There isn’t a Black woman alive who didn’t turn on R&B hummingbird Tweet’s timelessly sexy anthems “Oops (Oh My!)” and “Turn Da Lights Off” whenever it was time to set the mood or to get dressed for a party in the early 2000s. Shoot, some of us still have those songs in rotation.
Though her two soul-enriching albums, Southern Hummingbird (2002) and It’s Me Again (2005) were the soundtracks to countless hearts, the success didn’t necessarily translate on the charts.
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Born Charlene Keys, Tweet’s second album didn’t do so well on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at no. 17 before its eventual disappearance. Needless to say, this was disappointing to Tweet after her first album debuted at no. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Simultaneously, the business side of the industry threw its share of punches at the Rochester, N.Y native, as well. She bounced from label to label after record deals went awry and one label owner died.
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Today, as Tweet celebrates the release of her third full-length album Charlene, she remembers how stress fueled her habitual drinking and smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, leading to her 10-year hiatus from music.
“I just knew that I wasn’t happy,” Tweet said during her interview at Blackdoctor.org. “I did have suicidal thoughts at times. I didn’t want to be around anybody because I felt like nobody could help.”
Tweet didn’t know it at the time, but she was sipping into depression. According to the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, more than 14 million adults suffer from major depressive disorder. The illness is more prevalent in women than men, experts say. And African- Americans are more likely to report depression, a study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found.
Tweet knew she had hit rock bottom when she found herself crying while watching Gospel artist, Tonex (now B.Slade), perform “Make Me Over” on BET’s Celebration of Gospel show. “That song just pierced me until I fell literally to my knees and just threw my hands up and surrendered at that moment.” She reconnected with her roots and returned to church.
“It was a process for me. I used to have to wet the cigarettes and throw them away. It didn’t help that sometimes the grocery stores or the gas station would have specials like two packs for such and such,” Tweet explained. “Growing up in the church, I knew that God was the source and the only way to go. So, that’s how I came up out of it [depression].”
The making of her long-anticipated third album Charlene was therapeutic, she says, in that she used it as a diary to talk about her past struggles. It’s also personal as she named the project after herself. “I want to inspire this time instead of telling people to take their clothes off,” she added.
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Tweet stands today more confident than ever before. She’s exercising – which shocked a lot of her friends because she used to stay far away from the gym. And she’s starting to eat healthier. The drinking and cigarettes are things of the past.
“I’m 45 and I’m trying to be here for my grandson,” she said. “Whatever I have to do.”
As for anyone suffering from depression, Tweet encourages communication. Speak to someone about your issues.
“It’s always someone who is either going through the same thing or can understand what you’re going through,” she said. “Make sure you find someone, whether it be a pastor, a sister, you mother, anybody, but make sure you talk about it.”
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