Remembering Rhythm & Blues: August 2007

Girlfriend, Pebbles Has The Answer!

I'm not sure why my mind made a musical connection between this story and Pebbles, but it did. I felt so bad for evangelist and gospel singer Juanita Bynum because no matter how you slice it, this was an embarrassing situation. I mean, the marriage is already on the rocks and then your soon-to-be-ex-husband goes and beats you up in the parking lot. Surely, this type of behavior isn't new because their marriage is already on the rocks, but as an embarrassing as this situation is, it was totally preventable. Shoot, Pebbles told us what to do in 1987 with her hit, Girlfriend:

Girl, you must resist
Don't let him squirm his way into your heart
No, girl, I must insist
You've got to stop the fool before he starts
Just remember how he was so untrue
With all the tacky things he did to you
No need to signify
'Cause he's not worth your time
You need to find someone that's true to you

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to make light of the serious issue of domestic violence. Instead, I want to bring to focus that as strong women and mothers of the next generation, we need to empower ourselves. We need to hold ourselves accountable for what/who we will allow into our lives. To me, Pebbles represents the type of R&B artist who made women feel empowered. For instance, look at the question she presented with her Mercedes Boy, "Do YOU wanna ride?", not "can I ride with you?". Pebbles was letting it be known that she could hold her own. She gave fellas the benefit of the doubt, but nothing beats the duet she did with Babyface. Their song, Love Makes Things Happen, is a good example of how complicated love can be, which leads me back to Juanita Bynum. As the song goes, there's nothing love can't make you do, when love takes hold of you. You can have the purest heart and the finest attitude, but I swear that don't mean nothin' when your heart's under the spell... It will spin your mind around like a carousel. Hopefully, Juanita has made the final decision to end her carousel ride with this man.

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posted by Soulfull @ 8/27/2007 , , , links to this post

The R&B Replay: The Originals Vs. After 7

I hate to be copied and I damn sure hate to share. As a child, I always wanted to have my own toys, my own crayons, my own everything. Things only got worse when my little sister came along. She used to follow me everywhere and damn it if I didn't try to shake her loose. I hated how my mom used to dress us alike as if we were twins. I was the oldest, by two fricking years! But it didn't matter to my parents because I was forced to always share EV-VERY-THING with my sister. Even on MY birthday! I still remember the day... There was cake and ice cream and my dad came home from work with the BIGGEST POUND PUPPY EVER (O, the 80s!) and it was just for ME! I was so happy. It was my special day and FINALLY I was getting something just for moi... or so I thought! Before I could finish getting the dog out of the packaging, my little sister started whining and crying about how much SHE wanted a Pound Puppy too and you know what?! The next day that bratty heifer got one. It was smaller than mine, like the one in this pic, but I didn't care! I was so so pissed. Like James Brown say, I want revenge, I WANT REVENGE!! Unfortunately, I never got it and to this day, I remind my family of that cold day in February when my little sister trumped my birthday. My daddy tried to make amends by giving me his "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" speech, but as a child, I didn't pay no mind to that crap. That's until I got older and started learning more and more about music samples and remakes...

In 1969, The Originals had a surefire hit with the song, Baby I'm For Real. Written by Marvin Gaye and his ex-wife, Anne Gordy Gaye, this song is a sho'nuff classic, ya'll. The harmonizing voices of bass singer Freddie Gorman, baritones Walter Gaines and C.P. Spencer, and tenors Ty Hunter and Henry Dixon are so relaxing. Their voices float above and below the mellow sound of their band and at three minutes and eighteen seconds long, this song makes me close my eyes and imagine what the good 'ole days would've been like. This is the music of my parent's generation and as children normally do, we have to emulate. In 1992, my generation got a version all our own. Thanks to After 7. They took this classic and revived it. Man, all the brothas threw down on this track, but my part has GOT to be when Kevon Edmonds hits that part at 2:39, "But if you cry, I wonder why you cry, I tell ya, tell ya no lie, this how I feel"... OMG, I swear, I get goosebumps every single time I hear him sing that. You can really FEEL the emotions of these men. I also loved how After 7 gave a shout out at the end to another 70s classic, Natural High by Bloodstone. No doubt, I love both versions because in my book, nothing beats a "begging, baby, baby please" song. Yes indeed! Now, I know EXACTLY what my dad was talking about.

