random old r&b you are loving

heard howard hewett's "show me" for the first time recently -- the kinda song i love to let myself get lost in + never get back out. gorgeous.

Waiting for a drag queen to lip synch for their life to Super Woman by Karyn White.

And Don't Disturb This Groove by The System is waiting for it's Toro Y Moi cover.

Discovered this song about a year ago (source of the sample from Kanye's 'Late') and then forgot about it until recently. Unforgivably, because it's utterly effing gorgeous:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d_HlgFRh3U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bnZTHLxhEo

case "missing you"

lol apparently a new yfn lucci song w/ trey songz samples that ^^^. maybe that's why i randomly heard it again on a quiet storm hour around the time of making that post

the new one is lyrically clunky and generally undistinguished... but the smoldering production, even lifted wholesale from "missing you" like that, makes it stand out somehow

702 — "gotta leave"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ai1IFqbii3k

not even kidding when i say one of my favorite songs of the 90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3ucc-fep4

^^ Boyz II Men • I Do ^^

killer harmonies, holy hell!

i used to do a lot of a capella singing and have always wanted to sing this one with a group. such a cool tune.

that's awesome. i sound like an angry frog when i try to sing, so that shit is mad impressive to me, dude.

here's an underrated group:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwZfjDQtOro

loose ends — "you can't stop the rain"

excellent. I've been jamming a lot of that smooth R&B from 80s and 90s lately.

this track hits the spot too - they were British?

this has been one of my nighttime slow jamz lately

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdIOlNMXvwo

mista - blackberry molasses
keith sweat - i'll give all my love to you
mariah carey - can't let go

brian mcknight - one last cry

another heavy favorite by 702 in a similar theme: "get it together"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhXOTTk2Of4

so, when i first started djing, at like age sixteen, my dj name was "dj spin." i made mixtapes. so many friggin` maxell tapes. anyway, one of the series of mixes that i made was "slow jam spin." i think we got up to like volume five? so yeah. the 90s r+b slow jam is kind of hallowed ground for me.

maybe ten people —EVER— actually heard any of those mixes.

sorry one more shout for another heavy hitter: "funky ride", one of the best 'fake funkadelic' jams ever:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2gZiL7NjMg

outkast was the fucking greatest ever.

just an interlude, but it's beautiful and it's what i need on this otherwise gloomy day

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCYzB9kkTz0

that’s Boyz II Men • Khalil.

Neanderthal, I’m just gonna keep ID’ing the tracks you post, for searching purposes and, you know, Posterity. So many of these video links end up dead, making threads like these barren.
I missed Shai’s “Comforter” earlier.

good call, sorry about that - I'll label them ongoing

Sparkle-Be Careful- saddest song ever
Eric Benét-Harriet Jones
Ronald Isley-Contagious

Divine - Lately
https://youtu.be/yybS6pHRaCc

Already posted about this on Twitter, but this song popped into my head the other day, and I was SO UPSET when I learned that it's not on Spotify!!!

something a little more uptempo. and honestly, another one of my favorite songs of the 90s. . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5IEGUuhAtI

yvette michele — "let's stay together"

the whole album is fantastic. i was a huge fan back then and have fond memories of buying the album on its release date. it came out the week before i started my sophomore year in high school, so it's pretty much peak nostalgia at this point. album still holds up, too. very much "fake mary j", but killer production and i love her voice, so i was okay with it. and plus, it taught me the invaluable lesson of being nice to short people.

so andy just reminded me of something that i had completely forgotten. . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKEn47RKU4E

(song is the "oh honey" remix of "kissin' you" by total)

i had this on a cassette single that had the original (raphael saadiq produced!) mix and this remix on both sides of the tape. and i had an auto-reverse player, so i often played just those two mixes over and over again, but the remix was my preferred version. i picked it up at sam goody one day when they were having a rare promotion where they would put cassette singles on sale; certain titles would be three for $7 (+sales tax, of course). you had to buy three to get the deal, otherwise it was just regular price and most cassette singles were $2.99, so it was kind of buy two get one free. anyway, i had two other tapes i wanted (probably hiphop titles; there's some debate as to what they were) and just bought the total one so i could get the deal. it ended up being my favorite, or at least the one i played the most.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8hPPId_8_s

this remix always made me feel like the more well-known album version was a sick joke.

