Tag: 1997

My Way: The 20th Anniversary

For an album that’s so short, it’s heavy legacy is what makes it hard to forget. After his 1994 self titled debut album, Usher returns three years later with a sophomore album that’s way more mature and helped sky rocket Usher’s career to another level. On September 16th, 1997, Usher his second album “My Way.” With only three singles released, the album was a commercial success for Usher. The album starts off with a bit of a dancy but R&B joint, which also happens to be the first single off the album, “You Make Me Wanna…” The song is about a girl who says and does all the right things to him that convinces him to want to leave his girlfriend who he is in a relationship with and start something new with her instead. The music video is just as classic. Usher and the other guy dancers with the chairs and different rooms with the shiny metallic outfits and Usher being himself in front of the camera and singing. The next song “Just Like Me” is the one of the only hip hop/R&B track on the album with a guest appearance from Lil’ Kim. The next song “Nice And Slow” is the first slow song on the album and the second single released on the album. A song about slow loving with his love interest and Kimora Lee Simmons plays as the love interest in the video. She gets kidnapped and held in hostage until Usher comes swooping in and saving her. The fourth song, “Slow Jam” features Monica and I personally felt like it should’ve been a single like the other three. “Come Back” is more uptempo hip hop groove kind of song. The album title track itself “My Way” is easily one of the best songs on the album. It’s the final single from the album and the music video is easily a top 5 greatest Usher music video. The whole carnival theme, the dancing, even Tyrese guest stars in the video. The next song “I Will” is my top favorite on the album. It’s no surprise that Teddy Riley did that joint because it has the same style of vocals as the remix to Mary J. Blige’s “My Love.” So smooth but the beat has a heavy bass that thumps when it plays. The next song transitions in at the end with “Bedtime.” Another slow love song. A Babyface joint this time and finally, the album ends with “One Day You’ll Be Mine.” It’s the most slept on song on the album. Don’t hear people really bringing this song up in Usher conversations that much. All in all the album is classic from start to finish. Usher is definitely one of my favorite singers. Never a flat note or a off key moment in a Usher song. Never. Completely flawless and clear, slick, there’s a sort of a shine in Usher’s voice like a squeaky clean wood floor after waxing it. With a waxy clean wood floor, you can definitely slide and glide just like Usher does in his videos listening to him.

Release Some Tension: The 20th Anniversary

After two successful albums, SWV returns right away with a third album that was completely different. Their 1992 debut album “It’s About Time” showcased them as the “around the way” girls with the golden voices bopping their heads and dancing in baggy clothes with long nails from The Bronx and Brooklyn. Their sound was new jack swing and heavy New York hip hop boombap with a combination of their soothing and beautiful voices on a love song with a little bit of rapping and playfulness that represented how strong their bond was as sisters who have finally made it out the hood. Four years later, their 1996 sophomore album “New Beginning” was a more softer side of the group. Way more ballads and left their home girl looks for the more feminine look in high heels and fur coats and then a year later, right after, on August 13th, 1997, the group released their third album “Release Some Tension.” This album was more of a combination of the two previous albums before because there are both hip hop vibes and love ballads at the same time. The only difference is that this album had way more collaborations and features than the other two. All of the guest appearances were hip hop. Diddy, Foxy Brown, Redman, Lil’ Cease, Missy Elliott, Lil’ Kim, E-40 and Snoop Dogg all appeared on the album. All of the singles released were a hit and definitely a banger, the entire album is a masterpiece to me personally. “Can We” originally appears on the soundtrack to the “Booty Call” movie starring Jamie Foxx, Tommy Davidson, Tamala Jones and Vivica Fox. “Someone” features a small rap from Diddy and is sampled from Biggie’s “10 Crack Commandments.” “Lose My Cool” is a very cool song featuring Redman. It’s funny because he sings along towards the end of the song which gave it a more “homey” feel to the track and of course Redman is being himself and could do no wrong and the final single “Rain” balances the album’s singles out with a slow ballad. The music video guest stars Tyrese. Besides the singles, the title track song and “When U Cry” are my top favorites on the album. It’s a classic that’s under appreciated to me. It holds a special place to me when it comes to girl group albums because I grew up on it so I know the album very well. It’s an album I grew up hearing all the time. 20 years later, I still appreciate this album like I did as a kid. Very nostalgic, takes me back to when I was 3. Happy to be here to see this joint turn 20 and to see Coko, Lelee and Taj still doing their thing. They’re a legendary girl group, a top 5 girl group for me personally.

