"A Rose Is Still a Rose" is a song recorded by American singer

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in ''Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". With ...

. It was written and produced by singer

Lauryn Hill Lauryn Noelle Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. She is often regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, as well as being one of the most influential musicians of her generation. ...

for Franklin's album of the same name (1998). The song focused on a motherly figure giving advice to a younger woman who keeps getting into bad relationships. Throughout "A Rose Is Still a Rose", Franklin advises that in spite of everything and despite the woman's "scorned roses and thorn crowns," the woman is "still a rose". Elements of the song "

What I Am "What I Am" is a song written by Edie Brickell and Kenny Withrow and recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians for their debut album, ''Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars'' (1988). The song is highlighted by a guitar solo that notably features an ...

" by Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians were sung throughout the song by Hill herself. Released as the album's lead single in 1998, the song became a

surprise hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little promo ...

for Franklin, 40-plus years into her career, reaching number 26 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number-five on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart, while also reaching the UK top 40. "A Rose Is Still a Rose" remains one of Franklin's most played songs from her later years and was her last top 40 hit. The single received nominations for

Best Female R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance (previously called Best Rhythm and Blues Solo Vocal Performance, Female) was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards ...

and

Best R&B Song The Grammy Award for Best R&B Song (sometimes known as the R&B Songwriter's Award) has been awarded since 1969. From 1969 to 2000, it was known as the Grammy Award for Best Rhythm and Blues Song. Beyoncé has won it a record four times, while Bab ...

at the

41st Annual Grammy Awards The 41st Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 24, 1999, at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1998. Lauryn Hill received the most nominations with 10, setting a record for the most no ...

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the song as "a sleek, jeep-styled cruiser that matches her with

of the

Fugees Fugees (; sometimes The Fugees) is an American hip hop group formed in the early 1990s. Deriving its name from a shortening of the word "refugees", the group consists of Wyclef Jean, Pras Michel, and Lauryn Hill. The group rose to fame with its ...

," noting that "it's an absolutely electric union that results in Franklin's strongest, most instantly pop-viable single in eons. Hills dresses the track in fashionable shuffle-

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

beats, a snaky bassline, and jiggly wah-wah guitars, leaving the legendary singer plenty of room to flex and vamp to maximum effect." He also added that "kids will dig the contemporary vibe of the track (and, it is hoped, use this single as a springboard into a deeper exploration of Franklin's plush catalog), while more mature listeners will bond with the sage, almost motherly tone of the lyrics. A li'l something for everyone." Jeremy Helligar from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' said that "A Rose Is Still a Rose" "doesn't match the soulful finesse of "

Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fif ...

", but when Lady Soul sings about a rose, something divine happens." He added, "Even after a dozen listens, the song's it's-his-problem-not-yours message doesn't lose its bloom." After the passing of Franklin in 2018, Alexis Petridis from ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' wrote, "The late 90s attempt to give Franklin a hip-hop/

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

-influenced makeover didn’t really work, except on the album’s Lauryn Hill-penned title track. The beat and the lyrical references to “flossin’” are contemporary, but the singer sounds unfazed, delivering a coolly controlled performance." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' picked it as "the best" song of the album.

Music video

An accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by

and designed by

Ron Norsworthy Ron Norsworthy is an American visual artist and designer. His work employs notions of spaces and decoration of space as narratives about his lived experience as a queer person of color as well as that of his community/communities. His interdiscip ...

. It features Franklin, Hill and other female R&B singers such as

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

, Changing Faces,

Amel Larrieux Amel Eliza Larrieux (née Stowell; born March 8, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter and keyboardist. Larrieux rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a founding member of the duo Groove Theory along with Bryce Wilson. After leaving the group in 199 ...

and actress

Elise Neal Elise Demetria Neal (born March 14, 1966) is an American actress. Her big break came with three 1997 films, appearing in ''Rosewood'', '' Money Talks'' and ''Scream 2''. From 1998 to 2002, Neal starred as Yvonne Hughley in the ABC/UPN sitcom ' ...

as protagonists along with

A Tribe Called Quest A Tribe Called Quest was an American hip hop group formed in Queens, New York City, in 1985,Q-Tip

rapper, Q-Tip.