^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Groove Theory • Tell Me (BKNY R&B mix)

(hey, just picking up the slack)

aiiiyyeeeee, sorry. forgot my manners. =/

tssk!

(good remix btw, as for the original: you got the *sick* part right)

Maybe too old but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lxp7WVXiXU

oh dear

that would be

Lee Moses • Bad Girl

Oh, okay, I see, sorry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPtIUPdkClg
The Marvelettes • No More Tearstained Makeup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l2sUT6U4kI
Martha & The Vandellas • No More Tearstained Makeup
(Written by Smokey Robinson, in case you couldn’t tell)

brandy - 'you're always on my mind' (1994)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1REudWlmE-Y

classic deep album cuts are my favorite cuts.

I've been on a massive Brandy binge lately thanks to Moesha finally appearing on Netflix

been spinning this old playlist I pulled together of slept on R&B jams lately
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4w9yhobquqPfBCEVS4aKpd?si=KgfntFK6Qe2r6CDurBrw-g

I was loving Lovecraft Country for the old stuff tehy were p[laying and wishing they'd avoid newer sounds.
Do love that stuff from jumnp blues in teh 40s through to the point when it evolves into something more recognisable as soul and protofunk and things.

Have had bits of Bobby Bland running through my head and want to pick up that Solomon Burke set soon.
Not going to get to browse places like FOPP, Honest Jon's and various other places in London this Xmas which is a shame.
BUt assume they may not be open for things like that at the moment anyway.

Does Imagination count? Because episode 3 of "Small Axe" reminded me how genius "Nightdubbing" is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voejP1oCyWM

mentioned upthread, but they were ahead of their time, love me some loose ends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxWoP1v4rKI

while i'm at it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoiu3RhQ3ZI

one last oldie goldie

as noted upthread: please label the tracks you’re posting, both for searching purposes and Posterity. so many of these video links end up broken, making threads like these barren.
merci beaucoup!

ah, ok , sorry, tracks i posted above are
1) loose ends - magic touch
2) little annie - deep shadows
3) cameo - she's strange

oops - little ann, not little annie...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-FLTzO2gEw

Would like to go back to something for a moment. And if you know Golden Age era hiphop and have pressed play on the above link, you probably have already recognized one of the most absolutely infectious and carefree moments in recorded music. The song that channeled that moment is 'Evil Vibrations' by The Mighty Ryeders. It's a song that has been compiled many times because of its hiphop notoriety and we have subsequently heard it a lot. It's a song that Andy knows well enough to of course know all of the words, but also all of those little one-off inflections and imperfections that make it such an absolutely classic track. The way the sax solo is constantly up and down in the mix throughout its duration, as if the player couldn't stay near the mic for more than two seconds, when the initial verse harmony hits when the second vocalist come in there's this funny little vocalization — too many things that Andy has noticed, because I have listened to it a lot.

The band that created that masterpiece only ever released one poorly distributed album in 1978 and seems to have promptly disappeared — though Andy can't remember reading about them in Wax Poetics, that does seem like the kind of place where one may have read about them in the 21st century. We had never heard the album until very recently. It was reissued in the early 90s by the great Luv`n`Haight label and has stayed in print via vinyl reissues in recent years, which is terrific. We finally decided it was time to seek out the album after 'Evil Vibrations' recently showed up in an unpredictable way. And wow, am very glad we did. Not so much in actual music, but in the vibe of the magnitude of this hidden masterpiece, Andy would absolutely liken it to Shuggie Otis, 24 Carat Black, or maybe even David Axelrod in terms of how its greatness is only matched by its obscurity. As for actual sonics, it would seem like the group was probably big fans of Earth, Wind, + Fire (and it would have been amazing to see them get a larger budget and chase this sound a little more seriously) and some of the more mid-tempo numbers are reminiscent of the Come Into Knowledge album by RAMP (if you know that one, which you should). For the most part, it's just that kind of mid-70s funk that is so recognizable and likeable — but there's some ballads in there and they're just as great. It's been one of the only things we've been listening to lately and it's one of Andy's favorite things to have come along in quite a while.

