“I’m not very good at letting go,” Bridget Kelly says to me very matter of factly. “Can you tell that I’m a ride or die type chick?”
We’re sitting in a crowded trailer in the middle of Coney Island where Bridget, one of the first signees to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, is shooting her very first music video and there’s a rush to finish before we lose natural sunlight.
“Special Delivery” is pure R&B. “Wrote him a goodbye letter today, with conviction in every stroke, licked the envelope and sent it away,” Bridget’s raspy voice sings. I couldn’t help but think about a recent experience in my own life.
After a hectic weekend in Atlanta for the BET Hip-Hop Awards, I got up dumb early and stumbled into Hartsfield International Airport to catch my 8 a.m. flight back to NYC. But after an unfortunate run-in with some over-zealous TSA employees, I missed my flight and found myself at another gate on an intimidating stand-by list. Pissed, annoyed and confrontational, I contemplated going back to security and filling in this empty time with cursing them all the way out.
I got some coffee instead.
As I sat there looking at the gate, I thought about everything the Universe has been teaching me recently about life. Something about this bizarre experience made me feel like it was all apart of The Plan, so I chilled out, waited the hour for the next flight and for what the Universe had in store.
Back on set in Coney Island…
Back on set in Coney Island, Bridget and I chatted while she got her makeup touched up. “There was something special about this song. It’s not your typical ‘dirty dog, you cheated’ song.” And it’s not. Boy in your arms, I never felt more alone. This song is about realizing that the relationship just isn’t working then deciding to walk away.
For many of us, leaving a relationship alone can sometimes be the hardest part. “I’m not a quitter,” the conviction in Bridget’s eyes makes the statement feel much more personal than perhaps she intended. “I always feel like I should find meaning in everything I’m involved in, so I work hard at my relationships.”
And here I am thinking about this ATL airport incident again. I’d gotten up on time, the driver picked me up on time, I’d already checked in and had my boarding pass in hand. I’d literally done everything I was supposed to do to make my flight, then security decided to fuck with me, all because they could.
Anyway, back to Bridget…Watching her perched on a beautiful 1972 Nova, I was proud of this woman. I first met the New York native more than a year ago, when I interviewed her in advance of the Every Girl EP. Since then, I’ve gotten drunk with her, been to intimate gatherings in her home, met her mother and gotten to see firsthand what a genuine, talented woman Bridget is. So I sort of get it when she says, “I don’t believe in ‘aha’ moments, it takes a lot to make me a believer. There’s a series of reasons why I’m with you, so you gotta give me several reasons why it doesn’t work…But some things just don’t work.”
Okay, last time about Atlanta. So the next flight begins to board and halfway through they announce they’re out of overhead space and everyone remaining, will have to check their carry-on bags–not a good sign for someone on stand-by. Still, I waited. I trusted there was a lesson in here somewhere for me. Maybe it wasn’t on this flight but the next, maybe I’d meet the love of my life or maybe I’d avoid some sort of crash. The point was: the lesson could be anything.
Finally, it was two minutes before the agent could open the stand-by list. Of the seven checked in, only two stand-by passengers were present, me and another guy. Finally the moment arrives and the other guy gets called. He’s clearly been there all night, so I couldn’t even be mad as he checked his bag at the gate then boarded. It wasn’t looking good. My chances were grim as the agent began to page the missing passenger (who ironically had the same last name as I), but when he looks at me, hangs up the phone and hands me a boarding pass, I was already on the plane before I realized the agent had upgraded me to first class.
See that’s the thing about life: whether you’re shooting your very first music video, trying to make a broken relationship work or just trying to catch a flight home, all you can ever do is your part. The rest is up to the Universe. You just have to know that when the Universe says ,”Let go,” it’s because what’s coming, is so much better than what you’ve got now.
And what better way to send it off, than with a song.
Check out ‘Special Delivery’ available now on iTunes and the visuals next week.–JasFly (@JasFly)