Mashonda has returned with her new EP, Note to Self via Tifrere Music. It’s her first proper project since her 2005 debut album, January Joy, and her most personal to date.
Note to Self contains eight tracks, three of which are interludes with affirmations (“God’s Plan,” “Purity” and “No More”). She co-wrote every song on the project with The Millennials.
“I wanted to create a piece of art. I consider this project more than just music. It’s intentionally done as a body of work and they tell a story,” Mashonda tells Rated R&B. The affirmations on the EP “represent the evolution of each song moving into the next.”
Note to Self invites listeners in on Mashonda’s journey as she navigates love and pain and the transformation that comes with it. “Every word of this EP is inspired by my personal experiences through the human emotions that come with love,” she shared in a previous statement.
The process of creating this project wasn’t so seamless, as Mashonda was faced with some internal challenges.
“I struggled a bit with my own insecurities and was on the precipice of giving up,” she reveals. Mashonda gives credit to her 14-year-old son for being her motivation. “He really reminded me that it’s something I had to do and it was my purpose.”
And it all paid off. “I pushed through and created something that I love. I’m really proud of this body of work.”
She hopes it helps her listeners, too. “My intention is for listeners to have a moment of awakening within some part of their life. I think that Note to Self is a blueprint for human evolution, honestly, because it is my human evolution. It’s the moving part of my life for the past 10 years that have made me the woman I am today. And I’m really proud of the woman that I am today.”
In Rated R&B’s interview with Mashonda, the singer/songwriter shares the meaning behind a few tracks from her Note to Self EP.
“Positive Distraction”
I was, at the time, in a really beautiful relationship. The person was really taking me out of being in a state of confusion about certain things and being a distraction from the negativity that was surrounding me. I called it “Positive Distraction” because people identify distractions as negative, but in this case, it was positive.
“Forbidden Fruit”
“Forbidden Fruit” is very sensual and passionate. It’s the ultimate lovemaking record. It’s about thinking of yourself and the other person as this sort of, “It’s so good that it’s almost taboo.” It’s like, “How do we describe how beautiful this interaction is?” I felt like the descriptions in records nowadays are just so blatant and raw. I wanted to take it back to poetry, something that felt beautiful and that represented sex in a supernatural kind of way.
“Runaway”
I call “Runway” the “very happy breakup song.” I was dating a guy. We were on this trip and he really showed out. The moment the morning came and he left the room, I packed my bags and was in a taxi on my way to the airport. I didn’t even have a flight booked. I just knew that I was running away. I was laughing the whole time because it was comical to me. It felt liberating. He texted me, “Hey, where are you?” And I was like, “I’m at the airport. I don’t think this is working out.” I felt like this weight lifted off my shoulder. I don’t think every escape has to be a negative one. I feel like the growth is in communicating that things aren’t working out early and walking away from the situation.
“Complicated”
It’s definitely my favorite song on the EP. It is about a situation where the person that I was involved with — we had the most incredible times together. But then there was just this thing hovering over us that always found a way to complicate everything. There was a very weird balance of trying to work it out and not wanting to be a part of it. That always causes confusion and kind of jades things for everybody. For me, “Complicated” is such a strong expression of respecting the red flags and also finding grace and patience in relationships with people. I wanted to document that in a very beautiful way. I think the video does such a great job of displaying that. It’s gorgeous. I shot it as a short film. It’s intense. I wanted people to feel very emotional while watching it.
Stream Mashonda’s new EP Note to Self below.
