I've always really loved this song and since I've convinced myself that spring has arrived in London Town (na lie-oo!), my play list has been updated accordingly.
This song feels kinna like spring time to me. It's got a good beat and catchy tune, but it's also got this anticipatory vibe to it, just like spring, it's brimming with promise...which is just how I feel right now (not that I'm brimming with sexual promise...just promise in general). Plus it's from the 90's. I love 90's R'n'B. So enjoy...the Donell Jones CLASSIC, 'This Luv'.
Last Thursday I went to a SWV/Faith Evans concert in the IndigO2 with two of my girls including Sankofa. It was amazing (ain't nothing like a 90's party y'all!)! I can't believe those girls can still blow like that! Power to them, I say. And they looked damn good too. It was so surreal seeing them up there, I felt like a 12 year old just watching them up there, it really did throw me back in time.
Anyhoo, ever since that day this one track has been STUCK in my head! So I thought I'd share.
I'm feeling good in London Town at the moment, the sun playing games and there is the occasional torrential downpour but all is good. So I decided to give you this throwback I have been jamming to today. Enjoy and have a good day now!
Love, love, LOVE this song. It's been playing in my head all night. This WILL be playing at my wedding! 90's music was just soooo good. So I just had to share, enjoy!
I know I really need to actually finish a post about something other than music! But since the sun has been shining small in London town I've been tripping down memory lane with my music. And came across this little 1990's gem. I loved this song and the album that spawned it The Writing's On The Wall back when I was in school!
So enjoy the original DC and Mr. Mosley on this old fave of mine, Get On The Bus...
It has been a year since Life and Living It's first entry was posted, and since then we have come a long way! A year on, 87 posts later and with 49 followers we are still going strong. I would like to thank everyone who has stuck with us even though we haven't always been faithful with our posts! I would also like to congratulate Sankofa, Nsoromma and Friday's Afro on not backing out. Anyway, I'll stop here because it's starting to sound like an acceptance speech. But before I go, I'll leave you with my top 5 LALI blog posts.
I'm feeling positive for once on a Monday. I have completed two of the three application I wanted to do for the weekend. I'm not stressed about the other one. It probably just isn't for me. I'm just gonna keep working hard.
This lil' gem by Alicia Keys is not to far back for a flashback, but it is very apt at the moment for me, Superwoman by Alicia Keys...But that wig in the boardroom thou, No No!
With everything that has been going on recently, I had not been able to get this post out.
So here it is a little late, the first flackback for 2010 goes to the late great Mr Theodore DeReese Pendergrass (March 26, 1950 - January 13, 2010). Former lead singer of Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes. One of the great vocalists of our time.
I don't want to drag this out, but basically if you don't know get to know!
Here is the man himself on the amazing 'Love TKO'...enjoy.
And here with the Blue Notes breakout single from their debut album, 'If You Don't Know Me By Now' on Soul Train.
Again with the 1979 grammy-nominated 'Close The Door'.
'Wake Up Everybody' on Sooooooooooooul Train...
And one of my favourites, 'When Somebody Loves You Back'.
This is the latest Sankofa/Nsoromma flashback to the 90's long time in coming I know (sorry-oo!). So here we go in no particular order...
1. Be Careful- Sparkle ft. R. Kelly
Here's the first if many that year that had me screaming, 'that's my jam!', and it really was. Honest to goodness I knew all the words (I know, I know, saddo, right?). So all together now.... 'Two years ago promises is all I heardddddddddddd...WAIT A MINUTE! Let me finish!...'
2. Sweet Lady- Tyrese
Introducing that fine black dude from the Diet Coke adds, a.k.a. Tyrese Gibson, my 1990's (and beyond) celebrity crush. Sings like an angel, looks like....dang! Dude is fiiiine!
3. Westside- TQ
Now I'm not afraid to admit (though truthful I am slightly ashamed) that I was a TQ fan and I own the album that spawned this mega hit. That still gets me when I'm in a chillaxing mood...
4. Boy You Knock Me Out- Tatyana Ali Awww, when Ashley from Fresh Prince decided to have a music career, this is what resulted. Here's her biggest song to date, and I'm only aware of one more godawful song after this one. But hey, you never know, bad music is in at the moment so she might make a comeback. And BTW, the dance moves in this vid are SPECTACULAR!!! Wowzers.
5. Teardrops- Lovestation
I think this song is a 1990's classic dance track. Love it to death and I still listen to it today. 'Whenever I hear goodbyes, reminds me baby of you...'
