ALBUM REVIEW: MARSHA AMBROSIUS – LATE NIGHTS & EARLY MORNINGS

March 1st, 2011

It’s been a long time coming for Marsha Ambrosius, the former Floetry songstress who releases her solo debut album, Late Nights & Early Mornings, today.

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In the midst of releasing three albums as half of the English R&B duo, Marsha also made dozens of guest appearances on other artists’ tracks. Following a brief stint with Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment label, she found a home at J Records last year and has been preparing for this moment by showcasing her aural aphrodisiac talents on a number of mixtapes.

Not only is Marsha a gifted singer, she’s also a talented songwriter and producer having written and produced most of the album herself. She shares co-writing credit with Alicia Keys on the smooth, seduction-filled song “With You”, the first track following the introduction, appropriately titled “Anticipation”. Marsha keeps the mood going as she declares it’s gonna be a late night, early morning on the title track layered over a Bobby Z-esque beat (see Prince’s “The Beautiful Ones”) produced by Rich Harrison.


♫ Marshia Ambrosius – Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)

But things quickly go from grown and sexy to “I hope she cheat on you with a basketball player” with the album’s lead single. Instead of wishing an ex well, Marsha wishes everything that could go wrong for him to actually do so because, as she explained in an interview with Rap-Up, “my ego is bruised and I’m acting out”, a feeling which most people can attest to feeling at some point in their life.


♫ Marshia Ambrosius – Far Away

The album’s second single, “Far Away”, unfortunately, also conveys emotion we all happen to know all too well. Inspired by one of Marsha’s friends who committed suicide (as she mentions in the song’s video), the mid-tempo track is the perfect soundtrack to dealing with the loss of a loved one.


♫ Marsha Ambrosius – Lose Myself

Marsha injects new life into the messy melange of Lauryn Hill’s “Lose Myself”, which was included on the Surf’s Up soundtrack. In addition, her cover of Portishead’s “Sour Times” rivals the original with Marsha’s strong vocals as compared to those of the delicately nonchalant Beth Gibbons.

“I Want You to Stay” and “Tears” are in full contrast of “Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)” which finds Marsha pleading, “I’m begging you, stay with me. I want you back. Don’t you leave me here.” But the time eventually comes to move on, as evidenced by “The Break Up Song”.


♫ Marshia Ambrosius – With You

Fortunately, the album doesn’t end on such a sad note, which fans will appreciate as the upbeat reworking of “Butterflies”, which was a classic midtempo ballad Marsha wrote with Andre Harris (of Dre & Vidal) and Michael Jackson recorded in 2001 for inclusion on what would be his tenth and final studio album, Invincible.

Fans of Floetry will definitely flock to this album, and it will undoubtedly introduce Marsha to a number of new listeners. But Late Nights & Early Mornings means even more to Marsha, showcasing her as a stand-alone artist who no longer has to rely on the assistance of someone else or play second-string to anyone…and with talent like hers, it also promises even greater things to come.

  1. 1.
    STLOPINION

    This is soooo ironic i love her ‘far away’ song but i just seen the video not even an hour ago an have been speechless ever since i’ve replayed the vid nearly 5-10 time it was so POWERFUL i never have heard a song have so much meaning and that be conveyed into a video so beautifully! I will def. be buying this album!

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    • STLOPINION

      oh an btw she looks AMAZING and i love that the record label is giving her the freedom to convey these kind of messages to the public her growth from floetry is very evident!

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    • rferfd

      I support Inter/racial relationships! I believe love has no color!

      ___________blackwhitedate.c-/0m ____________

      This club is for those of us that don’t discriminate! This is to all my people who don’t care about somebody’s ethnic background, just how they are on the inside.

      If you want to find a sincere Inter/racial relationship. If you are serious. Come and join us!

