Because she will grab you by your weave.
Review: Tamar Braxton’s ‘My Man’
By Niy Birden
Tamar Braxton knows drama. And she knows that you know, that she knows that you know- that what is hers, is hers. Which is why her song and video “My Man” will be one of the biggest breakup you-must-not-know-bout-me anthems for R&B this year. I can picture it already, girls driving down the street, top down, maybe your girlfriend doing her nails, instagramming or posting a video to musical.ly of her belting out the song with a puppy filter.
The song, a perfect combo of traditional r&b ballad and soft D’Angelo or Miguel-inspired guitar strums, details her resentment for a lover who has done her absolutely dirty. But she’s not just talking about the guy. She is even calling out his mistress, who she very aptly calls- or shouts-a heifer (right on). The song starts off with soft piano and quickly introduces the main theme of the instrumental, guitar, piano and a nice kick perfectly complimenting her beautiful contralto voice. Classic Braxton harmonies pair with her voice and make you remember the good ‘ole days of listening to The Braxtons when they were still a group.
The song hits a critical point when she sings “Word around town/Is that you live with her/And you said she took your heart away, oh baby/I told them, that’s a lie/Cause I don’t wanna hear no bullshit stories ’bout my man.” Tamar also doesn’t waste any time with getting into her staple belting, once she gets closer to the heart of the stories detailing just exactly how her man was stolen. Lyrics such as “Looked me in the face, and she took my man/Never trust a lonely woman with the one you love/She ate dinner at my table, even watched my kids/And she took my man/Bitch actin’ like she was my friend/She called me ’bout her man/Well, I didn’t understand/She was talkin’ ’bout my man (heifer)” make you want to ask her “Who in the world are you talking about?!” And finally, the ending “Oh oh oh oh oh oh ohs” channeling Lenny Williams add the icing on the cake, reminding people that once again, this is a very passionate song.
After she absolutely slam-dunked the song at the 2017 BET Awards, a video was soon released, and honestly was just as dramatic. Tamar’s videos have been known to be quite hilarious and a bit overly-dramatic, but this one seemed to be very justified. While her video for “If I Don’t Have You” was quite goofy with the overly-played NeNe Leaks hustler cameo, this video shows a much more personal and realistic view into the life of a betrayed, faithful woman.
The video, shot entirely in a stunning back and white (which is quite similar to her Love+War video-equally as visually stunning and musically powerful) shows Tamar walking into a hotel, bribing the concierge for a key into her lover’s room, and thus grabbing the mistresses hair and slamming her into the sink, and declaring “Not my man, BITCH!”(which, come on, you gotta admit was pretty damn funny). The mistress, surprisingly not fighting back, cowards in the bathroom while Tamar is left to finish the cheater off.
She even takes back her rightful property while again, declaring in her don’t-fuck-with-me-voice “ You gave this bitch my fucking coat?! I’ve been looking for this shit!” (again, makes you want to laugh out loud) and storms out like the 4-time, Grammy- nominated diva she is. In the ending scene, her ballad song “Rather Go Blind” plays in the background, but is suddenly cut off when she reminds the driver “Carl-cut this shit off,it’s too deep right now”, reminding us, again, that she is a performer. But what grabs the attention of the viewer is the “To Be Continued” text that appears right at the end, reminding you that there is more drama to come.