6. Are You That Somebody- Aaliyah
Wow, another one that throws me back in time. I knew all Timbaland's ad-libs to this song ('dirty south, uh huh, can you feel this, baby girl, east coast feel this, uh huh, west coast feel this, say what,...' yes there are more!). Oh saddo that I am! So much so that in a school dance this song was used and I came on at the beginning, dressed as Timbaland, to 'perform'...*cringes at the memory*. Anyhoo, the vid is much better than my caterwauling so enjoy!
7. Who Am I- Beenie Man
This was the dancehall jam of the time and if you do not that, where were you? If you don't know gets to know mehn! Jeheez!
8. (Doo Wop) That Thing- Lauryn Hill
This song is so great, nothing I have do say could do it justice. It was just about the biggest anthem around at the time and Lauryn 'gorgeous' Hill was off the chain!
Lyric of the song for me...'the second verse is dedicated to the men, more concerned with his rims and his Tims than his women...'...chick was not just a singer but a Hip Hop great.
9. Cheers To You- Playa
Maaaaaaaaan, I love the 1990's! This song reminds me why and it is still a banger. 'Ohhhh! If I had a wish, baby, I wish...' 10. They Don't Know- Jon B This is pure beautiful 1990's R&B. The white boy of R'n'B. Why can't they make them like this anymore? *sigh*
We've been reminiscing hard over here on Life... and Living It lately and we thought it was only fair we share. We're working our way back through the 90s and highlighting some of our favourite/ seminal songs year by year. Hope you too enjoy this trip down memory lane. First stop- 1999! In no particular order:
1. Big Pimpin- Jay-Z ft. UGK
No party was complete in 1999 without this song. This was back when Jay-Z swore he'd "never give his heart to a woman" (pre-Beyonce) and he and Dame Dash were tighter than Rick Ross in lycra. Still a banger imho.
2. So Anxious- Ginuwine
Biiiiiiiig tune from Mr. Elgin Lumpkin! He had/ has the "baby hair" game on lock! Timbaland had already started trying to rap over his artists' songs and baggy leather trousers were really having the best year ever...
3. Everyone Falls in Love- Tanto Metro and Devonte
Reggae jam of the year. Hands down! Another one that everybody still grooves to
4. Girl On TV- LFO
How 90s can one possibly get in this song? Boyband? Check! Appearance by wholesome TV star? Check! White boys rapping? Check! For real though this was a summer jaaaaaam and it still brings images of warm sunshine to my mind.
5. What's It Gonna Be?!- Busta Rhymes and Janet Jackson
This Hype Williams directed video was the most expensive video at the time, costing approximately $2 million dollars. Ten years on the video remains visually stunning.
6. Unpretty- TLC
Forget No Scrubs and Bills, Bills, Bills, Unpretty was the true female empowerment anthem of 1999. R.I.P Left Eye.
7. If You Had My Love- Jennifer Lopez
J-Lo before she was "J-Lo". Before Puffy. When she used to dance. Before she decided not to actually act in her films. Come back. We miss you. (Look out for C.S.I Miami's Adam Rodriguez- "Eric"- in the vid)
8. Breathe And Stop- Q-Tip
Nobody could touch Hype Williams for videos this year. Q-Tip had us all nodding our heads like fools. I bet you're doing it now....
9. What These Bitches Want- DMX ft. Sisqo
The antithesis of the female "empowerment" songs of the late 90s. Earl Simmons broke it doooooown. "There was Brenda; Leticia; Linda; Felicia; Dawn; LaShawn; Arnes and Alicia; Theresa; Monica; Sharon; Nikki; Lisa; Veronica; Karen; Vicky... about 3 Kims!
10. You Owe Me- Nas ft. Ginuwine
A slight cheat as the video wasn't released until 2000 but this song still gets people on the dancefloor. It's an integral part of the "old school jams" set they always play in clubs. With a cameo from Destiny's Child (v2.0), "Nasty Nas" had us all dancing to the sick Timbaland beat.
11. Meeting In My Bedroom- Silk 12. 808- Blaque 13. Colourblind- Counting Crows 14. This Luv- Donnell Jones 15. Get It On Tonight- Montell Jordan 16. I Try- Macy Gray 17. I Wanna Be The Only One- Eternal 18. Maria Maria- Carlos Santana ft. The Product G&B 19. I Want It That Way- Backstreet Boys 20. Bills Bills Bills- Destiny's Child
Wow I just realised just how much booty was being shook in the videos of '99. I thought the videos these days were bad....
An honest look at the emotions a man goes through when his girlfriend tells him she's pregnant. With samples of Donny Hathaway's A Song For You and Stevie Wonder's Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer, the lyrics speak for themselves. (Come back Lauryn!)
The year Y2K seems so recent since it’s in the 00’s...then I remember that we are getting to the end of 2009, that’s nearly 10 years! This means I am well within my rights to term some of the following songs as old school classics...they definitely feel old when you hear them!
