Mariah Carey – The Emancipation of Mimi

Artist: Mariah Carey

Title: The Emancipation of Mimi

Label: Island

Rating: 6/10

CORPORATE LINE: The Emancipation of Mimi marks “the return of the voice.” As an artist who has paved the way for a host of emerging talent throughout the years, Mariah is set once again to redefine the heights of musical success with her incomparable talent and timeless appeal. With a refined and sophisticated new look indicative of her artistic evolution, she is poised to conquer new territory. Consistently evolving musically, personally, and creatively Mariah will re-assert her claim as the best-selling female performer of all time with The Emancipation of Mimi. As an artist revered worldwide, her boundless talent and success is unmatched across the globe.

THE GREAT:
“Fly Like A Bird” – The only track that Mariah doesn’t try to be someone else. This sounds like the real Mariah Carey—too bad it came too late. Although “We Belong Together” is a nice song it’s hard to understand where the greatness has gone.

THE AVERAGE:
“Get Your Number” F/Jermaine Dupri – When will someone tell all of these artists that nobody but other artists like Dupri. His voice is annoying and the moment you hear his weak rhymes and cat-scratch voice we hit the skip button. Thankfully Mariah is there to pick up the pieces. Dupri does offer a hot beat for “It’s Like That” even if the song pales in comparison to Carey’s past hits.
“One and Only” f/Twista and Nelly – Twista drops a rhyme that oddly enough doesn’t sound anything like an emancipation of anything. Instead the track would seem to be quite the opposite.
“Stay The Night” f/Kanye West – Chessy.

THE BAD:
Close, but no real mess.

FRANKLY: The new cool for artists today is to hire a handful of different producers expecting them to create something great—instead time and again the albums aren’t cohesive and The Emancipation of Mimi is a perfect example. You go from funk to the ‘90s Mariah and some quasi hip-hop/soul tracks. In fact, other than the lack of hits The Emancipation of Mimi sounds all too familiar.
Why Mariah thought it was important to have so many rappers on her record is beyond me. Most of the albums weak spots are during the guest appearances. It’s sad to think that a legend like Mariah believes she must keep up with artists like Beyonce. Mariah should realize now that fans loved her because she was Mariah Carey and not like everyone else. Times have changed and Mariah is sadly just like everyone else.

+ CC Morris