JoJo is wickedly underrated. A booming voice inside a seemingly small body, she turned heads with her debut almost nine years ago. If it weren’t for legal troubles with her current record label, this chanteuse with around-the-way girl appeal would be in the big leagues already. Fortunately for us, she’s still trudging through industry roadblocks and creating quality music. Agape, her latest musical offering, showcases a sophisticated new sound. One part humorous, one part heart-wrenching and one part thought-provoking, this ‘tape is reminiscent of R&B’s heyday.
In just a few tunes, she blasts the music industry, embraces her struggles, envisions her dream man and calls out the scrubs. With a whirlwind of emotion in just 20 minutes, there are lessons to be learned…and we hand-picked them.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=daLpG4wgNPM
1. Listen to your inner voice before you listen to anyone else.
(It took me 22 years to trust myself/Too many people told me to be someone else. -“Back to the Beginning Again”)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=poMVZPyJeK0
2. Getting to know yourself takes time. How you gon’ win if you ain’t right within? Word to Lauryn Hill.
(Hollywood and the bullsh-t, I’ll deal with that/That life I left, I’m not going back/I can’t work a nine to five/I’ll get lost just to find myself/Maybe I’ll stop being someone else. -“We Get By”)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kzJLNa9jr0Y
3. It’s okay to fall head over heels for someone.
(If I waited for you, I’d just be waiting alone/So when the clock strikes two, I’ll be on my way home/Traffic jam on the 405/I hop in the whip cuz it’s not much time/Damn it, I’m gonna get to you. -“Take the Canyon”)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=xqUpoy6TGAc
4. And maybe fall in love with them after.
(Nothing’s impossible with love so astronomical. -“Billions”)
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Your accomplishments will ultimately overshadow your failures.
(Today, I have too many tattoos to go back to status quo/And I’ve heard too many yes’ just to die about a no/Seen too many smiles to be flustered by a frown/And I’m so used to being so high up, you can’t just talk me down. -“Billions”)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=HLmOa2oms9I
6. No one is immune from heartbreak.
(Just because we’re supposed to be, don’t mean we’re gonna be/You can still break my heart if we’re only messing around/I’m different now/I’m just thinking out loud/And I try to be cool, but my feelings keep pulling me down. -“Thinking Out Loud”)
7. The road to success never did run smooth.
(The way I see it, he said you just can’t win it/Everybody’s in it for their own gain. You can’t please them all/It’s always somebody calling you down/ I do my best and I do good business/There’s a lot of people asking for my time, trying to get ahead/Trying to be a good friend of mine. -“White Girl In Paris”)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=zQ6ogHYobP4
8. Andre 300 is the prototype.
(He wears a leather jacket in June/Got a convo straight to the moon/He’s a fire that you can’t contain/ I get weak just saying his name. -“Andre”)