Valentine’s Day is around the corner and with that comes a rush of emotions. There’s women who love the idea and there’s those who eternally despise February 14. And there men who enjoy the day, if for nothing else, to keep their wife/girlfriend/friend with benefits happy. A few weeks ago, a duo of conversations alerted me to another side of V-Day that often goes over looked for reasons not necessarily clear. It’s the — for lack of a better term, “what-once-was” side. Now keep in mind, I’m not the greatest person in the world to come to for relationship advice mainly because, well, I’ve only been in two serious ones during my 26 years. Plus, the single life is treating me well at the moment.

“Hey, maybe I got too much pride to cry for ya/But not too much to call you and tell you that I adore ya…” — T.I.

Hearing my male friend and female friend break down their situations in separate conversations caused me to hark back to one of my personal favorite songs from 2006. T.I.’s “Hello,” from his fourth studio album KING, isn’t a “big” track from the album which catapulted Tip into arguably the game’s MVP that year. And it may or may not have been about Tiny (“You cribs, cars, bling and a King with the King”). It was, however, another shining example of what Clifford was arguably the best in rap at executing during this time: crafting songs geared to the opposite sex that guys found some sort of common ground with. There was enough sensitivity and cockiness in the record to appease both sides while cementing the point that second chances aren’t always guaranteed. But they can be worth the risk if said person represents that much significance in a person’s past, present and, possibly, future.

T.I. Feat. Governor – “Hello” (Prod. By Khao)