Share My World: The 20th Anniversary

“…And the most innovative female singer of our decade…. Many have describe her as the paramount, the most soulful, the most prolific…. Who else is accepted in the streets as well as by their peers?” says the man of the voice that is being played in the beginning of this classic album. Behind the masterminds of Trackmasters’ very own Tone & Poke, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis have also put this magic into creating this hip hop/R&B masterpiece that we all know and love today. After the street girl persona on “What’s the 411?” and the personal, heartfelt, dark and depressing but deeply loved and appreciated “My Life”, Mary steps out on her own, away from Diddy to share her world in a totally different and new light that showed a more positive, uplifting and hopeful Mary with an attitude that was still looking forward to more positive things in life. 20 years ago on April 22nd, 1997, Mary J. Blige released her third album, “Share My World.” With an opening statement that best describes Mary’s impact and contribution to music, the intro further goes on with previous hit songs and award show appearances in which she won in her career at the time leading up to a perfect current new moment in her career that starts off with a Mobb Deep sample loop and “I Can Love You” comes in. “I Can Love You” is the second song on the album and the second single released in July 1997. The song features Lil’ Kim and it’s a song about convincing a man how she’s a better lover for him than the current woman he’s with. The music video takes place in a random woods in a abandoned little house and there’s a party going on. In the middle of the party, Mary notices the man she was with hanging out with another woman. She walks away mad in the end. The next song “Love Is All We Need” is the first single released from the album but the third track on the album. An inspirational and uplifting song about loving one another and being in peace with each other. It samples Rick James’ “Moonchild.” It goes both ways though, one as lovers and the other as a people. The song features Nas. There’s a hidden version without Nas but the music video takes place in a downtown office in NY where Mary plays as fashion designer, then as an important woman on the job or an executive and then as models ripping the runway and the video ends with her on the roof of a building rocking a fly fur coat. “Round and Round” is a top 5 joint on this album to me personally. Thanks to DJ Premier, it has the same sample loop as Jay-Z’s “D’evils” on his 1996 debut, “Reasonable Doubt.” The song definitely has that underground NYC hip hop sound with a dark like scary tone like a villain’s theme song but with a heavy bass hip hop beat and Mary’s raw and raspy vocals. It’s in true Mary style. “Share My World” starts with an interlude about appreciating Mary’s beautiful blackness. An interlude that turns into a song about appreciating Mary for who she is as a black woman. Being the man who loves and appreciates her for her natural beauty and features and not for what she’s not. Mary has stated herself that during this album, she wanted to touch on subjects that talked about appreciation for her looks because she was in a relationship with someone who complained she was “dark or light enough” and that she had hair that was either not “straight, long, or nappy enough.” “Seven Days”, the fourth single released from the album and ironically, the seventh joint on the album about a friend who turns into a lover. Guest appearance from George Benson who appears in the music video playing guitar and singing at the end. “It’s On”, which was written, produced, and featured by R. Kelly is a love making song. “Thank You Lord (Interlude)” a lovely short ballad skit that was written by Kelly Price. So soothing and beautiful. “Missing You”, a slow ballad about missing someone’s presence but she’s not “in love” with him. “I’m not in love, it’s just some kinda thing I’m going thru, goin’ thru, goin’ thru and it’s not infatuation, ain’t nothing goin’ on between me and you, me and you, me and you but I dream about it every night baby, wanting you here with me and making love to me….” The first verse says it all. “Everything”, the third single released but the eleventh joint. One of Mary’s signature songs. Samples The Stylistic’s 1971 hit song “You Are Everything” but has a whole new twist to it. The music video takes place in Hawaii where Mary is looking beautiful in different hairstyles and looks and can’t forget to mention the very underrated So So Def Remix featuring Jermaine Dupri and Roc. The remix got inspiration from D-Nice’s “My Name Is D-Nice.” In the beginning, Mary says “I’m Mary J. Blige, I’m, I’m, I’m Mary J. Blige.” The music video was similar except she’s not in Hawaii, it’s just her, JD and Roc dancing all over and a bunch of Mary’s faces are all over the place repeatedly. The hip hop soul queen’s crown sits more comfortably on her head for that one… big time! “Keep Your Head”, another personal favorite of mine off the album. This song has a similar beat to Nas’ remix to “Street Dreams.” It also has that hip hop vibe like “Round and Round” and “I Can Love You.” Another song about staying positive and trying to stay positive. Mary almost goes into storytelling style like Slick Rick about how she tries to be a more positive individual herself. “Can’t Get You Off My Mind” is another dope hip hop song that features The LOX. Mary gave them their first taste of success when she introduced them to Diddy back then. “Get To Know You Better” is my top favorite on the album. This song gives me Neo Soul vibes. I love everything about this song. The bass, the beat, the vocals, it’s easily the best one. Mary goes into her positive spirituality mode again on this joint. “Why do we go thru things unnecessary, why can’t we understand that our love is the key….”, my favorite line in the song. The chorus puts me in a trance and I get lost in the stacking smooth vocals. I love it. “Searching” is my second favorite on the album just for the sick hip hop beat and the clever way Mary basically remade the Roy Ayers song with the same name and she even got into her 1970’s soul singing Ways by scatting the same way Roy’s song sounds. Mary’s ability to bring hip hop and soul together, this song is the perfect example of that, in fact, it’s a top 3 example of Mary’s songs with the perfect combination of hip hop and soul to me. “Our Love”, a beautiful Natalie Cole remake and the album ends with “Not Gon’ Cry”, which was originally on the “Waiting to Exhale” soundtrack back in 1995. “Share My World” is my second favorite Mary J. Blige album because I loved it’s positive attitude, emotional honesty, underground NYC hip hop/Neo soul sound that to me was far more interesting to me than “My Life.” Everything about this album is absolutely perfect and the beginning of a new and improved Mary. 20 years later, Mary is still sitting very high on her throne and has a new album releasing in 6 days. This album is definitely on the list of a lot of people’s top Mary J. Blige albums. Definitely a classic right here. From start to finish. Mary, Mary, Mary…. live ya life girl!