Bump To This is BE’s fortnightly curated list of the tracks that we’ve had on heavy rotation. This one right here goes out to all the baby's mamas' mamas, Mamas, mamas, baby mamas' mamas, in celebration of Mother’s Day. Scroll through the list featuring some of our favourite musical mothers including Solange, Teyana Taylor, Alicia Keys, Jhené Aiko and Queen Naija. Link up to our Spotify to hear more!
Gonna Love Me by Teyana Taylor
Teyana Taylor is a singer, actress, dancer and of course incredible mama to baby Junie, who was delivered by Teyana’s husband, NBA player Iman Shumpert, in their home after she went into early labour in 2015. Teyana has been in the music industry for 10 years but hasn’t released many successful projects until last year’s sophomore album, K.T.S.E. The album was produced by GOOD Music founder, Kanye West, and featured eight songs, including the certified gold ‘Gonna Love Me’. Teyana is an incredible worker and powerful woman, promising to deliver another album sometime this year.
Mama’s Hand by Queen Naija
Queen Naija has one of those incredible yet effortless voices that conveys so much emotion when she sings. She first became known as a YouTuber with her then-husband, Chris, and their son CJ, which is where she also began her music career. She released a few songs via their family channel but didn’t gain momentum until the couple broke up in 2017. She then released ‘Medicine’ which debuted at No. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. Now I don’t know if it’s because I’m writing a Mother’s Day piece that I’m extra emotional but this song not only gives me goosebumps but it’s making me cry. It’s a beautiful tribute to her son and we can’t wait to see how her music career blossoms with time.
Triggered (freestyle) by Jhené Aiko
Jhené Aiko is a single mom of daughter Namiko (or Nami for short) who sings openly about her struggles with love, loss and mental health. Her honesty and passion make for beautifully powerful music that offers healing powers to more than just her. Jhené also features her daughter on two songs, ‘Promises’ and ‘Sing To Me’ and has performed them together live on multiple occasions. She is currently working on her new album which will be made up of only freestyles. She just dropped this new track ‘Triggered’ which was originally going to be released in April but was delayed after the untimely death of rapper and her close friend, Nipsey Hussle.
Blended Family (What You Do For Love) by Alicia Keys ft. A$AP Rocky
This woman truly needs no introduction. She is a legend of the R&B game, a songstress, writer, composer and actress. And after 18 years in the business, Alicia Keys still blesses us with new music. In this song, she pays homage to the modern family dynamics of the 21stcentury. She describes her real-life situation of loving her stepchildren, making sure they’re aware she is there for them and how their Mum and her are on good terms. It’s a positive co-parenting story we don’t get often but would love to see more of.
Way To The Show by Solange
Solange is not a regular mum, she’s a cool mum! No for real. She is mama to her teen son Julez after becoming pregnant at 17 years old (you can catch the baby bump in the Destiny’s Child ‘Solider’ video). The two share a close bond that sometimes looks cooler than our own friendships. Peep this choreographed dance to ‘No Flex Zone’ her and Julez did at Solange and Alan Ferguson’s 2014 wedding. ‘Way To The Show’ is off her latest album, When I Get Home,that she released March 2019. The album, along with its short film, offers an avant-garde tribute to her hometown of Houston, Texas.