Tag: Soul

It’s About Time: The 25th Anniversary

25 years ago, three friends from The Bronx and Brooklyn came together to form as a singing group and then released their debut album. The three girls names are Cheryl, Leanne, and Tamara also known as Coko, Lelee and Taj, better known as SWV or Sisters With Voices. On October 27th, 1992, the group released their album “It’s About Time.” A 15 track album that’s filled with new jack swing, raw hip hop and R&B tracks. Every song from start to finish is a banger. Songs about relationships, love, and two playful but rapping tracks that perfectly gave the world a glimpse of what these around-the-way girls were all about. SWV was the first girl group in the 90’s to come out with the around-the-way girl image and still able to achieve mainstream success, while others had an image that was more colorful and baggy or the typical high heels and dresses and makeup, SWV kept it hood. Coko’s extremely long fingernails, to 5411 Reeboks and Doc Marten boots to oversized baseball jerseys and jeans, they had an image that regular girls back in the hood of the NYC had. I wasn’t even born when this classic was released but it’s an album that I’m super familiar with and love so much. It’s my favorite album from SWV. This album also had the most hits released. As I sit up at 3 in the morning, looking at and holding the album in my hand, I see the girls on the cover just chillin’ in their element. The SWV logo in a lime green diamond with the letters SWV in dark pink on the top right side on the corner. This means that this is the original 1992 release. This release doesn’t have the “Human Nature” remix version of “Right Here”, instead it’s the Vibe Mix but an instrumental. The April 1993 release has the logo on the opposite side on the cover and has the “Human Nature” remix. It’s 3:14am and for the past almost half an hour, I had “Anything” on a loop. It’s the perfect opening for an album like this. Something soulful, smooth, and gets you ready for the upbeat tracks that follow after. The next song “I’m So Into You” is one of the singles released from the album and then followed by “Right Here.” “Right Here” is SWV’s debut single. The song that put them on in the first place. The song with the video our parents saw back in the summer of 1992. They were bopping and pointing and dancing all over the place. Taj’s rap is unforgettable. Love hearing her rap. Then it’s their signature hit “Weak.” This is the SWV song that everybody knows. Even our little cousins heard it and they don’t know nothing about no SWV. LOL! This is the song you hear girls singing in talent shows all the time. “You’re Always On My Mind” was another smooth joint and “Downtown” was on another level. “You’re Always On My Mind”‘was the phone call to your lover and you told them how much you thought about them but “Downtown” was the invite over to theirs or your place to what we call nowadays a little “Netflix and chill.” The lyrics were very clear about what they meant by “downtown.” Real grown folk music at the moment. “Coming Home” took it back upbeat after you come back “uptown”, “Give It to Me” was also another upbeat banger. This is the new jack swing/hip hop part of the album. “Blak Pudd’n” is my second favorite after “Anything.” The track basically could’ve been a remix to “Downtown” but with a beat. The rapping of course is dope and it hits hard with the beat. Taj holds her own as a MC. The title track itself is just as beautiful as “Anything” to me. The song gives me that classic girl group vibe and Coko reminds me of Stephanie Mills on this song. The harmonies, the hook, the chorus, everything about it makes it such a perfect song. “Think You’re Gonna Like It” is the heaviest new jack joint on the album and “That’s What I Need” is a mix of both new jack and soul. The album ends off with “SWV (In The House)”, my third favorite, an a Capella version of “Weak” and then the Vibe Mix of “Right Here.” Definitely a no wrong doer album. A classic. Very nostalgic for me. Another joint I grew up listening to without my mom’s permission but she played this in that Sony 5 disc changer radio that I loved so much as a kid. The good old days. SWV will be celebrated for their reaching 25 years in the game at the Soul Train Awards in November. It’s the perfect time. It’s about time.

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.

