Queen M takes the High Road at the rocky end of a relationship in her new single and video — premiering exclusively on Tinnitist.
For her latest release, the acclaimed Ontario soul singer-songwriter shares another intoxicating slice of vintage R&B that offers some hard-earned life lessons:
“No I’m not your queen and I’m not your lover,
Taking my heart now I’m running for cover,
Fool me once, fool me twice,
Bye-bye, I’m gonna live my life,
Got myself a brand new me,
Stronger than I thought I’d be,
I only have one regret,
It’s that I can’t forget you yet,
I’m taking the high road.”
“We all know the particular disappointment the end of a relationship can bring,” Queen M says. “When life unexpectedly goes south, you can choose to live in regret or you can pull up your boots and take a ride on the high road.”
Produced and co-written by longtime collaborator Craig Smith, who also plays guitar on the track, High Road is another showcase for Queen M’s highly emotive vocals, honed through her previous experience of performing Motown and Bob Marley covers.
That changed during the summer of 2020 when, like so many others, Marcia Hubbs was shaken to her core by George Floyd’s murder and the chaos that ensued. It brought out suppressed memories of the racism her mother faced while trying to make a new life in Canada after emigrating from Jamaica in the 1950s. Her struggle eventually led her to the man she would marry — a white man — who put his entire livelihood in jeopardy in order to help her get the life she always wanted.
It also prompted Hubbs to create a new persona, Queen M, and write Colour Of Her Skin as a tribute to her mother. The song opened up her creative floodgates, and through her partnership with Smith, she formed a new band that now carries on in spirit of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings with a determination to keep vintage soul alive, offering songs with both timely and timeless messages.
While there may still be a misconception that the only authentic soul music came from Detroit, Memphis and Muscle Shoals, it’s been proven repeatedly since the 1960s that great soul sounds can come from anywhere, and at any time, so long as the artist is able to lay themselves bare and tell their story.
That’s precisely what Queen M does on High Road. Expect to hear a lot more of what she has to say when her first EP arrives later this summer.
Watch the video for High Road above, hear more from Queen M below, and find her on her website, Instagram and Facebook.