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    • BOYCOTT BLK MALE RAPPERS/SINGERS

      DO NOT BUY THE MUSIC OF RAPPERS/SINGERS THAT DO NOT SUPPORT YOU. USE THE MONEY TO BUY THE MUSIC OF BLACK FEMALE ARTISTS LIKE MARSHA AMBROSIUS, JAZMINE SULLIVAN, LEDESI, ESPERANZA SPALDING ETC.
      The people that control the media do not want black women seen on TV in a positive light, and the black male rappers/singers are a part of this plot. This is why you hardly ever see black women looking classy in videos in 2011.. when that used to be normal back in the 80′s. There is video footage of rappers/singers including CB, Fabolous, Trey S. saying that they have COMPLETE CONTROL over which women are picked to be in the videos and how they are presented. So they choose NOT to use black women, and on the rare occasion they use a TOKEN black female…. they make sure that she is on the sideline looking trashy and have the white,latina,brazilian females playing the LEADING LADY looking classy. All latinas, brazilians do NOT consider themselves black regardless of their ancestry. It’s not for diversity not for diversity because… why don’t they include latino,white, brazilian MEN???
      BOYCOTT ALL PEPSI PRODUCTS LIKE AQUAFINA, MOUNTAIN DEW ETC. FOR THE RACIST SUPERBOWL PEPSI MAX COMMERCIAL. Look how they portrayed the dark black female as angry, jealous at a time you hardly see dark females in commercials.
      THINK. Lauryn Hill just started doing some promo shows and blogs are already portraying her in a negative light. Why don’t they report how she thanked her fans, great performances etc. They don’t want dark, natural conscious female artists to win. If you think she acts crazy… then why do you support Kanye West, 50, lil wayne, etc when they act crazy?
      CB was on twitter making jokes about dark skin ppl and dark skin girls. were saying he was only kidding. BE HONEST… if Rihanna or any light skin FEMALE artist made jokes on twitter about dark skin ppl for the world to see you would have bashed her for life. This is why black women do not get any respect from media,rappers etc. You NEVER hold black men accountable for anything. BOYCOTT CB, SLIM THUG,OCHO CINCO, FABOLOUS FOR LIFE.
      Look how black ppl are telling blk girls to forgive CB….CONDITIONING them to be future domestic violence victims. Do you think J LO, Paris Hilton, KIM KARDASHIAN PARENTS prepared them to accept/forgive abuse? CB is rich. Why don’t you teach these blk girls to get their money/education and to NOT have premarital sex which can lead to pregnancy, hiv, AIDS etc.
      The media,rappers will continue to bash black women as long as you allow it. BOYCOTT EVERYTHING, USE YOUR MONEY TO SUPPORT BLACK FEMALE ARTISTS, BLACK FEMALE BIZ, ETC.
      !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
      BLACK MALE RAPPERS/SINGERS GAVE AWAY BLACK MUSIC CULTURE ON A SILVER PLATTER. THEY DESTROYED ONE OF THE VISIBLE FORMS OF MEDIA THAT BLACK PPL HAD …MUSIC.
      In the 90′s, 80′s black ppl/WOMEN played a major role in music entertainment…videos setting trends etc. In the 90′s we had a several black female groups like en vogue, tlc, brownstone, escape,swv,jade. …as well as black female singers,rappers, reggae artists. Black people could have dominated the music scene had remain united. No one could have complained that blk male rappers/singers only have black women looking classy in videos. All other races/ethnicities do the same thing. Look at other networks.. white, indian,korean, latin men use the same women in their race for their videos,movies etc. Once THEY realized that selfish black rappers/singers were willing to destroy black women….the MEDIA ran with it. Do you realize the days of black female artists/groups are practically gone FOREVER. No, it’s not due to internet downloading. The face of black male rappers/singers have remained the same. They made sure NOT to include any other men. BOYCOTT THEM ALL. EITHER THEY RESTORE BLACK MUSIC CULTURE WITH BLACK WOMEN …OR DESTROY IT ALL. TELL THEM TO REMOVE THEIR BLACK FACES AND REPLACE IT WITH WHITE, LATIN, INDIAN MEN!!!!!!
      I don’t care what race of women blk men date or marry. The issue is the EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES that they took away from blk women. The black music culture that was built on the blood, sweat,and tears of blk ppl should not used by blk male artists to make money for themselves and invite OTHER WOMEN to PROFIT.

