What Else Is Left?

So I've decided to jump back into the 90s for a bit, because honestly, that's the best era in which music captured my attention. I've done posts on 90s Girls and 90s Guys, and listed some of the groups that I felt helped shape 90s music into what we know and love today. Well today, I am going to focus on one of my favorite songs from the group Dru Hill.



This song came from their sophomore album "Enter the Dru" and instantly, the second CD became a hit just like the first one. Following their formula of starting out upbeat, and ending on a very slow note, this one was no different. This song instantly caught my attention, and I loved it from that moment on. The first reason being that because Sisqo wasn't the FIRST and ONLY person singing a verse.

I honestly think that Nokio held his own on this song. I know a lot of people didn't think that he could actually sing, because he never does, but I guess you learn something new every day. The song itself speaks volumes....exactly what DO you when you can't do anymore...or when you THINK you can't do anymore?

What are we gonna do?
What are we gonna say?
Where are we gonna go?
When they find out...

Scoopin Em Up

So of course I had to grab this one out of the archives...but it's still a bangin song to this day. I know the dudes wanted to be Raekwon, at least in this video, and the girls had their description already on deck:



Watch these rap niggaz get all up in your guts
French-vanilla, butter-pecan, chocolate-deluxe
Even caramel sundaes is gettin touched
And scooped in my ice cream truck, Wu tears it up


This video debuted in the height of the Wu era, when everyone was throwin up the "W", and bangin out to the likes of Method Man, GZA, RZA and Ol' Dirty Bastard. This song is good for bumpin during the summer time when all the ladies have on their tight fitted shirts and some even had the shirts with their "flavor" on it. Those were the best.

So ladies tell me, which flavor were you?

I Want to Get AWAY!

I dunno what it is about 4 day workweeks, but I swear it seems like they are LONGER than it would with a regular 5 day week. Maybe it's because all of the work from the day you missed is compiled with the work from the rest of the days in that week, or maybe it's just because you enjoyed the 3 day weekened that you normally wouldn't be able to have. Who knows....I don't. I know I do feel like this at the end of a 4 day workweek:



Lenny pretty much summed up my whole feeling with these words:

I wish that I could fly
Into the sky
So very high
Just like a dragonfly

I fly above the trees
Over the seas
In all degrees
Just anywhere I please

This has been a VERY long week for me work wise. But listening to this song lets me know that Lenny is feelin me, and I'm diggin this song. Not to mention that the guitar riffs in this song are HAWT! I know that guitar riffs are a general part of a rock song, but the ones in this song are worthy of a head rock Beavis or Butthead style (how many of yall remember them?).

Even tho it's only 2 days of "rest" from the job, I'm glad to have em. It's two days I don't have to deal with the troubles of the world (at least not professionally).

I want to get away
I wanna fly away
YEAH
YEAH
YEAH!

I Shot Ya!

One thing we don't see much of anymore is a group collaboration where EVERYONE on the track is spittin the bangin lyrics. Here is one of my favorite ones from the 90s, where all the folks are bustin out the "hawt fiyah". lol.



Around this time, LL Cool J was starting to take another route toward a more lovey dovey, "softer" James Todd Smith; gone are the days when folks used to "forget Oreos and eat Cool J cookies". But here, LL showed everyone that not only did he not lose that side of him, but he could hold his own on a track full of stars. Keith Murray introduced this track with a bang, and Prodigy followed right up behind him with another tight verse. Fat Joe, as always, brought the heat, but even the Madame of the Firm, Foxy Brown, showed the men that this was no longer "a man's world". LL ended it with the same energy as the rest of em.

Kudos folks on this. A lot of songs only do 2-3 people at a time, and not all of them are cohesive with each other. I think a lot of folks don't realize cohesion is the biggest part of any group collabo, and if the crew isn't cohesive, then the song is gonna fail. Here's another one that is a bangin remix: starting off with Young Jeezy and followed by more nice flows:



DJ Khaled couldn't have picked a better group (well I probably wouldn't have chosen Rick Ross, but even he brought it.) Can't even front...this is probably one of the most bangin group collabos this millenium.