What’s The 411?: The 25th Anniversary

25 years ago, the woman we all know and love today was once a girl who was straight from the projects in Yonkers, New York, also known as the Schlobahm Projects. She signed her deal with Uptown Records at the age of 18 when she recorded a demo tape at a shopping mall after her stepfather overheard the tape. Her stepfather heard the tape and handed the tape to another artist named Jeff Redd who was also signed to Uptown Records and the tape landed in the hands of André Harrell who was the CEO of the label. After being blown away and amazed with this young girl’s voice that was full of joy, pain, grit and soul, she was signed. She goes by the name Mary J. Blige aka The Queen of Hip Hop Soul. Mary started on the label as a backup singer for Father MC in the early 1990’s until she got in the studio with a guy who called “Puffy” who we all know today as Sean “Diddy” Combs, one of hip hop’s biggest moguls, and together both Mary and Puffy created something magical that made history in Black music. On July 28th, 1992, Mary released her debut album “What’s The 411?” Before the album was released, her very first single, which was an underground hit at hip hop clubs and events, was on the 1991 soundtrack to the movie “Strictly Business.” That song was the infamous debut single “You Remind Me.” “You Remind Me” was a song with soulful vocals and a Biz Markie sampled beat. Then the music video came with a remixed version that featured Greg Nice of the hip hop duo, Nice & Smooth. The rest of the album has the same kinda energy, hip hop and soul, combining the best of both worlds to create a whole new genre of music that changed the sound of music forever and influencing a whole new roster of artists for future generations. Other singles like “Real Love”, “Reminisce”, “Love No Limit” and radio only singles like “Sweet Thing” and the remix of “My Love” featuring the late great Heavy D in 1994 were all a success which lead up to the album’s success of selling 3 million copies and a remix album released in late 1993 including a new remix of “You Don’t Have to Worry” from the soundtrack to “Who’s The Man?” Mary’s impact on the industry is still very obvious in many ways. Her street style fashion and attitude mixed with a soulful 1970’s style singing was something convincing to the people and it made Mary into a overnight sensation and legend and she wasn’t ready for it. 25 years later, “You Remind Me” and “Real Love” still captures people’s hearts on the dance floor like it did in 1992. Mary is still touring and still putting out music and staying consistent and still sitting high on her throne. She’s far from her days as the 21 year old home girl with the baggy baseball jerseys, backwards caps and kneepads with the boots and is now strutting her stuff as the woman with the strength to keep winning and keep fighting. She is the strength of a woman. Now THAT IS the 411.