That song sounds so crisp, like the tapes were packed in nitrogen for maximum freshness

hadn't thought of this song in an eternity. used to love both the original with its Soul II Soul beat and the post-MJB breakthrough remix by fresh new r&b soundmasters Mark>Cory Rooney and Mark Morales:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJFk4GlT8SI
Trey Lorenz • Photograph of Mary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK4QCY6Q8g4
Trey Lorenz • Photograph Of Mary (Rooney & Morales Remix)

(spurred by the Trey convo here)

don't remember the song, but am definitely enjoying both versions right now. thx.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxJAsHQ31og

(tony toni tone` — tell me mama)

was this a single or is sons of soul just that much of a classic?

YEEAAHH BAYBUH

...bring it down

oh this is definitely approved for all audiences.

Wow!

lol if you want a cheap banger my friend

jeez, promo only. no wonder nobody heard it!

what a tune this is eh?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DWGdW5QxE4
Tashan - Chasin' A Dream

random old instrumentals u r lovin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMD4ftB452o

P.Diddy - I Need A Girl (Part 1) (Instrumental)

picked up a copy of 100% ginuwine from the record store yesterday, damn this still goes hard

Diana King - Shy Guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szjaHbjhauk

a live version from 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSA2u7JOdpU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtwBJycUihw

DLR - Shy Boy

I was today years old (actually 15 minutes ago) that I first heard Labelle’s cover of “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Holy crap.

mmhmm shy guy hit's the spot

the sweet inspirations - "i'm blue" (1967)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM25njAXUko

would've easily preferred this over "shoop" on the radio as a kid.

dave hollister - on the side
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kixmmQbz_A

Latoiya Williams - Fallen Star
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgOTMNTZTIY

that beat is great, reminds me of trans df express
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zv4VFUGVh4

nice!

i was getting d'angelo vibes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZVaAwPinbs

this telepopmusik re-edit of a 702 classic is fucking delectable, holy shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW1NRVI0rIg

702 - "get it together (telepopmusik lofi flip)" (1996/2023)

absolutely one of the top jams of the 90s and beyond. they definitely did it justice here. whoo!

i have zero recollection of this, but holy jam!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y2_3CTres4

andrea martin - "hung up" (1998)

thats great, never heard of her that i know of

that's the kind of 90s R&B I simp for. smooth af

is Case still around?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNk_QvGRWM

spottie-

Real Name:
Andrea Monica Martin
Profile:

Andrea Martin (Born: April 14, 1972 – Died: September 27, 2021) was an American R&B singer-songwriter and producer. Has also written hit songs for other artists including En Vogue, Toni Braxton, SWV and Monica.

neanderthal-
lol i hated case back then! he definitely had some jams in retrospect.

yes, was gonna say just that:

Andrea Martin was a *serious* songwriter who really never made it as an artist in her own right.
just check her Wikipedia.

especially this section: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Martin_(musician)#In_the_charts_as_a_writer

she died in 2021, sadly.

damn! undetermined cause of death...

i love that adina howard track.

the whole album is good, btw. def recommend.

so tempted to do a loose ends albums poll.

love that case song so much

i'd like to go back to the classics for a moment—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9AxynJ5v_A
bohannon — "singing a song for my mother" (1973)

mint condition - sometimes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM3BqGXkZwc
more of rock song but was just listening to definition of a band and was kind of blown away by it.

"This was played at Watts Club Mozambique In Detroit , MI male exotic male strip club classic jam r.i.p. watts club Mozambique"

classic internet comment

I wasn’t consciously aware of “Swing My Way” by K.P. & Envyi – tho looks like it was a fairly big hit, I’m sure I heard it at the time. The breakdown section is great…

I adored that record when it came out…all time classic imo

yeah, that's a certified banger back where i'm from. i consider it just a small tier below other alltimers like "my boo"

top shelf mid/late-90s r&b/bass hybrid for sure

erm?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAck_yq0nv8

idesia - "nu" (2015)

not something super old, but a jam that's been on my mind a lot lately-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSZRxo6Qz6k
jenevieve - "deep in the shallow end" (2022)

i love her, btw. first found her thanks to ya'll + this ep is still her most recent thing. this song closes it out + i am at a stage with it where i'm deep diving into the lyrics. but what a bop! the mildly peter hook-y part, the chorus that's ripping off something i can't place rn, the whole 'underneath the wave' coda... this jam is an entire meal.

Yeah, this is really nice... "Love Quotes" (from the same EP) was one of my faves that year :)