PopmusicmavenMariah Careyhas experienced a little bit of everything in a career spanning over three decades (including famously makingone of the more unusual requests while on tour). She’s released fifteen studio albums that have sold millions of copies, won numerous Grammy Awards, and has a Christmas song that (despiteher early reservations about releasing it) has only grown in popularity over the years. With all those highlights in place, it might not seem out of the ordinary for Careyto start musically slowing down her pace and tempo these days.
However, the iconic singer-songstress has recently been showing signs that she’s not willing to put the brakes on just yet. As part of an initial previewof her upcoming full-length sixteenth studio album release, Carey (the unfair snubfrom recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selections) has unveiled her first single of new material in several years, entitled “Type Dangerous.” This has made the curiosity and anticipation high for what the so-called “Songbird Supreme” has next in the offing for her fanbase, known as “The Lambily.”
“Type Dangerous” Is Mariah Carey’s First New Single Since 2018
The Start Of Something New
“Type Dangerous” marks Carey’s first release of new materialsince her last studio album in 2018, which was entitledControl. The single follows a period of time in which Carey was more heavily focused on seasonal projects and reissues, like the 20th anniversary edition of her 2005 albumThe Emancipation of Mimiearlier this year. Carey first indicated that a new song was coming in a recent teaser video in which she listens to “Type Dangerous” in a luxury car with the license plate “MC16” (prompting upcoming album chatter as well).
Co-written and produced by Carey with contributions from rapper/singer Anderson .Paak, Daniel Moore, NWi, and others, Carey has expressed her excitement for the new song, calling “Type Dangerous"the beginning of a new chapter in her career. She also added that she’s been spending significant time in the studio recording new material, which is only building anticipation for her next full LP. But until that record is officially announced, just what’s inside the nuts and bolts of the thrill of “Type Dangerous?”
The Lyrics In “Type Dangerous” Explained
A Look Under The R&B Hood
There’s a significant amount of R&B and hip-hop presence on “Type Dangerous,” starting with the track’s sound being built ona loop of the famed rap/hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim’s 1986 single “Eric B. Is President.“The intro lyrics, as well as the line “taking off my coat, clearing my throat,” are both references to this classic track. Hip-hop and rap also capture the mood inside this song, as Carey swaggers through the initial lines of the first verse with unrestrained confidence.
She makes it clear that she looks good, she dresses better (“certified diamonds like the songs I wrote”), and she doesn’t have time for the “haters” or the “rigamarole.” That’s why Carey needs a certain type of partner to keep up with her, and by reputation, she likes those partners to be more of the dangerous type. She then spends the second verse of “Type Dangerous"making coy callbacks to some of her relationships and dating history.
There’s a reference joking about being “Fresh outta Sing Sing” and “That was just a castle and an evil king,“which refer back to her time married to record exec Tommy Mottola. Carey had previously referred to the home they shared as a prison for her, which is likely a double meaning to New York State’s Sing Sing Prison, and that singing was her only escape from it then. She also makes references to a couple of flings in the city (potentially her time with baseball player Derek Jeter), and characters from prior music videos (“motorcycle man,” “computer boy toy”).
Ultimately, Carey feels like it’s “just whatever ‘til the twelfth of never,” perhaps equating the forever commitments she’s been offered by men in her life over the yearsto nothing significant every time. Nevertheless, she continues to look for that person who can “step to me” and “rescue me,” and is that dangerous type. Much like this moment in her music career, it seems as though Carey isn’t ready to put away the next chapter in her love life, either.
Our Take On Carey’s “Type Dangerous”
A Slick Slice Of Rapper’s Delight
Having listened to Mariah Carey many times on the radio via her illustrious career of breakthrough singles and output over the years,I wasn’t sure what to expect putting on “Type Dangerous” for the first time. While it isn’t the type of content I would have associated with a singer who earned the nickname “Songbird Supreme” through the nature of her vocal powers, I found myself intrigued by the looping rap backbeat and how well Carey can switch into an R&B persona instead of being the straight-up crooner.
With quite a few lines of “Type Dangerous” also embodying a well-tuned rapper’s level of clever confidence, I’m looking forward to seeing how Carey will continue with this approach on her upcoming sixteenth album. With Anderson .Paak also being one of my favorite rapper/singer combos, I’m curious to see how his influence (and others) will help to shape Carey’s creative mindset. Not to mention, she’s long had a strong knack for knowing how to create hit music, andI don’t think that’s about to change.