Baduizm: The 20th Anniversary

Good music makes me happy but classic shit gets me excited, especially when the anniversary of that specific classic arrives. Sometimes I’m prepared and other times I’m reminded the day of and it catches me off guard like “Oh shit! That’s a CLASSIC!” 20 years ago on February 11th, 1997, hip hop and neo soul artist Erykah Badu burst onto the scene with her debut album “Baduizm.” I honestly don’t feel worthy enough to even write about this masterpiece of an album because Erykah is another level with her intellect and word play. It took me years to understand Erykah and other women who are just like her because I’m used to hood girls and there’s nothing wrong with a hood chick but Erykah is the intellectual black woman who represents a totally different type of creativity that’s rare in the hood. She’s the one who burns an incense and sips on tea with an ankh symbol around her neck, which represents life and completeness. Erykah explains fully what it means on her Live album that also came out 20 years ago. Erykah’s sound had a jazz vibe to it but she definitely is hip hop. It’s not that in your face, kinda rough stuff, it’s that soothing but knowledgeable stuff. It’s honest, it’s real, it’s unapologetic, it’s consciousness, it’s celebrating the beauty of being a black woman whose comfortable in her skin and not afraid of what the masses thinks. It’s inspirational and one of the first of it’s kind, along with D’Angelo’s “Brown Sugar” in 1995 and Maxwell’s “Urban Hang Suite” in 1996 with that neo soul sound. I consider Erykah the Queen of Neo Soul but I read that she doesn’t want to be called that. It keeps her in a box. To me, she’ll always be the Queen of neo soul. “Baduizm” means to be “high” off of her. “Izm” is slang for weed. Just add the “Badu” in front of it and we got this masterpiece which is called “Baduizm.” The album starts off with a joint that’s one of my favorites on the album. “Rimshot” has a catchy hook and a dope beat. “I wanna rimshot, heyyyy diggy diggy.” When I’m spinning and I put this album, this joint definitely stays on a loop. “On & On”, which is the first single from the album, is the next joint on the album. This is the first song that comes to my mind when I think of Erykah. It was this song when Erykah said “I was born underwater with 3 dollars and 6 dimes” and it went over a lot of people’s heads. She was basically saying she was born complete. Goes back to the ankh symbol that I mentioned earlier. Then it’s “Appletree.” Erykah says in the beginning of the song that she has some food but not the edible kind, she has some “food for thought.” As the song goes on she talks about picking her friends like she picks her fruit. Being smart and careful about who the people she keeps in her circle. It’s also something that can make a person “complete.” The company you keep can sometimes make you feel complete if they’re the right ones. The ones whose willing to be honest and real about who they are and something they’re not. “Otherside of the Game” is another favorite of mine on this album. Every time I hear the song, I can see the entire music video in my head with her and Andre 3000 in the studio apartment by themselves. Erykah at the time was pregnant with their son Seven. It’s a song and video that’s about being in a complicated relationship but she stays by his side anyways. The next joint is “Sometimes…” but it’s the #9 Mix. A shorter version. I’ll get back to this joint when the full version comes up. LOL! The next joint “Next Lifetime” is hands down, my all time favorite Erykah Badu joint. Everything about the song keeps going back to it every single time. The beat, that bass, the groove of it, it’s a smooth ass song for real. A song about Erykah being in a relationship already, currently, at the moment but low key wanting to be with another man by saying she guesses that she’ll see him in the “next lifetime.” “Afro (Freestyle Skit)”, a very organic and original freestyle about picking an afro and going to enjoy a Wu Tang concert. Definitely one of my favorite skits from any album in the 90’s. “Certainly” is a smooth but jazz influenced joint. When I listen to this joint, I picture myself in a poetry lounge with incense burning and a man on stage playing bass and of course Erykah standing on stage with her cup of tea on the side and she’s sharing knowledge and giving us a little bit of her sassy but funny and cool personality. “4 Leaf Clover”, for those who didn’t know that song is a remake. My mom played this joint to death. I mean all the time. It made me forget that it was from this album for a while. “No Love” to me is the most underrated song on the album. It’s a nice R&B joint with a vibe. Something to play on a beautiful Saturday morning. Ironically, it’s Saturday but it just hit noon as I’m writing this. “Drama” is the only song on the album to me that doesn’t leave an impression like the rest of the album does but it’s not a bad song. It’s actually really dope and I like the hook but it’s not the song I’ll remember first from the album. Now finally, we get to “Sometimes….” This joint was on constant replay and on a loop for hours the first time I heard it. That beat makes you nod and sway and sing along to the song. “Where did the love gooooooo?” Another favorite of mine on the album. Big time. Then Erykah has a “flipped” version of “Certainly.” I definitely prefer this version more. The hip hop in me automatically fell for this version more than the other one that’s earlier in the album and the album ends with a continuation of “Rimshot.” A nice applause for such an amazing album. Definitely one of the albums anniversary I was waiting for and I was reminded two days ago by a friend on Facebook. He was posting about Erykah and how long it took for him to understand her lyrics. He also posted her “Live” album, which will be 20 in November but Erykah is definitely one of music’s greatest of all time for her positive energy and spirit and her being so knowledgeable. I do wish to meet Erykah someday. Such a beautiful woman as well. She’s so different and definitely marches to the sound of her own drum without knocking others for what they do. Something that I recently learned and someone reminded me of that and going through masterpiece reminded me of how inspiring Erykah is in that way too.

