Oldie Butta GoodieBar: Lola’s Birthday Edition!!

So, today (February 4th) is my birthday – whoop whoop! Although I still went to work and went through all the painful motions of getting up and staying late, I actually had a great day and felt good about being a year older (gasp!) for once. Another year for me means another year of the ChokLit Factory! This means more music, more videos, more album reviews and more reminiscing. It also means more blog readers, more discussions and more growth. Most importantly, more growth. I am doing my best to expand the CF and getting more of my over 300+ daily readers more vocal in how I run things. You can also expect more trips and more Region Music features, like the ones we did for Atlanta.

Since it is my birthday, I can listen to whatever I want and today’s choice for an Oldie Butta GoodieBar includes two selections!

First: Donnell Jones – Knock Me Off My Feet.

Stevie Wonder to me, is one of the greatest singers and performers of our (or before my) time. Most of his work is covered by many artists because it really is that good and that timeless. I came upon Donnell’s song and video for Knock Me Off My Feet a week or so back and haven’t been able to shake it since. I think Donnell has done Stevie so proud with this cover; his voice is effortlessly smooth like velvet. The video is shamefully low budget in an attempt to be artistic. I see they were trying to go for an abstract look, but the song deserved more effort, in my opinion. Check out the video!

Second: UGK feat. Outkast: International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You)

And for my next selection, I wanted to showcase something a little closer to my heart right now. I just turned 27 and my older brother and his girlfriend of 5 years are contemplating settling down, while my mother wonders when I will do the same :S Welllll nothing is in the stars yet for this Aquarius, but I know my brother is feeling the heat to put a ring on it. UGK and Outkast contemplated the idea of marriage in their classic video for their hit song, International Player’s Anthem (I Choose You). Produced by Three Six Mafia’s DJ Paul &  Juicy J, with a video directed by Bryan Barber, the video is a testimony to the absurdity all some men and women associate with marriage. My favourite line: “If that B*tch do you dirty, we’ll wipe her ass out as in detergent“  Classic.

Oldie Butta Goodie Bar/Chew On This! Aaliyah sings about a Choosey Lover – Where dey at?

After leaving Jive Records in 1996, Aaliyah teamed up with producers Timbaland and Missy Elliot to produce her next album, One in a Million. For that album, Aaliyah recorded a remake of the Isley Brothers’ 1983 hit, Choosey Lover (track 6 on the album).

Here are some lyrics:

Choosey Lover, Boy I’m So Proud Of Ya.
I’m So Glad You Chose Me, Baby.
And I’ll Make You So Happy.

Thought I Had A Love, But I Was Kidding Myself, Baby.
By The Time I Learned The Truth About It,
He Was Sleeping With Someone Else.
But Not You, Baby.

………

Cause You’re givin Me…..givin Me Security, Baby
And You Proven What You Said…(Ohh)
Never Worried About You Baby, Jumpin In And Out Of Bed.
Ohhhh, But Not My Baby.

I used to bump this song all the time, but really began to fully understand the real meaning of the lyrics during the past 2 or 3 years.  According to this song (and my own definitions) a Choosey Lover is someone who simply is a selective or picky person who takes much thought and effort into choosing a mate. They weigh the benefits and negatives aspects of a person, whether it be their past (it matters), their ambitions in life, their morals (very important in my opinion) or the way they treat people in general.

I find with a lot f my friends or acquaintances – men and women, happen to wave or ignore the pursuance of these admirable qualities in a mate and offer various excuses for doing so. These include: ‘hey its hard to find a man/woman out here!’;  or, ‘hey, beggers can’t be choosers!’; or my favorite, ‘I don’t want to die alone!’

To counter these arguments I would argue that when you take care in the kinds of people you choose to bring into your life, you can save yourself from extra drama being brought into your life. And yes, you do have to take a chance, a leap of faith if you will, when choosing to enter into a relationship with someone, I think taking more care into the actual choosing of your mate will determine the level of drama, happiness and heartbreak you will endure as a result of the union.