      reply
      by BOYCOTT MALE RAPPERS/SINGERS
      2:17 pm – Mar 1, ’11
      BOYCOTT THEM ALL!! Look at all the ppl that are getting mad because I am trying to get black females to open their eyes. You have to remember that every race, cnn fox news ,KKK,ETC comes to blk blogs to stalk blk ppl and get info.
      DO NOT FALL FOR THE TOKEN DARK/BLK FEMALE ANYMORE! Puffy/Diddy started the latina trend when he started dating J LO IN THE LATE 90′S. Don’t believe me….I challenge you to go back and find a latina playing the LEADING LADY in any video B4 diddy put J LO in his Been around the world video around 1997. I tried to get black women to protest back then because I new that other black male artists would start ding the same. Do you realize that if black women had given J LO a fraction of the HATE that you give Rihanna, nicki,and other blk female artists you could have STOPPED the latina, brazilian trend. Again..all latinas/brazilians do NOT consider themselves black regardless of their DNA.
      I am soooo angry at all the blk women who grew up in the 90′s,80′s and allowed this to happen! You know darn well that you did not grow up seeing OTHER women in almost every hip hop RandB video. They are attacking the new generation. You have young black girls who have hardly seen any black females looking positive in these videos for their ENTIRE life. They want to keep black women down. That’s why every other day their is some random post about how insecure blk women are. It’s 2011 and black women you have LOST a lot. Black women had more positive images in the media in the 90′s,80′s. It’s only going to get worse until you BOYCOTT EVERYTHING! Go natural, make your own clothes if you have to. Stop giving the world your money. SUPPORT BLK WOMEN INSTEAD.
      Diddy’s conscious must have bothered him. Yes, dirty money are black .. but look at the LEADING LADY in the videos. They will use a TOKEN black female to keep you quiet. Don’t fall for it. IF CB tries to have blk girls in his videos now because his team stays on these posts…. still BOYCOTT HIM, it’s too late.
      LET me see them use black females for the next 10 YEARS LIKE THEY HAVE USED NON BLK WOMEN FOR THE LAST 10. Things should have remained the way they were in the 90′s.
      BOYCOTT 106 and park on BET!!!There should not be any black girls sitting in the audience laughing when BET DOES NOT WANT A BLACK FEMALE TO HOST THE NUMBER 1 SHOW ON A BLACK NETWORK.
      Rosci said that she is NOT black. BOYCOTT

      reply

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    • JUDAH

      @BOYCOTT

      It will be a beautiful day when the Lord destroys this place, just so you black women can shut the hell up. What “classy black women” are you referring to? That phrase itself is oxymoronic lmao….for example this woman “Ambrosius” is an out and out l*sbian playing the “Afrocentric” role for album sales. A simpleton like yourself buys into the P.R. image the same way these infantile black males bought into the “thug” image in the ’90′s, and have now bought into the metrosexual thug image. America is fundamentally against class, particularly in it’s females. Maybe those rappers and singers are choosing non-black women because the black woman gave them hell before they got famous.

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  2. 2.
    carmool

    Damn this review has me at the store tomorrow morning FA SHO Thanks J Dakar!

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  3. 3.
    jhsting32

    I’m so proud of Marsha, #LNEM is her baby and I’m glad she is getting all of the accolades she deserves. I pre-ordered two copies. She is a real, sincere, beautiful, brilliant, and talented artist that put her heart and soul into this album. Support good music and buy it.

    Sincerely a grateful Marshian

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  4. 4.
    MCoCo

    I love Marsha! I’ve been waiting for this album to come out and I’m loving the whole album!

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  5. 5.
    Jenna

    This album is amazing !!! I just bought it here and I’ve been listening to it all morning! Butterflies is my favorite song so far! Check out Late Nights and Early Mornings http://bit.ly/frZ9vP

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  6. 6.
    The Wayno Show

    This is a GREAT album! I bought it and anyone who loves good R&B music should buy a copy and support this great artist. This may be the best R&B album of 2011.

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  7. 7.
    G

    Im not in love with the music.. but she has a beautiful voice.. I think “Far Away” is a great video…

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  8. 8.
    Surprise

    LUV it. I will be going to buy this on my lunch break. She looks great also. Eventhough she was pretty before.

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  9. 9.
    NailsDid

    I am going to buy this because I want to support her and the music. Very good songs.

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  10. 10.
    TARA (Rebel to the Madness...)

