The Run That Back series is a deep dive into some of music’s most popular or underrated projects. Whether it’s been 5 years or 50, there’s never a wrong time to ‘run that back.’
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If you're not rapping the intro skit when the beat drops, then you're simply too young. Everyone who was in their prime during the early 2000s or was listening to music that they know they had no business listening to, knows every word to Sunshine Anderson's "Heard It All Before."
The resident "men ain't s***" anthem spent 20 weeks on the chart when it first premiered, and has remained a hit within Black music. Sunshine Anderson was originally managed by singer-actress Macy Gray. The Los Angeles Times was told that Gray was "aggressive and very active in breaking [in] Sunshine." Also, a representative from Atlantic stated, "Macy’s experience combined with her creative brilliance in helping to mastermind the Sunshine plan has been an incredible asset to our efforts."
At the height of the neo-soul era, Anderson and Gray were a perfect match. Anderson spoke on their professional relationship in an interview with The Associated Press, saying, "at the time we were together, I was very naïve. But she refused to let me get swallowed up and I’m forever grateful for that."
Though Gray initially frowned upon the idea of being an artist-turned-manager, she did it for Sunshine. Anderson told MTV News that "Macy saw some good things in me, she saw that I had a lot of potential... she saw what I was dealing with and what was to come and took it upon herself to say, 'Hey, this is what I like to do. I looked at it like it was a blessing, because... Macy has been in the business for a while. She knows what she is doing."
Eventually, they parted ways and Anderson went on to sign with Mathew Knowles' label. Since her "Heard It All Before" era, Anderson is still performing, creating music and has even written a book. Most recently, she was featured on the BET Awards edition of DJ Cassidy's Pass The Mic, where he put a spotlight on classic hits from the early 2000s.
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