Oldie Butta GoodieBar: City High – Caramel

For some reason I was reminescing on this group the other day. City High consisted of three artists, Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo and Claudette Ortiz. All three met each other in high school in Jersey city, where they formed City High. Later they were signed by Wyclef Jean and released their popular single What Would you Do, back in 2001. Caramel was their second and most popular single released off their self-titled debut album. I posted this song on my Facebook page and got a pretty favorable reaction. I always liked Claudette’s voice. Alongside her beauty, her voice had a really nice tone to it. She seemed poised for super-stardom, but I think drama and jealously led to the group’s demise. Claudette married group member Ryan Toby and gave birth to 2 sons with him. Last year I read a VIBE article that hinted Claudette’s return to the music scene (alongside her husband who had been attempting a return for years). According the Wikipedia’s report, Claudette recently gave birth to another child that was not her husband’s. Do not quote me on this rumor.  Regardless, this is a really cute song that showcased the savvy hood-meets-pop music production style that was Jerry ‘Wonder’ Duplessis. I hope to hear more from Claudette in the near future!

Oldie Butta GoodieBar – Kelly Price: Friend of Mine Remix

Here’s another oldie buttagoodie. Kelly Price has a beuatiful voice. But as we all know, that’s not all you need to make it in this business. Price has suffered with her weight issues for a long time before she finally changed her routine and made the change to remain in good shape for life. But that is not what this song is about.  Friend of Mine is a song about the age-old tale of the ‘best-friend’ who betrays the Code and gets dirty with her girl’s man. It is the ultimate betrayl and it hurts like Hell. In the video, Kelly is pouring her eyes out on the phone with her godfather (played and sung by Mr. Bigg himself, Ronald Isely) as she explains to him what happened. Her man/husband (played and sung by Robert Kelly) has done the ultimate betrayl by sleeping with her best friend. This is one of many soap opera-like songs Kelly had penned before he created the wildly popular Trapped In the Closest series. My favourite line of this song is when Mr. Bigg calls  the cheating R.Kelly on the phone as he lays in bed,

“This is Mr. Bigg,”

“How you doin’ Mr. Bigg” sings Kelly in a high-pitched squeal. Lol i love it!!

Oldie Butta GoodieBar: Dru Hill – Tell Me

LOL @ Sisquo lookin all deranged...

Dru Hilll was the GROUP back then. Back when Male R&B groups (not boy bands) were still making it in the R&B world. Before going solo was the trend. Before the ‘Thong Song’. Dru Hill had church choir harmonies, a flamboyant lead singer, jerky dance moves and an incredible talent for crafting melodies. As a result, Dru Hilll has delivered many many quality R&B songs during the 90s. I still listen to their music today – even the work they put out recently. Sadly, mainsteam music listeners no longer has patience for a male group unless you are a teenage heartthrobs…and preferably white. But I do remember when R&B groups like 112, Jagged Edge and Jodeci were still great and were still making great music. This is one of my all-time fave Dru Hill songs. Sisqo is killin me with the silver hair in the video and the above picture, but I just love his voice on this track especially. I think all of his antics overshadowed the great talent he had as an artist. Sadly, Sisqo is seen as more of a joke or an afterthough nowadays, but I always thought he delivered some great music. Not to take away from the other group members of Dru Hill. Universal is being all protective of its properties so click on the link to see the video. And share your thoughts on this song or other Dru Hill songs. I know you have one!

Dru Hill – Tell Me

Oldie Butta GoodieBar: Musiq Soulchild – Love

I had to post this video for the Lovers. Music Soulchild debuted in 2000 with his album Aijuswanaseing (I Just wanna Sing). This album is one of my favourite debuts of an artist – it had some great songs on there. Love really hit a personal note for many people due to its soulful and insightful lyrics such as:

Love, So many people use your name is vain

Love, Those that have faith in you sometimes go astray

Love, Though all the ups and downs, the joys and hurts

Love, For better or worse, I still will choose your first.

This was such a sweet song and video **sigh**.  I agree that many people use the word Love in vain – using it in any situation where it may benefit them. We may all be guilty of doing so…or maybe not. But true love is no joke, so I guess it should be used wisely.

Some interesting facts about this song: Love was initially called Lord, but Musiq changed the title becasue he didn’t want it to be viewed as a Gospel song. This song was actually meant to be for Lauryn Hill. It spent 38 weeks on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts, peaking at #2;  it also spent 22 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at #24.

