By now we've all heard the details of the horrible tragedy that has devastated Jennifer Hudson and her family. Like many of you, my thoughts and prayers have been with Jennifer all weekend, hoping for the safe return of her nephew Julian King, and the strength to carry the surviving members of the family through this terrible time.While blogs normally seem synonymous with hate, I thought today would would be an appropriate day to think about what songs have helped you through difficult times like the one Jennifer is going through right now.
When I first learned about the murders of Jennifer's mother and brother I was immediately reminded of Aaliyah's death, although it was under such different circumstances, I couldn't help but think of these two women, each in what seemed to be great places in both their personal and professional lives, only to have the most important thing of all taken away.
Jennifer Hudson "Jesus Promised Me A Home Over There"
It's extremely difficult working in this business when someone dies -- the media response initially is to fly into a frenzy to uncover as many details as possible as quickly as possible. In this particular case, both SOHH's news department and Gyant already covered the event, so I chose to sit back and reflect over the weekend about the best way to discuss the situation at hand. At the end of the day whether we are talking about Jennifer Hudson and her mother and brother and her missing nephew, the death of Pimp C or the death of Kanye's mother Donda there is a realization that these people hurt just like us, bleed just like us and need to mourn and heal in much the same way as us.
Jennifer Hudson "You Pulled Me Through"
There is nothing that can take away the pain that death brings but for me music has always held some amazing healing properties so I spent some time listening to Jennifer's album this weekend as well as some other songs that I found brought me strength and hope when I needed them and I wanted to give everyone the opportunity to share songs that did the same thing for them, as well as the chance to offer Jennifer some support. Obviously I've already posted two of Jennifer's songs above and the last one I chose is below. I hope you all enjoy and most of all I hope she's also able to draw some strength and comfort in music.
Jennifer Hudson " We Gon Fight"
Hearing her sing about her 'Mama's house' is very chilling now. While the lyrics to the last song is more on a romantic tip, I felt like it could also apply to the kind of strength and hope Jennifer and her family will need to continue on.
The other song that came to mind is Monica's current single " Still Standing" where she talks about witnessing her boyfriend take his own life and having to continue on afterwards.
And when it comes to songs about mourning, Boyz II Men "So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" always comes to mind.
I'll be back later in the morning with a regular R&B post but I definitely wanted to do something a little on the different side in light of the recent events. Jennifer, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. - Soul Rebel
Great post Soul Rebel. I think it's important to remember that when tragic strikes people in the public eye, people tend to forget that they are people just like us who go thru a myriad of emotions. They need some privacy and time to heal just like anyone else. My prayers are definitely with the Hudson family for strength and the safe return of little Julian as well.
Intrestingly enough I too have a collect of songs that I use for "soul food" when my soul is on empty.
I really appreciate this post.
This was a great post Rebel, definitely a more positive and uplifting take rather than the route some bloggers go.
P.S. They just reported in Chicago that they found the body of Jennifer Hudson's nephew.
Thanks for posting these songs, I know a lot of people are going to need to hear them.