“I’m a writer, first…”
Those are the words Kelly chooses to describe herself, her talent. When you listen, closely, to her songs, it’s evident that she writes and sings from her soul. It’s a place she’s come to know quite well. “Music saved my life,” she says. “Writing has been like therapy; it’s the most incredible gift.”
At this juncture, Kelly Price has learned to loosen the reins on her creativity. Sure, she still reaches for a pen-and-pad and rattles off lyrics into her Dictaphone, but she’s also learning to be more patient, allowing the songs to reveal themselves. Sometimes, the words will come. Other times, she’ll hear the song as a fully-orchestrated composition. Either way, the results of her efforts are illustrated beautifully, truthfully, on her new album entitled, simply, Kelly.
Leading the album out of the gate is the spirited single, “Tired.” Produced by Shep Crawford and inspired by a creative heart-to-heart she shared with fellow musician and past collaborator, R. Kelly, the song sheds light on the social ills that not only cause her distress, but also seem to be plaguing our world community. Even before she starts running down the list of things that consume her thoughts – from guilty feelings and broken dreams to baby mommas and ghetto dramas – you’ll know where she’s heading from the opening verse…”there’s a hole in my heart, my soul is bleeding I need to free my mind, and say what I’m feeling, ‘cause Lord knows…I’m tired.”
On the touching ballad, “I’m Sorry (My Apology),” also produced by Crawford, Price sings of the freedom that comes from practicing the art of forgiveness. The song takes off where her gospel hit, “Healing,” left off four years earlier. “We always hear about why it’s important to forgive other people, but so many times we continue to punish ourselves for [having made] bad decisions,” she notes. “I believe that God is displeased when we’re so hard on ourselves.” When she closes with, I wrote this song to say that I love me…and I forgive me, perhaps you’ll consider releasing some of your past shame. That was her intention.
Speaking of letting go, she joined forces with Warryn Campbell to create the ever-candid testimonial, “The Rain.” Originally slated for inclusion on the motion picture soundtrack for the Oscar-nominated film, Precious, Price later snagged the song for herself. Having weathered her share of personal storms – think family tensions, homelessness, molestation, body image issues and teenage pregnancy – the lyrics were drawn from her strength and ability to overcome.
