Jennifer Lopez: “This Is Me…Now” Review
An ode to romantic optimism.
There is a serendipitous brilliance about Jennifer Lopez revealing her most recent offering just two days after Valentine’s Day, a delightful kismet that only heightens the amorous mood of this ambitious project. It’s certainly no secret that the rekindled romance between Lopez and actor-auteur Ben Affleck sparked much of the fire that drives This Is Me…Now, her ninth studio set and first in partnership with her own Nuyorican imprint and BMG Rights Management. It also serves as accompaniment to the affably chaotic musical film à clef of the same name. Alongside the open affections toward Affleck sewn into this album, there’s an equally essential element of a creative finding their way back to one of their trades with renewed purpose.
Kicking off twenty-five years ago with her debut set On the 6 (1999), Lopez forged a comfortable alliance between the commercial and the occasionally inventive, but it was a hard fought balancing act. For every assured effort that confirmed something to uncover beyond the larger hits, other exercises — Rebirth (2005) — saw the singer (and eventual songwriter) commit to stock so chart-oriented it obscured her.
Putting aside the Marry Me soundtrack tie-in from her 2022 rom-com vehicle, This Is Me…Now arrives nearly a decade since Lopez’s last studio fare proper: A.K.A. (2014). That record, ultimately a transitional excursion, was the result of the cited conflict between pursuing trends versus her interests. Lopez wasn’t totally missing in action thereafter though; a string of well over a dozen single-only releases followed — enough to fill an album and then some. While one cannot undersell his recent affirming influence, Lopez’s husband only catalyzed the dormant creative lucidity that informed This Is Me…Then (2002), one of her finest recordings.
Opposite faddish sophomore blockbuster J.Lo (2001), her third set wasn’t a sure thing at the onset. In my 2022 retrospective for the album, I remarked how it “[…] functions as her love letter to vintage hip-hop, classic R&B and timeless pop” — very much a bold volte-face from J.Lo. It was her first true statement of artistic intent and influenced similarly conceived outings Como Ama una Mujer (2007) and Brave (2007).
Excusing their same “capture the moment” inspired appellations, This Is Me…Then is kin to This Is Me…Now in that Lopez again possessed clarity and conciseness when drafting this song cycle. Of equal importance is that the understated, retro-modernist R&B-pop — her “early 2000s sound” as some might call it — is back at the center of this current affair too.
Keeping her tunesmithing clique efficient on this 13 track venture is to Lopez’s advantage; several notable writer-producer principals include Chauncey “Hit Boy” Hollis Jr., Rogét Chahayed, Atia “INK” Boggs, Andrew “Pop” Wansel, Angel Lopez, Jeff Gitelman, David “Yeti Beats” Sprecher, Bernard Harvey, Uforo “BongoByTheWay” Ebong, and the BRIT nominated sensation Raye. Lopez takes lead co-writing duties on every cut featured.
That personal touch gifts This Is Me…Now with an air of maturity and joy that went missing in Lopez’s work on Love? (2011). Whether it’s the tender grandiosity of “Greatest Love Story Never Told” or the anthemic title entry, one can hear how close Lopez is to the material. “This Is Me…Now” in particular discloses the twin narratives of self-examination and self-love threaded into the album’s overall story; it, and pieces like “Rebound,” “Broken Like Me,” and “Hearts and Flowers,” bring an autobiographical weight to bear, leveling out the more romantic expressions (“To Be Yours,” “Mad in Love,” “Dear Ben Pt. II”) on This Is Me…Now.
Words and music are synchronal across This Is Me…Now.
Her “old school made new” approach still kicks with that perfect blend of hip-hop grit, R&B cool and pop spice. Lopez favors a groovy, layered mien throughout the LP with its general cadence split between balladic, midtempo and just slightly uptempo. Lead single “Can’t Get Enough” and “This Time Around” rest on the third end of this spectrum, both swing with that infectious Bronx vibe.
Although most of the selections present are constructed from the ground up by the referenced writer-producer crowd aiding Lopez, she makes sure to show off her well-rounded ear regarding sampling and interpolation, integral components to past hits and deep cuts. Two (of the five) highlights in this category include Alton Ellis’ 1967 rocksteady chestnut “I’m Still In Love With You” wed to Dennis Coffey’s 1971 funk instrumental “Son of Scorpio” on “Can’t Get Enough” and the neat flip of retro-rock hero Chris Isaak’s 1989 smash “Wicked Game” on “Midnight Trip to Vegas.”
Tying everything together on This Is Me…Now is Lopez’s voice, an often unfairly critiqued instrument. From the beginning, Lopez was a tuneful stylist who went on to build an admirable vocal profile with time and experience. Whether sexy, sweet or dramatic on “not.going.anywhere.,” “Hummingbird” and “Broken Like Me” respectively, Lopez’s newfound confidence permeates these and every other performance on the wax with real feeling.
This Is Me…Now is a rubicon for Lopez. Her passion, focus and attention to detail are enviable. Unfortunately, the charms of this album are likely to fall on deaf ears, due in part to the cynical age we all operate in and Lopez’s inescapable celebrity (despite it being the byproduct of her multi-hyphenate talents). Yet in the face of such withering sardonicism, she does not shrink; with a record like this under her belt, she’s well-armed for today’s naysayers. By embracing her muse on her terms, Jennifer Lopez and This Is Me…Now stand in optimistic opposition — almost like an antidote — to our pessimistic, troubled times.
A modern fairy tale based on a true love story? I’d like to think so.
And who wouldn’t dig that?
Rating: 10/10
Standout selections: “This Is Me…Now” / “Can’t Get Enough” / “Hummingbird” / “Midnight Trip to Vegas”