Listen via Rhapsody: Baby I'm For Real by The Originals from the album Green Grow The Lilacs (1969)

Listen via Rhapsody: Baby I'm For Real (Natural High) by After 7 from the album Takin' My Time (1992)

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After 7 The Originals R&B remakes soul samples

posted by Soulfull @ 8/26/2007 , , , links to this post

For Real, You Don't Know Nothin!

Hubby and I had a fight tonight. Another fucking waste of fifteen minutes over nothing. I mean, can social networking sites really break up a marriage? Not having you as the number #1 friend make someone feel less than? I suppose this is the new face of relationships in the digital age. It's not just about whether or not you get caught cheating in public. Now, it's also about what kind of comments you left on someone's page. Or how many times you talked to them. As if saying, "thanks for the add", means that some how you're setting up a time to screw the person. Please, that's so retarded to me and now that I'm coming out of my social shell, I'm not going to be afraid to talk to people. Shoot, that's what TRUST is all about and I really wish that my hubby really knew that. I'm not interested in replacing him with anyone else, but as I listened to him hem me up about my constant emails, growing friends lists, and chirping cell phone, I found myself wanting to scream... YOU DON'T KNOW NOTHIN! I've made my mistakes and I've done some things that I'm not proud of, but you gotta know that I love you... Wait, that reminds me of one of my favorite songs from the 90s R&B group, For Real...

For Real was a Grammy-nominated R&B / Soul quartet that formed in 1993, the band released their debut album It's a Natural Thang with production from Brian McKnight on A&M Records in 1994 and it became a critical success, including a rare four stars from Rolling Stone Magazine. [1] Almost since its formation in 1993, the four female members of the R&B group For Real were caught up in a whirlwind of activity, their first single "Easy To Love" peaked at No. 65 on the Billboard Charts, the album did score two more chart hits, that did better than the albums first "You Don't Know Nothin'" which peaked at No. 27 and "You Don't Wanna Miss" which hit No. 28, the album sold over 1,000,000 copies world-wide and peaked at No.80 on the Billboard Top 100.[Source]

The truth was surely spoken with their track, You Don't Know Nothin', because men have a way of forgetting what it means for a woman to give her heart. To give of herself, her body and her spirit. A deep, spiritual connection between a man and a woman isn't for the faint of heart. And when a real woman with a understanding of real feelings/emotions gives her love, it's not for fun and games. It's for keeps and it's definitely for real.

YOU DON'T KNOW NOTHIN

THE SADDEST SONG I EVER HEARD

LIKE I DO

YOU DON'T WANNA MISS

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For Real youdon'tknownothin 90s R&B it'sanaturalthing

posted by Soulfull @ 8/22/2007 , , , links to this post

Total-ly Longing For Some Lovin'

"You just don't know whatcha do to me..." That first line from Total's 1995 hit, Can't You See hit a nerve with me tonight. Right now I'm longing for the lips of my man and this track is knocking on my heart with the words that describe just how I feel...

In the middle of the day now baby
I seem to think of only you, hey, oh yeah
Never thinking for a moment baby
That you've been thinking of me too, yeah, so
I can't wait for the day
That we can be together
I can't let you walk away...

There's something to be said about an R&B song that can express the urgency of love, but still have you bobbing your head to a smoothed and funky groove courtesy of The Payback by James Brown. Much credit has to be given to Puff for his finesse with samples and production, but even more credit should be given to the sultry bad girls of Total: Kima, Keisha, and Pam.

Total is an American R&B girl group and one of the signature acts of Puff Daddy's Bad Boy Records during the 1990s. Total made their first appearance singing the hook on The Notorious B.I.G.'s debut single, "Juicy". Garnering attention for the new group, they were also featured on the rappers "Hip Hop Remix" of his next single "One More Chance". They then immediately hit the studio with Bad Boy Records CEO Sean "Puffy" Combs and began work on their debut album. The first single "Can't You See?", had The Notorious B.I.G. returning the favour with a guest rhyme. Despite collaboration with their now big-star labelmate and the track's appearance on the "New Jersey Drive Soundtrack", the single only peaked at #44 on the Billboard Hot 100. Their self-titled debut album was released shortly thereafter, however, and produced four top ten singles, "No One Else" (and its remix featuring Foxy Brown, Lil' Kim and Da Brat) and '"Kissing You" (and its remix featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs). The album was certified platinum by the RIAA. [Source]

