah at her most fun, and Me. I am Mariah carries this through, with conversations being heard in songs and Mariah breaking into laughter. But the issue on this album is that Mariah seems torn between giving us two sides of herself. She wants to give us fun-loving and humorous Mariah, but also wants to give us pain and 'Bitch, I'm going down' Mariah J. Blige. It's not to say that it's not possible to give us both, but Me. I Am Mariah is like Pong. It bounces back and forth in a way that doesn't provide the best listening experience, which isn't helped by the awful sequencing. Songs on both sides are really good. "Camouflage" is heartfelt and gorgeous. "You Don't Know What To Do" is fun and sassy. But there's nothing in-between to bridge the gap, making this one of the strangest Mariah albums to listen to from top to bottom.
Me. I Am Mariah feels too cobbled together. The end result feels like an album that the label demanded be put together with what was recorded after being tired with countless delays and Mariah taking her sweet time, even though Mariah was still vibing out what the album would be and figuring it out. There is no sense of flow to this album whatsoever, nor a real sense of what Mariah was trying to go for, because it feels like two or maybe three album concepts just chucked together. The songs shortlisted make up what is one of Mariah's most forgettable albums, even though it features some great songs which deserve justice.
I wouldn't say that this album is bad by any means. With a re-jigged track order and maybe a couple of bumps and an additional song here and there, it could work. But no matter what way you cut it, this just doesn't feel like a fully rounded body of work. And this is THE problem, as there's no other album in Mariah's catalog where you have to faff around with the tracklisting to make it better.
Still. Mariah on her not so good days, is still better than most on their best. And there is certainly enough here to like, even if you find yourself not loving this album as a whole.
Highlights:
■ Faded 🏆 J's fave
■ Dedicated
■ #Beautiful
■ You Don't Know What To Do
■ Meteorite
■ Camouflage
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