The R&B Flash
Kelly Price - Love Set's You Free
This song featured everyone! Aaron Hall, Babyface, Case, Dru Hill, Kandice Love, LovHer, Montell Jordan (in leather pants! Muhahahaha) & Tamar Braxton...woah! This song sends me right back to secondary school, it was such a jam! But UMG will not allow me embed it, so here’s the Kelly Price & Aaron Hall version. The beat is so reminiscent of the time, I hope it gets you happily grooving like I am now, so here you go...this R&B banger is a bonus track off of Mirror Mirror, Love Set’s You Free. Music Video CodesMyspace Music
Ruff Endz - No More
Now if you weren’t feeling this at the time I don’t know WHAT you were feeling! Another solid Y2K R&B banger off of their album Love Crimes, which incidentally had another good song, Missing You, on it.
3LW - No More (Baby I'ma Do Right)
Now even at the time this song was a guilty pleasure even though I was young and it was a big tune just because I always thought they sounded so young! I love it though, reminds me of my first serious crush...shout out to Jerry! LMAO!! And also jamming with my SSSO girls and at ’venture!
R. Kelly - Fiesta (Remix) ft. Jay-Z, Boo & Gotti
My days!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mr. Robert Kelly smacked it on the TP-2.com album, it was soooo hot. For me so many jams for that year came from this album, the I Wish (Remix) To The Homies We Lost was amazing, as were the I Don’t Mean It Remix, Like A Real Freak and Strip For Me. But back to this song in particular—Day-um! I knew ALL the words, yes I was that sad, c’mon now sing along...After the show is the Afterparty, AND, After the party is the Hotel lobby AND...
Jaheim - Just In Case
Back when Ghetto Love was out, Jaheim was on top of the world, his fortunes have since changed and his popularity has perhaps waned somewhat due to his inability to progress as an artist. However, the album was sooo good, I really did think he has the voice of an angel...!
Jagged Edge - Let's Get Married
From J.E. Heartbreak, this song along with Keys To The Range and Did She Say were really good. This was a big favourite and I remember everyone vowing that this would be their wedding song! Please note: I went to a girls’ school, I don’t know any guys saying that at the time, but I could be wrong...
Joe - Stutter ft. Mystikal
I thought this song was groundbreaking at the time, Mystikal’s delivery was fire and it was like waking up sleepy generally boring-love-song-singing Joe to a whole new world of R&B. And his bank balance didn’t suffer for it, either! From the R&B classic album My Name Is Joe(random thought: Have you seen the cover? He looks like such a sleaze!).
Kelis - Caught Out There
Who didn’t scream along with this, ladies? If you say no, you lieeeeeeeeeeeee! Ah, this song could appeal in various moods...it appealed to pissivity of the highest order, to those days you just wanna crank it up and scream for no apparent reason and when you wanted to listen to mad production. These were the days before everyone had been done by the Neptunes and it was an amazing track off of Kaleidoscope...Caught Out There.
Kelis - Get Along With You
I didn’t know this had a vid! This was my favourite song off the album, Kaleidoscope. So here you go...
Lucy Pearl - Don't Mess With My Man
Lucy Pearl...just saying the name makes me smile. So sad there was only one album, because I really liked it, but such is life. Don’t Mess With My Man was one of those tracks that got you neck rolling thinking about if she dared to even think about messing with your man....lol, I was how old at the time, like 14? LMAO, I could still relate!
Pink - There You Go
Another solid R&B album of the time, Can’t Take Me Home, spawned this megahit. The album was sick, this song was sick and the video was sick...especially when she rides the bike into the window, plus I think she looks real sexy with that hair. Wow, memories of when people used to discuss if Pink was fully white or ‘had some black in her’ a la Charlie Baltimore, LOLS!
Next - Wifey
Y2K was the beginning of the mainstream success of R&B, and a good time too because R&B was still good then (arguably it’s a bit rubbish now)! And Wifey is a key jam of the time, it was played everywhere at every party and we loved it. I must admit that by 2004 I hated it but recently I have been listening to Welcome II Nextasy and I remember how it used to sound and why I loved it. Now that album was...woah...hmmmm, sex album anyone?
X-2-C - Bonafide
This song features on Save The Last Dance, a film I loved at the time and still quite like now. I bought the soundtrack to the film such was my love for that film and this was one of my favourites off the album and the film. My Window by Soulbone was great as well, I know you’re all thinking shouldn’t Shaka Demus and Pliers, Ice Cube or Fredro Star remind me of the film...ok yeah they do, but this was a better song. I was became soooooo sick of You Can Do It!
Soon come, with the rest of the Y2K jams, gotta cut this before it gets way too long. Plus, I’m off to have a Y2K R&B par-tay!