Like I said, I'm really feeling Total's music and through the years, they provided the late 90s with some major hits. Songs like No One Else, Do You Think About Us, Kissin' You (I like the remix better though), and the classic, Can't You See. Other songs I like from their first album are Don't Ever Change and Spend Some Time. Those two songs take me back to a place of extreme neediness and shameless desire. You see, once I figure out that me and a guy have a connection, from that point on, I make it a point to not be afraid to ask for what I want. I mean, I'll go through the motions and feel a situation out, but in the end, why waste my time leaving clues and dropping subtle hints? It's much easier to bed the bullshit and let the words speak for themselves. Some women kill me with playin games all the time and constantly toying with a man's emotions, but me? I'm not gonna front, I need lovin'. I liked to be held. I need to be caressed. I like to feel the weird beat of my man's heart as I lay across his chest, inhaling the scent of him and you might think I'm trippin, but I'm feeling that way. Right. Now.

Total - Kissing You/Oh Honey (Remix)(featuring Puff Daddy)

Can't You See (featuring Notorious B.I.G)

90s R&B total bad boy

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posted by Soulfull @ 8/19/2007 , , , links to this post

I Need A Drink of CHRISTIÓN

Seriously there just isn't enough hours in the day or hell, not enough months in the fricking year considering I've been sitting on oodles of R&B artists that I've really been meaning to chat about. So I'm grabbing hold of one of those R&B memories in my semi-elderly mind and recording it here before I forget. So do you remember
CHRISTIÓN and their first album, Ghetto Cyrano? If you don't have a clue who these dudes were or remember their music, here's some info directly from their myspace:

Ghetto Cyrano is a journey traveled down different paths: society's effect on us; the mysticism of sexuality; the purity and strength of love; and finally ending with our effect on society." Next level, neo-soul, hip-hop evolved, pop infused, adult-contemporaries, street conscious soul music. Whatever you choose to call Christion's dynamic blend of Hip-Hop/Soul, you will find yourself listening over and over again. Hailing from Oakland, CA, Kenni Ski & T. Ross is the dynamic duo known throughout the world as Christion ('97, Roc-A-Fella/Def Soul). Christion sold over 500,000 units while gaining critical acclaim as "the next heirs to the Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield throne (Oakland Tribune). Kenni Ski's songwriting and production skills quickly became legendary after the release of Christion's first single, Full of Smoke. The song, a chilling tale of a street hustler coming to grips with his lifestyle, struck a chord with millions of R&B and Hip Hop fans in the inner cities throughout the world. It was obvious to anyone who heard the song that there was a major new talent emerging in the R&B music scene. After the success of their first CD, "Ghetto Cyrano," Christion is finally back with their next soulful offering, "Project Plato." T. Ross replaces the departing Allen Anthony, stepping to the forefront after singing background for the dynamic duo.

I love the vocal combination of Christion's original members and damn it if their music was underrated! Kenni Ski and Allen had (and still have) major talent! Their music gave balance to the Roc-a-fella era/roster. When I needed to come down from my "head-nodding-what's-the-meaning-of-life" days of Jay-Z's In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, Christion's music gave me the answer. Ghetto Cyrano spoke soulfully about the ups and downs of life in the ghetto. Yet, nothing touched me more than their love ballads and sex me songs like Anything Goes, Soon, Face Like Yours, and most importantly Midnight X-Ta-C! I love that song! From the moment the Midnight X-Ta-C starts, you can feel the built up sexual energy pumping through the speakers. The arrangement of this CD is so on point and it was a nice introduction to a great duo. Too bad their overdue follow-up album, PROJECT PLATO: THE REBIRTH didn't really live up to the first. First off, it's really hard to replace Allen's distinctive voice and physique (the man is FINE!). Second, their first single for Project Plato, Let 'Em Know, wasn't that great. And man, have you seen the video for it? :sigh: It only made me miss the original group even more. Kenni Ski and Allen, PLEASE GET IT TOGETHER because I need a fresh drink of (real) Christion!

