By: Taren Vaughan
Monifah made much noise back in the ‘90’s with classic R&B hits like “I Miss You (Come Back Home), a track that she put down with the late Hip Hop legend Heavy D and “You”. Monifah continued to put out singles years later like “Touch It” and “I Can Tell” and then was quiet on the music scene for awhile, leaving fans wondering what she was up to and what new projects she had up her sleeve. Joining the cast of TV One’s “R&B Divas”, Monifah is back at it alongside Nicci Gilbert, Faith Evans, KeKe Wyatt and Syleena Johnson. And she recently chatted with our friends at the Bitch I Said It Radio Show to discuss everything from her love life to her views on Nicki Minaj’s lyrical “endorsement” of Mitt Romney. One of the first questions Monifah was asked was about how to deal with an insecure partner in a relationship:
“Well you know, the first thing lemme say is that it is not anyone’s responsibility to deal with anyone else’s insecurities. That person has to take that on for themselves…Communication is key and I think maturity level between both people is an impeccable part of it. If you’ve been hurt and if you’re not mature emotionally, it’s kinda hard to navigate through something with some else when maybe you’re not on the same level, you have different levels of maturity, it’s a lot of factors that factor in”
Monifah then spoke about her partner Tarez and what kind of relationship they had, a woman that she claims that she has known for awhile:
“My relationship with Tarez is we are both pretty mature people like emotionally, mentally and we’re real secure within ourselves to a certain extent. We have enough security of self. I know I can only be who I am and nobody else. And nobody else can be me…And she knows who she is through her journey”
Monifah was also asked about how her daughter really felt about her same sex relationship:
“Acceptance is a weird word. Now all we have different belief systems…My daughter is 21 and I’m gonna to speak for her lightly…I know what she’s told me so that’s what I’m gonna go with…Let me just say this, her and Tarez have an amazing friendship. There’s no friction between them, there is nothing like that…They are cool…It’s a harmonious atmosphere. At home, she live with me. She’s lived with both of us for a year…It’s about what she believes in as far as her faith is concerned and that’s that….She has a belief system…Sometimes perspectives change as you experience things. Me as a 40-year-old woman as and a parent, I get that. I also instilled in her that she needs to stand in what she believes in. I’m absolutely proud of her for not lying to me and not acting like it was okay because then that means she’s comprising something in her, she’s keeping it from me and that causes more resentment and stuff for her to hold on to…”
And she spoke on what led her to doing drugs:
“That part of my life came through depression and not dealing with fully issues of abandonment that I had as a kid. I lost people very close to me early in my life in weird ways. My dad died when I was nine years old from a drug overdose, from a heroin overdose in his office. It was the same day that I did my first national commercial. I learned very early on like what polarity was in life. Your big highs they’re always balanced out by a low and vice versa”
She also added that she lost her brother to HIV-related complications in 1995.
Through all the rough things that she has gone through, also including her label abruptly dropping her, Monifah said that she is not a believer in mistakes and that one of her biggest accomplishments was “hearing God’s call” on her life.
When she was asked about voting, Monifah said that TV One and “R&B Divas” definitely addressed the issue and she says that she doesn’t want to hear a damn thing from people who don’t make it to the polls to cast their ballots, especially since there are some people who don’t have the right to do so:
“I don’t wanna hear nothing from nobody if they ain’t vote. You shouldn’t say nothing. And if you not voting, then you part of the problem, period. That’s how our voices are heard so that’s that. I don’t wanna hear nothing about nothing”
When asked about Nicki Minaj’s “endorsement” of Mitt Romney, Monifah made it clear that voting is nothing to joke about, getting at Nicki in her response:
“You know what that’s her business…And it’s publicity, whatever chile, I don’t even think she paying attention…That’s just opportunistic to me. That’s nothing to play with. We damn near about to be pushed back a hundred years okay so it ain’t nothing to play with, it’s not a game”
Switching gears for a moment, Monifah was asked by a caller who phoned in about whether or not she was a lesbian or a bisexual. And she simply responded:
“I am a human being. I’m a human being that is capable of loving anyone. I’m not a big label person at all. I have had relationships with both”
I love Monifah. She was on the realest people on the show. And honestly, she’s right. Nicki isn’t even registered to vote, but she trying to endorse Romney in her raps now? She is a publicity whore and fake as hell, and it’s crazy that she lies as much as she does. And after being caught for lying about being bisexual, she should lose her gay fan base.
Yes! Read her a– Monifah!
Well NIcki has already set us back a hundred years since she’s nothing but a coon anyway. I’ll never forget the time she wore a fried chicken necklace on stage. Barbee is going to come for me for this, but I have said for a while now that she is an embarrassment to black people. White folks ain’t laughing with her, they are laughing at her.
And people can vote for who they want. But it’s obvious Nicki did it for attention. She’s not even registered to vote.
I think Nicki has really stroke a nerve with the Mitt Romney thing. And the Bisexual thing is just the icing on the cake. Both issues are serious, and she’s playing with them. I saw a lot of her fans go in on her about this stuff too yesterday. People don’t like being lied to and played with. But sadly, there will still be enough of her brain dead stans to support her anyway.
She seems like a cool chick, but I just can’t get into the show. I’m glad she spoke on Nicki’s ignorance though. LOL.
I’m still shocked that she’s gay…
I think Nicki has mental issues…
What kind of drugs was she on?
Cocaine.
Love Monifah. You can see that she’s been through some things and has some wisdom to show for it.
Nicki Minaj is a clear example of what happens when your whole life’s purpose revolves around money. You stand for nothing, you have no real substance, and you’re basically ignorant to a lot of things. I feel sorry for her and the people who idolize her. She’s a lost soul and she’s letting those white people play her right out of position. And the sad thing is that she probably couldn’t tell you WHY she would endorse/vote for Romney or Obama. She’s a clown.
Interesting comments.
You Lil Kim fans are sickening.