The year was 2004 when she popped up on the scene with her debut single and album with the same name. Petey Pablo provided a verse and Jazze Pha was the man behind the sound. It wasn’t the first time we heard this sound on radio. The first time was Usher’s club banger “Yeah!” featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris and was released the same year at the same time but it was this beautiful, young, talented and fresh faced singer on the scene named Ciara who gave us the beautiful sounds of the combination of Crunk and R&B music. Nobody else had pulled off the sound before her and not too many people understand that she pioneered the sound in a dope way and what she brought to the game. When you’re a music fan like myself, it’s easy to point out what’s new, fresh, and dope at the same time and it definitely worked in Ciara’s favor. I can honestly point out that the reason she’s so underrated is because she’s from Atlanta and the South had a lot to prove that they also had something to say, props to Andre 3000. Anyways, when Ciara first came out, I thought she lacked vocal ability and power in her voice. I remember when “Goodies” first came out, the moment I heard it, I wasn’t so fond of Petey Pablo alone and then I couldn’t stand the sound of Ciara’s voice but that song is a reflection of the Atlanta sound and wave at the time. After “Goodies”, there was “1, 2 Step” featuring Missy Elliott, “Oh” featuring Ludacris and my all time favorite Ciara joint “And I.” “And I” was a slow ballad that was the first joint Ciara ever written, that’s what I read a long ago. It wasn’t a hype track like the other singles, it was a slow joint but it was a dope ass joint. Ciara caught my attention full on when she came back with her second joint “Ciara: The Evolution.” This album to me is her best work. She stepped it up a whole lot. She went from being the young Atlanta girl fresh outta high school to being this full on entertainer. She went from the honey brown/blonde hair to jet black. She had the whole futuristic look with the silver and shiny clothes, she was dancing more and stepping out of her comfort zone and showing a more hyper Ciara. Her voice was definitely different too but she sings low like Janet Jackson. This is the Ciara I personally loved. I also remember when her second joint dropped because “Get Up” came out for the “Step Up” movie soundtrack and then there was “Promise”, “Like a Boy” and “Can’t Leave ‘Em Alone” featuring 50 Cent. Ciara had this whole Janet Jackson thing going in this era and it worked. She kept that Janet Jackson vibe up and kept putting out more and more bangers and albums. She’s a dope artist whose very underrated. She’s far from her “Goodies” days and is now a mother to a son named Future, who she named after the Atlanta native rapper, who she formerly had a relationship with. Ciara will go down in history as one of the illest artists of all time. She may not be so appreciated like she should be artistically now but eventually, people will catch on. They should’ve been caught on. She will continue to get more and more dope on this evolution in her career. I’m anxious about what she’s gonna do next.
The Evolution of Ciara: The First Lady of Crunk & B