The Life & Times of Robert Kelly: The Pied Piper of R&B

This man isn’t exactly hip hop but he does fit into the image and style of hip hop and sometimes the sound too. He’s worked with plenty of hip hop artists throughout his 25 year career and has an incredible discography and collection of hits that’s impossible to go through in just one day. He’s worked with The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, did two albums with Jay-Z, Cam’ron, Noreaga, Cassidy, the list goes on. Despite his troubles and controversy and having this reputation that’s not really a good one for a man his age when it comes to young women, this man is a musical genius nonetheless. His image in the beginning of his career was compared to and they accused him of biting his style from New jack swing/R&B legend Aaron Hall. He’s a Chicago native with a voice that represents the baby making style of music, his writing game is absolutely unstoppable, written for many artists and even did the entire LIFE soundtrack, the movie starring both Martin Lawrence and Eddie Murphy, this man’s talent makes him easily a great of his time and today he’s gained a lot of respect and love and also lost love too but still he shines through his talent. His name is Robert Sylvester Kelly aka R. Kelly, the Pied Piper of R&B. He started out in a group and as the lead too with R&B group Public Announcement. Their 1992 debut album “Born Into the 90’s” was a New jack swing smash that garnered the singles “She’s Got That Vibe”, “Honey Love”, “Slow Dance (Hey Mr. DJ)”, “Dedicated”, and “Hey Love (Can I Have a Word).” To me, the album was a combination of partying and love making. The album wasn’t too much but it was decent enough to put Kelly on the map but it was his standout solo debut 1993/1994 joint “12 Play” that officially put him on the map. The entire album was sexually themed and a bit over the top at some moments. Very shocking when he actually made a song dedicated to the woman’s body in a very specific manner too. This joint was another New jack swing/R&B smash and it had a little bit of hip hop influence when Kelly rapped on a few joints too. The remix to “Summer Bunnies” and “Your Body’s Callin'” introduced the new up and coming new singer named Aaliyah. Aaliyah was Kelly’s protégée. He helped her with her debut album “Age Ain’t Nothing But a Number” which released in May 1994. Aaliyah’s album was more hip hop than Kelly’s. Aaliyah came out in the mid-90’s with that hip hop soul trend that started with Mary J. Blige back in ’92. Aaliyah was just as down as Mary, TLC, Xscape, Usher, Jodeci, Faith Evans, this was a time when hip hop and R&B came together. The sound both represented the streets and gave R&B singers respect and a place in the hip hop community. Since we’re on the subject of hip hop soul, Kelly returned in 1995 with his self titled album, which is my top favorite R. Kelly album. That album was completely different from the first two albums. This album had a more hip hop influence and the songs were much more mature and deeper than the first two. This is the only R. Kelly album that I can play all the way through with no skips. This was the album that began the whole Mr. Biggs legacy, played by the one and only Ronald Isley. Mr. Biggs is a man who trusts Kelly around his women when he’s away on business and Kelly ends up sleeping with his women and then there’s trouble. It’s classic R&B shit. It’s hard to pick my exact favorites because this album is so fucking incredible to me. I’ll just say that “Step In My Room” and “Tempo Slow” are my top two favorites on the album. 