Track listings

U.S. CD single #"A Rose Is Still a Rose" - 3:56 #"Snippets from the album 'A Rose Is Still a Rose'" - 5:30 U.S. promo single #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (without intro)" - 3:56 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (with intro)" -4:25 U.S. maxi single #"A Rose Is Still a Rose ( Love to Infinity Rhythm Radio Mix)" - 3:58 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Hex Hector Club Mix)" - 8:55 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Club Mix)" - 6:56 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Album Version)" - 4:27 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Instrumental)" - 4:27 UK CD 1 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Original Radio Edit)" - 3:56 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Desert Eagles Discs Remix)" - 4:51 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (London Connection Hierachal Mix)" - 7:42 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (London Connection's Cookin' Dub)" - 6:26 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Instrumental)" - 4:27 UK CD 2 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Original Radio Edit)" - 3:56 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Rhythm Radio Mix)" - 3:58 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Kick Mix)" - 7:10 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Johnny Vicious Club Mix)" - 10:47 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Hex Hector Club Mix)" - 8:55 Hip Hop Mixes promo CD single #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Yogi's Bystorm Remix)" - 4:03 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Desert Eagle Remix)" - 4:26 Hip Hop Mixes promo 12" single #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Yogi's Bystorm Remix)" - 4:03 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Yogi's Bystorm Remix) nstrumental - 4:51 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Yogi's Bystorm Remix)

cappella Cappella may refer to: * Cappella (band), Italian electronic music group * a cappella, unaccompanied singing People with the surname * Felix Cappella (1930-2011), Canadian race walker * Scipione Cappella (fl. 18th century), Italian painter See ...

- 4:40 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Desert Eagle Remix)" - 4:26 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Desert Eagle Remix) nstrumental - 4:27 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Original Radio Edit)" - 4:00 The Remixes" (2x12" vinyls) #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Hex Hector Club Mix)" - 8:55 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Album Version)" - 4:29 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Johnny Vicious Dub)" - 9:28 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Kick Mix)" - 7:11 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Johnny Vicious Club Mix)" - 10:44 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Hex Hector Drums)" - 3:50 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Club Mix)" - 6:56 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Love to Infinity Rhythm Radio Mix)" - 3:58 #"A Rose Is Still a Rose (Album Version) nstrumental - 5:25

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''A Rose Is Still a Rose''. ;Performance *Lead vocals:

*Background vocals:

, Aretha Franklin *Piano:

James Poyser James Jason Poyser is an American songwriter, record producer, musician and current member of the hip hop band The Roots. Poyser has written and produced songs for various legendary and award-winning artists such as Erykah Badu, Mariah Carey, ...

*Guitar: Johari Newton *Bass guitar: Vere Isaac *Strings: Indigo Quartet ;Production *Produced and arranged by Lauryn Hill *Strings arranged by

Akua Dixon Akua Dixon is an American composer, classical cellist, and lawyer . Early years Dixon was born and raised in New York City. Her early musical experience included singing in a Baptist church. She was educated at the High School of Performing Arts ...

*Music programmed by

Vada Nobles Vada Nobles is an American record producer and songwriter. He provided production for " Lost Ones" on Lauryn Hill's debut solo album, ''The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill'' (1998).McLeod, Rodd"The reeducation of Lauryn Hill". Salon.com. May 10, 2000. ...

*Recording engineer: Warren Riker *Recording and mixing engineer: Commissioner Gordon *Audio mixing assisted by: Alex Olsson

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rose Is Still a Rose 1998 singles Aretha Franklin songs Songs written by Lauryn Hill 1998 songs Arista Records singles Hip hop soul songs Songs with feminist themes