We need more songs like this...if folks can bring it like this at least 85% of the time, then music can still stand a chance! Don't tear down your desk/office listening to this. I can't be held accountable. :-D

My Funny Valentine

Sweet comic valentine
You make me smile
With my heart

Yeah I know I said I wasn't goin to post on Valentine's Day, but I had some extra time to kill, and I figured I'd bless those in love (and even those not in love) with a love song. Now I figure, since I posted the upbeat love song on Friday, that I would post one of my favorite songs to listen to....not just on Valentine's Day, but any day where you can say that you have a "Valentine".



This is the perfect song to define love...she (well not really she, because this is a remake) but the writer of the song acknowledges that "your looks are laughable, unphotographable..." but yet and still "you're my favorite work of art".

Not gonna get into this whole spill about that's what love should be about...cause different people have different meanings. So I'll just say this, to ME, that's what love should be about. Knowing that nobody will be perfect, but if they are perfect to YOU, then you've achieved what very few have been able to do.

To all of my readers out there, I'll leave you with this simple phrase to kids from 1-92:

"But don't you change one hair for me,
Not if you care for me,
Stay little valentine stay.
Each day is Valentine's Day.

Love to all my readers and Happy Valentine's Day!

Cupid Reigns Supreme!

First off...I'm pretty sure that I won't be anywhere near my blogger (heck I don't plan to be at home...but eh we'll see on that one), so this is going to be my dedication to the holiday of "love" (and these days, baby making...lol). Now I'm sure that everyone will be posting love songs, slow and romantic and sappy, but I decided to take an upbeat direction in my post to those who have reason to celebrate this holiday. Me personally, yall know I'm all for those types of songs, but this is the one song that always pops in my head when I think about Valentine's Day #dontjudgeme:



Well we've all heard of the infamous Punxsutawney Phil, the ninja groundhog that cursed us to 6 more weeks of winter (and Mother Nature complied with NO hesistation), Jolly Ole St. Nick, the Easter Bunny, and all those other things made up to keep holidays pure for the child's mind. Well this one isn't or rather shouldn't be for the children...because I dunno how I feel about Cupid Valentino goin around shootin the kids with arrows. I mean I'm all for love, but how much do you know about love at age 6?!

In this song, Cupid is the hero of this here love song. And he's lurking around trying to find out his next "victim" of his love arrow. The problem is that nobody wants to believe in Cupid like they do the others.

Ya' won't believe in me, but you would fancy
leprechauns or groundhogs
No thank you, Easter Bunny!

I for one get into love...and even though nobody has actually "seen" Cupid, I believe that he exists and shoots people when they least expect it. Don't sleep...cause you know deep down, you believe in love as well. SOMETHIN has got to propel it, why not believe in Cupid?

So to all of my lovebirds...be good...or be good at it. *snickers*

Happy Valentine's, Happy Valentine's
Happy Valentine's Day, Happy Valentine's Day!

So Let's Crawl

OK...in light of all that's been happening with Mr. Brown, I still think that he produced a damn good cd. Unfortunately, what happened between he and Rihanna put a damper on the selling ability of the cd, but that's not why he's the featured artist on today's blog.



This song right here...I think he really put his whole heart and soul into it (and I could be safe to say that the whole cd is a myriad of feelings toward and about his relationship with Rihanna). But this song is one that instantly caught the ear and mind...at first it was just because it sounded good, but as I listened more and more to it, the words started to pop out at me.

So where do we go from here
With all the fear in our eyes?
And where can love take us now?
We've been so far down, we can still touch the sky

If we crawl 'til we can walk again
Then we'll run until we're strong enough to jump
Then we'll fly until there is no wind

Yeah, this right here, shows that a man can make a mistake and can own up to it. Not only that, but he wants to right what wrong he committed. I think that if he and Rih had actually tried, they could have made it back to where they were before the beating incident happened. Even if they decided not to make it work, I think this song still applies to them, in the fact that they could still be friends after it was all said and done.

C. Breezy, I feel you on this song...I've been there before, and it's not a good look in the direct aftermath of all that happened. But if you and Rih can get back to good terms, then all of the purpose of this song will be fulfilled. Good luck to ya Son.

