Saturday, December 5, 2009

EAST COAST * WEST COAST DIVAS: "Wifey" - by Next

EAST COAST * WEST COAST DIVAS: "Wifey" - by Next

"Wifey" - by Next

Good morning peeps! The song I woke up thinking about this morning is Wifey by Next. Now ordinarily, I don't give a rat's a-- about current or recent music; I'm an old head with old musical tastes. However, there have been a few exceptions in recent years...wow, it's been nine years (2000) since Wifey came out! I was a part of a "Ghetto Fabulous" wedding in Harlem that year as a bridesmaid, and Wifey was one of the songs played at the reception, along with other songs in that genre. Included were: Let's Get Married, by Jagged Edge and I Wanna Know by Joe, the latter being a favorite of mine. Anyway, with the Tiger Woods' cheating scandal being in the news daily, I've been thinking about infidelity in relationships; particularly marriage, and pondering that age old question: why do people cheat? Why are men more likely than women to cheat? Some even claim that cheating is in a man's DNA! Why are beautiful women like Halle Berry, Christie Brinkley, Priscilla Presley, etc cheated on? I know that being physically beautiful doesn't necessarily mean having the best disposition or even being passionate. In fact, maybe being physically beautiful causes some women ( or men )  to feel a sense of entitlement when it comes to their relationships with their spouses or partners, and they want the spouse to do all the work...so to speak. Instead of a give and take partnership, it ends up being "one-sided" and the other partner isn't really being fulfilled. That being the case, the spouse will grow tired of that and seek pleasure elsewhere. ( I am not condoning, just rationalizing ). Of course there are a myriad of reasons why people in committed relationships or marriages cheat: sexual addictions, greed, unrealistic expectations about marriage, marrying too young.  We can only speculate as to Tiger Woods' motives. A musician friend of mine suggests that women very much "throw themselves" at high profile, extremely popular and wealthy men like Tiger Woods; ( I think we all agree on that ). He says that he has even had it happen to him. Although he is far from rich, just being a bass player in bands made him the "object" of many a predatory female...read: groupies! Now that he's older and wiser but still plays, he contends that he isn't so easily lured in anymore...yeah right! But, back to the title, "Wifey." Fellas, what does it mean to you? Is it a term of endearment for a woman you want to marry? Is it a code word for the woman you are already married to, and used to encourage women to pursue you anyway? Does it apply to a woman you have been with for years but haven't married? Is it reserved for your main woman though you might be dealing with more than one at a time? Is it a positive or a negative word? I have been a wife, but have I been a "wifey?" Huummm? I have a sweet friend that calls me his "wifey" and guess what...It makes me smile!