00:00Hi, Essence family. This is Yolanda Sanguini, entertainment editor at Essence.com. Welcome to
00:09Coffee Talk, your weekly dose of what's hot on Essence.com. This week, we were lucky enough to
00:14have Monica stop by the building and talk to us about her latest album, New Life. You know,
00:19New Life to me is the best representation of where I am now. It's not that you're leaving
00:25things of your past completely behind, but you're accepting that things will have to
00:31change. And I talk about just the road I've traveled over the last 15 years, and it's been
00:36incredible. You know, I made a lot of mistakes and I learned a lot of great lessons in the
00:40process. So New Life is just about where I am now. That's personally, professionally, in
00:46every way. Monica also spoke to us about reuniting with one of her favorite producers, Missy.
00:51I always work with Missy because I think our friendship goes far beyond the music. You
00:56know, the music, if it ever stops, I think it lives in us both. But if it ever stops, our
01:00friendship never will. You know, so that's something that is easy for us to do, just get in the
01:05studio and make music. The album also takes a lot from a lot of 90s R&B sounds. So we had
01:09to ask Monica about how Mary J. Blige in particular influenced her music. I think you should always
01:15pay homage to those who opened the doors for you and laid the foundation, you know, for girls
01:20like myself that didn't come up with a whole lot, that have experienced a lot of different
01:25trials and tribulations. She is the ultimate queen of being able to come out on the positive
01:29side of things. So it was really me paying respects to everybody in that era that really believed
01:35in music and really bridging R&B and hip-hop. And of course we had to ask the newlywed about
01:41marriage and happiness. It's been amazing, you know, because I think that even when things
01:48weren't going so well for me, I always felt like people, or some people at least, were
01:53praying for me, rooting for me, pushing for me. And I think it's because they see that
01:57through it all I've had just a genuine love for people. Every decision I've made, whether
02:01it was right, wrong, or indifferent, was decisions that I made from the heart. And even if they
02:05were the wrong choices, once you pay the price, you recognize that God is one of second chances
02:10and you don't allow other people to make you feel convicted because of it. And I think that's
02:15why I've been so happy in my marriage, because I don't harbor anything that's ever taken place
02:19in my life. I acknowledge that my husband treats me well. I acknowledge that he supports me.
02:23I acknowledge that he's great and amazing to my children. So with that, he doesn't have
02:28to deal with any excess baggage of anywhere else that my journey has taken me.
02:33So you know we're bumping this album here at the Essence office, so make sure you pick
02:36up New Life by Monica. You've been watching Coffee Talk with me, Yolanda Sanguini,
02:41Entertainment Editor at Essence.com. Make sure to share your thoughts with us on Facebook
02:46and Twitter and log on to Essence.com for your weekly dose of Coffee Talk. Goodbye.
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