    I just want to say the title of the song “Hope She Cheats on You (With A Basketball Star)” is corny, it seems amateur. Anyways I enjoy her songs “Storm” (I listen to it constantly) and “Far Away” is nice (and the music video is wonderful).

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  11. 11.
    TRENTON

    Love her whole ora… she is the greatest.
    FAR AWAY gets 10 stars behind the meaning.
    I cant wait to support her album. She will always be around.

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  12. 12.
    Lanice

    I must get this album. So glad somebody is still doing that R&B I know and love.

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  13. 13.
    sickwitit

    The album is mostly a snooze, but no doubt marsha is talented. Stand out tracks are ‘hope she cheats’ cause of the beat, ‘far away’ because of the great video, and ‘with you’ cause of my girl akeys.

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  14. 14.
    toohotfortv

    I like her cover of Portishead’s “Sour Times”; and Beth sang it that way to convey the emotion of despair. When you’re singing “nobody love’s me”, one might be at a very low point. in a place, that in my opinion, might not facilitate the strongest vocal performance sooooooo…. please go somewhere that. Especially, when you’re taking a jab at one of the most important songs, vocalist, and albums in the “trip-hop”/ down-tempo/idm movement period. Thanks ;)

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  15. 15.
    Ken

    I love Marsha! She looks soooo beautiful in these pictures!

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  16. 16.
    pleaze

    How are you going to refer to the song written by Lauryn as “messy”. People look for every opportunity to degrade Lauryn. Lose Myself is the best song on the album. It stands out because of the writing. Lauryn’s writing skills are amazing. The song is structured just as Lauryn wrote and performed it. The instrumental is the only difference. I still prefer Lauryn’s version although Marsha did a good job.

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  17. 17.
    missy

    LOSE MYSELF rivals Mariahs We belong together. This song is INCREDIBLE. the emotion, the love the hurt.

    Sing girl. Teena Marie would be proud

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  18. 18.
    M$. Ho!!@nd

    Great album!

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  19. 19.
    truthfullyspeaking

    I love Marsha A! I cannot wait to cop this album! I haven’t heard snippets of the album yet, but even if the rest of the songs aren’t as good as her released singles, I am still going to buy the album just to support such a gifted and meaningful artist. She has one of the most beautiful voices I have ever heard. Her voice is so soulful and strong but yet soft, smooth, and crystal clear.

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  20. 20.
    Ceronepop

    For the European followers of this site who are experiencing tight money issues,the music streaming/iTunes killer program Spotify has the album up for some serious music therapy!

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  21. 21.
    G-Star

    Lose Myself, I Want You To Stay & Tears Are My Songs Atm..Tears Is on another level! LOVE the album!

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  22. 22.
    Surprise

    I bought the CD and it has not come out of my disk in the car yet. Of course my boyfriend doesn’t like the song “I hope she cheats on you with a basketball player” LOL- and some one said it was corny (really) I think it’s banging and she gets her little rap thing going. This is a must buy. (Best Buy $7.99 til Saturday)

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    • TARA (Rebel to the Madness...)

      Obviously you did not read my sentence correctly. (copy and pasted->)I just want to say the TITLE of the song Hope She Cheats on You (With A Basketball Star) is corny, it seems amateur.

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  23. 23.
    Alpha MALE

    This album is crazy!!!!!definitely R’n'B album of the year material!

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  24. 24.
    intellione

    Real music! I luv this girl, she is DOIN it like NO OTHER these days and i have of course PURCHased hear album. We need to support REAL singers! Keep it up MARSHA, im buyin what u selling and i will be attending that tour with YOU and MELANIE FIONA, that is going to be HOTTTTTTT! 2 REAL SINGERS, no gimmicks…Worth every dollar!!!

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  25. 25.
    Aisa

    She has a beautiful voice. I love her Afrocentric image .
    I’m buying this album. ! ; )

    Beautyofself.wordpress.com/ ( Celebrating the Beauty of Black women)

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  26. 26.
    Brooklyn Diva

    Best rnb album of 2011 so far! Love this album!

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  27. 27.
    Ms. Mariah

    I love this album…. some of the songs are PERFECT for nights with the boo, or in my case, the husband! …lol

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