Melanie Fiona: The MF Life

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Detailed Information

  • Label: Universal, 2011
  • Order number: 2284747
  • Release date: 20.3.2012

Product Information

Melanie Fiona crossed many bridges to arrive at The MF Life. Conceptual bridges. Spiritual bridges. Actual bridges. Stadium-thumpin' bridges. Hard-lovin' emotional bridges. The MF Life, the Grammy-nominated soulstress’s second album for SRC/Title 9 / Universal Motown, evinces the charmed life of an immensely gifted vocalist in forward motion, hurtling up the road, the radio dial, and the charts to a unique place where myriad listeners can soothe their souls and hear the beat of their own hearts.

“It’s all in the interest of growth,” explains Melanie Fiona, a Los Angeles-based native of Toronto, Canada who is co-managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation imprint. “The key thing I want to impress upon anyone who listens to The MF Life is the idea that it’s possible to learn from everything that comes at you,” she continues. “That’s been my process. It’s why on the surface, the ‘MF’ in the album title represents my initials, but it also gets at the many facets of myself as an artist and a young woman. It can be viewed as the ‘Mighty Fine Life’ in times of triumph and success, but also the ‘Mother-F-ing Life’ when I’m dealing with frustration or misfortune. I celebrate both. I feel it would be dishonest if everything was all about glitz and glamour. It’s about the balance of life, the yin and the yang, the good and the bad, all of that.”

The maturity Melanie Fiona displays on The MF Life is underscored by her remarkable versatility and cosmopolitan panache. The album showcases a stunning mix of vibrant new sounds from a host of A-list R&B producers and songwriters, each partaking of the originality that has made Fiona a sought-after collaborator by everyone from Cee-Lo Green (“Fool For You”) and John Legend & The Roots (“Wake Up! Everybody”) to reggae superstar Stephen Marley (“No Cigarette Smoking (In My Room)”) and U. K. rapper Tinchy Stryder (“Let It Rain”). “The MF Life is definitely less retro-sounding than my first album,” says Fiona, who credits her parents, Guyanese émigrés to Canada, with giving her a solid foundation in the time-honored classics of Sam Cooke and Stevie Wonder, among other greats. The transformative impulse is one Fiona relishes. “Making the leap from Canada,” she explains, “I was recognized for two things: Being a powerful vocalist and an emotional storyteller. It’s clear to me that with those traits in place, the sky’s the limit. I think if listeners feel that they can believe what you’re singing, they’ll stick with you no matter what you try.”

(melaniefiona. com)

EUR 13.99*

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