1996 and 1997, Kelly releases “I Believe I Can Fly” for the Space Jam soundtrack. That song is Kelly’s greatest song to me. It’s the 90’s kid anthem for inspiration. Kelly appears on Mary’s 1997 “Share My World” album on the track “It’s On.” Then in ’98, he comes with an even stronger banger, a double disc called “R.” This is my second favorite R. Kelly album. This album was on another level. Way more darker topics, the hip hop influence is stronger especially on “We Ride.” A hip hop track featuring Cam’ron, Noreaga, Vegas Cats and Jay-Z. “Home Alone” featuring Keith Murray, “Did You Ever Think” and “Money Makes the World Go Round” featuring Nas are also great examples. I just didn’t understand why “I Believe I Can Fly” was added on the album. It fit but it was released 2 years prior. Kelly keeps the ball rolling, he’s super consistent throughout his career. The new millennium comes and he released “TP-2.com”, the sequel to “12 Play.” This album was definitely a perfect sequel because it’s more relaxed and “lovey dovey” than the previous two albums. Kelly goes back to that original 12 play vibe but on another level. It’s another hit for Kelly. He then enters a new point in his career where he gets into trouble with the scandals and it affects his sales on the “Best of Both Worlds” album with Jay-Z. After all that, he ushers in a new Kelly, a man whose more about being holy and spiritual, he’s all about the people and spreading love. The togetherness he spreads on this next album makes him legendary status. At then end of 2002, Kelly was supposed to release an album that was called “Loveland” but when it got leaked, the album had to be put on the shelf and was never released and in 2003, he came with “Chocolate Factory.” This album was a more happier Kelly, he also talked about marriage and of course “steppin’.” “Step In the Name of Love” is the perfect song to describe the vibe of the album. It puts people on the dance floor at any event, no matter the age. 2004’s “Happy People/U Saved Me” to me was a bit of a reach for Kelly. He takes it too far with the gospel vibes and extra happy songs. It’s my least favorite album from him. I’m not the type to bring up an artists’ personal issues but this album to me reflected someone whose almost hypocritical. He reminded me of that uncle at the family reunion who shows up and makes it awkward because everyone knows about his past and his issues and he’s acting like it never happened and instead being extra happy and over the top throwing God and Jesus in your face when you’re the one who messed up. The songs was cool though but it’s not his strongest work. 2005’s “TP.3-Reloaded” was an okay album too but it was better than the previous joint. It’s the third joint in the “12 Play” series. It doesn’t give me 12 Play vibes though. I get a mixture between “TP2” and “Chocolate Factory.” “Double Up” is where I started to not be interested in Kelly anymore. He still had the hits coming but that spark he used to have is no longer there to me. It seems like he was just putting out anything. He still kept his usual love making vibe there and getting married and stuff but it wasn’t the same. “Untitled”, “Love Letter”, “Write Me Back”, “Black Panties”, and “The Buffet” all give me the same vibe. This man is definitely one of the greats and he’s still going strong no matter what. He’s easily one of the greatest from the 90’s and there’s no one else snatching the crown from him. Forever and always the Pied Piper of R&B.