Oldie Butta GoodieBar: Avant – Separated

R&B singer Avant first came onto the scene back in 2000 with this song Separated. It eventually shot up to number 1 on the US R&B charts and was very popular amoung R&B heads. Avant is from Cleveland orginally and has a sound and look similar to his idol R.Kelly’s – hence the constant comparison between both artsits. I can see the resemblance music and stylewise, but Avant was alot softer than R.Kelly with his image and his music. In my opinion, he was at his best when he kept to this formula. If you’ve been sleepin’ on Avant, you really must check out some of his older albums, starting with My Thoughts, Ecstasty (ChokLit’s Choice) and Private Room. Even Director was good. If you remember this video, Avant is haunted by an Ex girlfriend who goes a little pyscho when he breaks things off with her and decides to get revenge on Avant in a crazy way. A Hood classic – even if you ain’t from the Hood! Enjoy.

Avant also did a Remix to Separated with a young Kelly Rowland. You can peep that video here.

Oldie Butta Goodie Bar: Jodeci – Feenin’

I told ya’ll I was working on my Jodeci

I was at the hair salon the other day when they started playing the Illest R&B DJ mix I’ve heard in a long time! I’m talking about all the classics – from the early 90s and on. I was thisclose to severing ties with my stylist and just theifin’ the damn CD right there – I would appreciate it more than she would! As would my readers!

Alas, the stylist and I are still on good terms: I instead made some mental notes of the songs I needed to follow up on and here we are. Feenin’ by Jodeci circa 1994 from their sophomore album, Diary of a Mad Band.  I love this song! The first thought that came to mind when I watched the video was: N’SYNC bited Jodeci with their video directly stealing Feenin’s concept. The second thought was: the song and video are both very sexy and raw. It reminds me of a time in R&B – post-NewJack Swing era, where it was still cool to sing with great emotion and conviction; to sing about what someone’s love does to you or means to you, without mentioning you purchasing them the Gucci or the Louis.  This video was directed by Hype Williams & Devante. I am now beginning to understand the allure of this Mad Band. After 26 years (young!) at that….Enjoy!

*Sidenote: Peep the Baron’s POV on what happened to Jodeci nowadays. Sadly, these guys are NOT lookin well…

Oldie Butta Goodie Bar: Faith Evans – I Love You

In 2001, R&B singer Faith Evans released her third album Faithfully on Bad Boy records. I Love You was released after the debut single, You Gets No Love. In the video, a newly 50 pounds lighter, Faith sings about her Love in  a revealing low-cut dress.  This is such a great song and in my humble opinion, it solidified Faith as a major voice in the R&B world. If you didn’t feel her before this song (that would be me) you were feelin’ her after this song.  Faith has a timeless voice; maybe she was born into the wrong generation. Too often Bad Boy would try to peg her as a Urban dance artist but I believe songs like this were her strong suit. And 2001 was one of the last great years in Urban music and videos.

My favourite line: “First time, I saw your face/ My heart just erased, all the guys I knew be-fore you walked into my life/ I was the type to never want for nothing” I’m such a sucka for love songs

Oldie Butta Goodie Bar: Sade – By Your Side

Its been a tough few days for me thanks to some harsh deadlines at the plantation work. Deadlines for me usually mean 13 hour work days, countless hours spent in front of a computer screen (sans blogging or music!) and very little sleep. So I am so glad it is all over and I can relax and catch up on some posts! Last night I actually pulled an all-nighter and stayed up until 5am finishing things up. I had to rely on Red Bull, chocolate and my R&B CDs to keep me awake – just like the ‘good’ days in College! Amoung many songs that kept me entertained, was this song, By your Side, from Sade’s 2000 album Lover’s Rock. Back in 2000, I wasn’t really familiar with the band other than it being one my Mom liked to listen to. So this song was a pleasant surprise for me. It is a very calming, beautiful song that speaks about a simple love, but a deep one nonetheless.  This is one of those – “I’mma play this at my wedding”-type songs as well. The video – with very colorful visuals, was directed by Sophie Muller. Enjoy!