So let's crawl, crawl, crawl
Back to love, yeah

All Night Long

I must say...this was one of my favorite songs by the First Lady of Bad Boy, Faith Evans. I always get into an upbeat jam that'll make me nod my head to the beat, and this is what it did. Low key, I always felt like taking a trip to the roller skating rink and doin a couple of laps around the rink for old times sakes. LOL. I think what really attracted me to this song is that you don't really hear much upbeat music from Faith, so when I heard this one, it instantly caught my ear...

Another song that I love from her is this one right here:



Actually, I think this is my favorite song of hers...with All Night Long coming in a close second, both hailing from her "Keep the Faith" cd. I think that the pairing of her and 112 really hit the mark. Don't get me wrong, she's done some really great work with other people, but this song right here, will (and already has) go on the playlist that gets rotated while we groovin. (Keepin it PC...this is a family oriented site people..lol).

This song right here used to knock...and actually it still does:



featuring an up and coming Carl Thomas, this song is one that goes on the chill playlist. I was feelin this song the moment it came out, and the beat goes HARD. For real though...it's too bad Carl didn't blow up like he should have. But then again, he was a product of Bad Boy...so what were we supposed to expect? lol

And although I wasn't the biggest fan of her 2005 album:



This was one of the few silver linings that saved that CD from being a total flop to me. I wasn't really impressed with it, because it seemed that she tried to be too "hip" and the features of Mario Winans, they DEFINITELY could kept. But for some reason, I really liked this song. It kinda had a "lounge club" feel to it. Like I need to be sittin in a darkened club with a glass of Henny at my table and just kinda noddin my head to the beat while she serenades the entire room. LOL

Faith, we're waiting for another cd to drop from you. We need some good R&B to touch our ears once again, and I think that you're the just the lady to do it.

The Soul of a Man

Hey ladies....you ever wondered what it would be like to look into the deepest innards of a man and figure out what he's thinking? Do you ever wonder if he's into you as much as he says that he is. What would you think if a man ever told you that this is how he thinks of you:



That's right...he's just THAT into you. This song here should bring any doubts you have to a crumbling pile. I mean listen to the lyrics that he sings.

If I ever leave you baby
You can say I told you so
And if I ever hurt you
You know I'd hurt myself as well
Is that any way for a man to carry on
Do you think I want my loved one gone
I love you...more than you'll ever know
More than you'll ever know

The original, sung by the late great Donny Hathaway, inspired Kenny to cover this, and I must say, he covered and quite well. Unlike other covers, where they tried to channel the spirit of Donny himself, Kenny took this song, and made it his. Of all the versions of this song, Kenny's, I must say, is the best one (maybe this is what he sang to Chante').

Coming from the CD Soul of a Man, I think that this is the best song on that cd. Not sayin that the other songs aren't good, cause this is a great cd, but I think that this song is what puts it over the top. Of course it came from a great mind, so all Kenny had to do is put his own personal spin on it.

So tell me..how do you feel if your significant other told you this:

I'm only flesh and blood
But I'll be anything that you demand
I could be king of everything
or just a tiny grain of sand
Is that way for a man to carry on
Do you think I want my loved one gone
I love you.....more than you'll ever know

Hopefully, you'll love him just as much if not more.

Snowy Days

As I sit here looking out the window at the snow (for the 23789329703 time this year), I think about music that I'd listen to if I was sittin there with that special someone. Sometimes, music is all that's needed in order to get the mood right and tight. And here's one song that I definitely would have playing (and maybe more than once):



This is, has, and always will be my favorite Luther song. True enough, it's talkin about creepin around, but that withstanding, it's the perfect song to play while sittin in front of a fire with the boo, while drinkin some hot chocolate with Bailey's (or Henny #dontjudgeme). lol. Really, he's promoting steppin out on the one you're with to be with the one you're diggin, but let's be real, how many of us have done (or even thought) about doing the same thing. Especially when it seems that the grass is greener on the other side.

In reality, he's tellin her that he's willin to be her "one night stand", and that it'll be worth it to hold her for one night. (she must got that good stuff...lol)

Your eyes say things I'll never hear from you
And my knees are shakin too
But I'm willin, willin, too go through

I must be crazy
Standin in this place,
But I'm feelin your disgrace
For askin

Hey...you both know what it is. It's just a one time thing (which might turn into something more in the future), but for right now, all you wanna do is:

Let me hold you tight
If only for one night
Lemme keep you near
To ease away your fears
It would be so nice
If only for one night...