The Princess of Hip Hop & R&B: The Wonderful World of Ashanti

Before we seen her face, we heard her singing hooks on joints for Big Pun, Fat Joe, and later on, her label mate Ja Rule. Ashanti Douglas has proved herself to be one of R&B’s most greatest artists of her time. She blew up in the early 2000’s for being the girl who was singing on hooks only. Ashanti’s voice is almost similar to Aaliyah’s, she’s got that soft, sweet, sultry Soprano thing going on but her style musically was similar to Mary J. Blige’s, it is Hip hop soul. Ashanti reminds you of that nice girl in the hood who was a hip hop fan but she could sing her ass off. You’ll see her walking down the street in a fresh pair of Air Force Ones, tight jeans, chewing gum, rocking a varsity jacket and big hoop earrings just without the “ratchet”, not calling those kinds girls ratchet though. LOL! She’s the one all the hardcore guys call to sing hooks on their songs and she does it well with the songwriting as well which is why she was nicknamed “The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.” A lot of artists both male and female have been on the “hip hop soul” movement since “What’s the 411?” but what makes Ashanti a little more different than the rest is her being a fan of hip hop. She’s not just a singer on hip hop tracks, she embraces hip hop in her attitude and her little bop in her videos. I’ve always been a fan of Ashanti since 2002 when she dropped her debut single “Foolish”, singing over The Notorious B.I.G.’s 1995 remix single “One More Chance” and DeBarge’s 1983 single “Stay With Me.” I remember when she first came out like it was yesterday because I was in the second grade, I was 8 years old and “Foolish” was on BET every five minutes and I remember when the video came out with Terrance Howard and it made number 1 on BET’s 106 & Park Top 10 Live list. I do miss those days. The days of a 90’s born-00’s raised kid. Her next joint “Happy”, turned out to be my all time favorite joint by her. The chorus and hook is the best part of the song. The beat is hard with this happy and catchy whistling sound and the chorus and hook has this beautiful harmony that’s very mesmerizing and gets you lost into the sound, that’s an effect I usually get from Brandy. Ashanti’s entire self titled debut was banger from beginning to end and then she released “Chapter II”, my favorite album from her. Another smash album under her belt. She put out “Rock Wit U (Awww Baby)”, “Rain On Me” and “Breakup 2 Makeup” and the remixes were bangers too. The hip hop in Ashanti’s music were mostly on the remixes. She had everyone and their momma on those joints. When “Chapter II” came out in the summer of 2003, I was in Virginia at my auntie’s house singing those songs. My cousins and one of their friends didn’t wanna hear me though but I was feeling that album. LMAO! That was around the same time Beyoncé dropped “Dangerously In Love” and “Baby Boy” was everywhere too; that and “Rock Wit U.” The joint “Feel So Good” was the best one to me because it came from Black Moon’s “I Gotcha Opin (Remix)”, a certified banger. That one should’ve been a hit from the album to me. Her next joint “Concrete Rose” was another banger. Ashanti was no joke in her prime. She kept coming back to back with albums and bangers but this album had a couple of joints I skipped more than the first two. She blew me away with “Don’t Let Them.” That joint came straight from Raekwon’s “Heaven & Hell.” Another banger from that album is “Love Again” but after that she came out with “The Declaration” but her shit wasn’t the same. She went full R&B now, which is cool but that spark she used to give me with her first three was gone because she wasn’t down with Irv Gotti and the Inc. anymore. She still as beautiful as usual but she’s one gem that people don’t appreciate enough to me. She’s no Mary J., no Brandy, no Aaliyah, Monica, Janet Jackson but she was dope in her own right. I’ll always appreciate Ashanti aka The Princess of Hip Hop and R&B.

Just Plain Ol’ MARY!