Bring Back Your Love

Full Of Smoke

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R&B christion ghetto cyrano

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posted by Soulfull @ 8/08/2007 , , , links to this post

Blog Maintenance

Hey readers! As this blog grows, some Youtube videos might disappear or links to various music might be dead. If by chance you are reading an older post and notice something isn't working/missing, please email me at info [at] soulfulsynergy [dot] com and I'll fix the issue. THANKS EVERYONE!

posted by Soulfull @ 8/08/2007 , , , links to this post

A One Hitta Quitta: RAab - Foreplay

Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not even gonna mince words. Today, I had great sex with my baby. At first, I didn't want to. I mean, I was straight busy with other obligations, but my baby wasn't gonna let me be. He hit me with a sly smile and a slick line - "Let's just go upstairs and cuddle..."
I peeked over my laptop and replied back, "Alright. I'll take a real quick break." Now I had every intention of stealing a few moments in my man's arms, but then my body found itself in the spoon position on our bed. And then his lips where on the back of my neck. And then my shirt was gone and his lips were all over my breasts. [Insert moaning and groaning here] Then we went on and on and on until the break of dawn... Well, at least until the kids started getting restless downstairs. (There's only so many Scooby Doo episodes they can take.) So, as I lay smiling in the bed, I heard the faint sound of an ancient love song in my mind... Foreplay, just come along and play with me for a day... If the love is good you know you should be here with me..... Awww damn, now just exactly where did that come from? I mean, I hadn't heard that song in years! I turned to my baby and said... You know you've inspired my next blog post, right...

So folks, I present the one hitta quitta... RAab's 1993 hit, Foreplay, off of his album, You're The One. Now this song is so hot. I mean, dude is talking about, "Let me kiss you where your lips don't smile, I want to drive you wild!" These lyrics make for a classic "come and sex me" joint and after the time I just had, it's no wonder it popped in my mind... So tell me, do you have any memories with RAab's Foreplay?

RAab foreplay 90s slow jams love songs songsof1993

posted by Soulfull @ 8/06/2007 , , , links to this post

I Choose You, Willie Hutch!

CHOO-CHOO! Alright ya'll, it's time to get in the musical groove and get this R&B Express back on track. Next Stop? Willie Hutch! Now there's been a lot of buzz about the latest sampling of Willie via UGK's International Player's Anthem, but I first became aware of Willie through the song Back Like That by Ghostface Killah featuring Ne-Yo. The interpolated usage of Willie's Come Home Baby was so on point that I had to seek out the original source of that melancholy piano break. From that point on, I started to listen to other Hutch songs like Paradise, Brothas Gonna Work It Out (I had such a "A-HA" moment when I realized that Dr. Dre used this song as an intro to his "

Rat-Tat-Tat-Tat"), Tell Me Why Has Our Love Turned Cold (Don't even get me started on the drama surrounding 3 6 Mafia and this song) and after going through his catalog of work some more, I realized that this man is the force behind great movie soundtracks (Remember The Glow?), not to mention how much his work has been sampled over and over and over again.

Willie Hutch is a true icon whose life work was dedicated the success of the music entertainment arts industry in immeasurable ways. He helped to sculpt “the standard” for what a successful recording and performing artist should exemplify. Today some of the most influential musicians have sampled Willie’s songs, to mention a few; Mariah Carey, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Doggy Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Ghostface Killah, Kanye West and The Chemical Brothers. His music continues his legacy as one of the last great “funk soul” brothers. [Source]

Willie McKinley Hutchinson, known professionally as Willie Hutch (December 6, 1944 – September 19, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer. Hutch, born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Dallas, Texas, is notable as both a performer and songwriter/producer for the Motown label during the 1970s. Before joining Motown, Hutch worked as a producer for acts such as The 5th Dimension.

Besides writing hit songs such as The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There", Hutch also recorded several albums for Motown (and later for Whitfield Records, run by former Motown producer Norman Whitfield), and had top 20 R&B hits with singles such as "Brother's Gonna Work It Out" and "Slick" (both 1973). Following in the tradition of Curtis Mayfield, he recorded the soundtrack album for the blaxploitation films The Mack (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974).

Hutch died on September 19, 2005 of reasons yet to be disclosed. He was 60. [Source]

Much respect to this legendary artist! Part of me is mad that I just learned about his work last year, but you know what - it's never too late to discover timeless classics!

Songs to enjoy:

Willie Hutch performing Slick On Soul Train

Willie Hutch preforming Love Runs Out

So, what do you remember about Willie Hutch?

Update - Saturday, August 4, 2007:

You will not believe the treasure I found over in the United Kingdom. Feast your eyes on The Willie Hutch Story.

Enlarge Front Cover

Enlarge Back Cover

This is out of stock at Juno now, but you can still purchase your own copy here or here. I will definitely post a review of the DVD here in the future! Man, I can not wait for this thing to arrive!

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willie hutch soul music last dragon blaxploitation era

posted by Soulfull @ 8/02/2007 , , , links to this post