On this day in 1999, Mary J. Blige aka The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, released her fourth self titled album called “Mary.” I remember vividly that summer when the album came out like it was yesterday. I was 5 years old and I spent that entire summer at my auntie’s house in Virginia with my sister and cousins. Whenever we watched TV, my older cousin used to watch music videos all day from MTV Jams. I remember seeing Lauryn Hill’s “Doo Wop (That Thing)”, Ginuwine’s “So Anxious” and Mary J. Blige’s “All That I Can Say” music videos the most. I am a huge Mary J. Blige fan, the same way I’m a ATCQ fan. I have every Mary J. Blige album, music videos downloaded and saved on my flash drive, magazines, books, posters and a VHS tape from back in 2008. I’ve been a fan of Mary since I was 2 years old and even my family can tell the stories about me being a Mary fan as a kid. Those stories amaze me still to this day but anyways, back to this album. “All That I Can Say”, the very first joint on the album and the first single released from this album was a great way to start the album off right. Compared to Mary’s first three albums, this album was more R&B/soul with that Gap Band, Earth, Wind & Fire, Stevie Wonder vibe than the usual hip hop vibe Mary is known for in her sound. To me it’s like her “Share My World” album only more R&B so the evolution in Mary’s career was a perfect one. “All That I Can Say” was written and produced by Lauryn Hill and she even sings background on it too. It’s a very dope song with a “I’m gonna have a good day” kinda vibe and the music video was something different from Mary too. She presents a whole new femininity side of her that wasn’t seen before. The whole time in the video, she’s dreaming of searching for her man by walking down the street vibing in her usual Mary vibe, singing and doing her little nods and rocking, then she’s all over billboards and street lights with these red balls flying around everywhere on Times Square-42nd Street, then she’s in a dress on an escalator going to the sky and then there’s skyscrapers, the sky and she’s walking on cloud 9 literally towards a man whose just standing there and then she wakes up bugged out about the dream and it ends. This video was in heavy rotation on MTV Jams back in 1999. “Sexy” is the second joint on the album featuring The Lox’s very own Jadakiss. This is the only song on the album with a hip hop vibe and the song takes inspiration from Michael Jackson’s 1979 joint “I Can’t Help It”, which is my all time favorite Michael Jackson song from his album “Off the Wall.” The song talks about making love. The third song “Deep Inside” and the second single released from this album, is a joint about Mary wanting acceptance for who she is and not the superstar. It was only right that Elton John appears playing piano on the song because the song samples from his song “Bennie and the Jets.” The music video was dope too. She’s on tour, she walks backstage and sees these “demons” everywhere. Then she’s walking down the street, drops her jacket and appears in an all white outfit with a fur vest. Then the best part is when she busts out into a dance sequence in all red with backup dancers to her underground hit “Sincerity” featuring Nas and DMX. That song can be found on the limited edition of this album. Then she sings the rest of “Deep Inside” and the video ends with “M-J-B” and a walk off. “Beautiful Ones” the fourth song on the album. I absolutely love the vibe of this song. Everything about it to the beat, the chorus and harmonies, that song I can say low key had a hip hop vibe too cause the beat has this bass in it that’s strong if you have the right speakers to listen to that joint. “I’m In Love”, the fifth song on the album and a remake that was originally done by The Gap Band. Mary puts her own raspy and rawness twist to it. If you have the original “Mary” album release, “Time” is the sixth joint but if you have the limited edition, it’s “As” a classic remake with George Michael and originally done by Stevie Wonder. The video is just George and Mary with their thousands of doppelgängers all over the club. “Time” is hands down my favorite joint on the album. To me this is Mary’s most conscious record. She talks about drugs and crime in the black communities all over America and preaches that people should stop the violence and come together but I can’t forget to mention how sick and wicked the beat is. It reminds of me bugs crawling, when you watch a beetle crawl just like in the cartoons, it has this sound effect and that’s what the beat reminds me of. “Memories”, the seventh joint, this is my second favorite on the album. The harmonies match the beat so well. Mary took her vocal stacking to the next level on this album to me and I get goosebumps. “Don’t Waste My Time”, the eighth joint featuring the Queen of Soul. Aretha Franklin. Both Mary and Aretha battle it out on this song about a man whose wasting his woman’s time by being with her knowing that he still has feelings for another woman. “Not Lookin'”, the ninth joint featuring K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci. This is an awkward song because both Mary and K-Ci were together back in the early 90’s during her “What’s the 411?” and “My Life” days. Mary is basically telling him off about his “mack daddy” ways and avoids him trying to woo her and get back with her but she wasn’t having it. LOL! “Your Child”, the tenth joint and the third single. Mary tells a story about a man’s infidelity and having a baby by another woman and the music video was spot on perfect for the song. “No Happy Holidays”, the eleventh joint, Mary talks about being with a man who never spends his holidays with her. She spends the holidays alone while he’s out maybe with family. The twelfth joint, “The Love I Never Had”, Mary talks about having feelings for a man she can’t have. “Give Me You”, the thirteenth joint and final single. This was my favorite when I was younger but “Time” replaced it instead. This song is about Mary wanting her man to give her his all, meaning love and affection and not materialistic things. Michael Jordan appears in the music video and last but not least Mary’s remake of the classic “Let No Man Put Asunder.” What a great way to end the album with a classic 70’s dance track that was originally done by First Choice. To me, this album reflected a more sensitive side of Mary. She got rid of the “homegirl” attitude and hip hop sounds for the big ballads. I would rank this album maybe fifth or sixth on my first to last list of Mary J. Blige albums.

Street LineWritten by Jay-Doggz