Sheet Music: The New Babymakers

Don’t judge me…I spend a lot of time at work behind a laptop with my iPod on.  Sometimes in the shuffle, songs come on that aren’t exactly conducive to answering e-mails.

Anita Baker belonged to our parents’ generation and Brian McKnight is only really relevant in terms of the music you hear while shopping at Barnes & Noble.  R. Kelly’s 12 Play is still relevant, but you can’t help but think about high school freshmen girls and a certain Dave Chappelle parody your co-worker got fired for circulating at the office.  Every time you put on a Jodeci song, you chuckle to yourself at some point remembering that Youtube footage of JoJo passing out onstage and K-Ci just walking over him to finish the rest of the performance (and you know you’re going to Hell on a full scholarship just for laughing).  You can’t even put on Sade anymore because you’ve attached her greatest hits CD to some horrible night in college when there was too much MD 20/20 consumed and not enough good sense involved with someone you normally wouldn’t even let borrow money…you know.  And you’re too grown to really get busy to Pretty Ricky (that or you’re thinking about member Spectacular’s infamously disturbing bikini-briefed cakeboy dance).  Why not make some new memories the next time you try to be slick and set the mood?  And you don’t even need to offer up a massage you’re not really trained to give.

Thanks to imeem.com, which I swear by at this point, you can hear almost (there were a few tracks I couldn’t find) any song instantly.  Click the links of the song titles to be directed to the site for a full listen or just search them on their database…no downloads or sneaky sh*t.  Oh, and unless you really want some babies (some might even influence twins or triplets if combined with a little Black Love incense), please…wrap it up, B!  This list is brought to you by the good folks at Trojan and Planned Parenthood…

1. “Music” – Jazmine Sullivan f/ Floetry: I have no clue what album or soundtrack this is from (holla if you did my homework for me), but this song is next-level.  I have a ten minute version.  Floetry never disappoints, but Jazmine Sullivan’s throaty vocals add a contrast to Marsha Ambrosius’ silky voice that just kinda takes it there.  Play this for a woman on a date and get points for digging up a lesser-known jam.
   

   Floetry

2. “Freakin’ Me” – Jamie Foxx f/ Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry: If the title didn’t already let you know, this joint gets down to business from jump street with Jamie talkin’ about “a part of me wants a part of you, babe”.  The groove is a little reminiscent of some throwback Silk songs, but Marsha comes through yet again to light up your night.  Get the body oils out.
3. “Bad Habits” – Maxwell: Fellas…if you do not yet know the effect Maxwell has on women, then you just probably need to hang it up altogether.  Enough babies have been born accidentally off of Maxwell albums to populate the state of Vermont.  Combine it with the right incense or a Tocca candle (get up on these immediately…this one I linked has a rich, masculine scent so it doesn’t smell like fairies & unicorns have been all up and through your apartment) and you might just get lady-raped that evening.  This track is no different.
4. “Andromeda & The Milky Way” & “Come Smoke My Herb“ - Me’shell N’degeocello: I’m not sure if people just have difficulty with her name (I’m not even sure I spelled this correctly), but this is a slept-on artist.  Her style is somewhat rock-meets-soul, but a little on the uncategorized side, which is usually a good thing.  These two tracks definitely do it for the late night.
5. “Show Me”, “Sweet Justice“ & “All I” – Jill Scott: Still on my neo-soul sh*t, Jill is always a staple.  Ever since that first Who Is Jill Scott? album became one of the few classic non-rap albums by a female artist that guys could rock to on a regular basis without shame.  Jill is our generation’s answer to the Nancy Wilsons, the Anita Bakers, and even (dare I say) Sade.   It doesn’t even matter what she’s talking about (unless it’s long walks or mashed potatoes & collard greens)…Jill delivers in this particular department.
6. “Believe” & “Breathe” – Raheem Devaughn: If you’re not already up on Raheem Devaughn, seen him live once and own a physical copy of The Love Experience, I don’t really know what you’re even doing in life.  He also has a new mixtape out called The Art of Noise.
7. “Queen of Sanity” & “White Turns to Gray (from unreleased album Love for Sale…track this down!)” – Bilal: Again…see this man live if you call yourself a music lover to any degree.


Bilal live at the Elysee Montmartre

Throwbacks - Some older tracks that haven’t been played out yet and still get the job done.

1. “Cheers 2 U” – Playa: Tell me you remember this.
2. “Comforter” – Shai: The HU alums just didn’t make bad music.
3. Ghetto Cyrano – Christion (the whole last half of this album): Too bad Jay-Z couldn’t figure out how to market a soul act.  This album was pimped-out soulful perfection.
4. “Lady Lay Your Body” & “Hey Now” – Carl Thomas (from the album Emotional): What happened, Carl?
5. “Said Enough” - The Isley Brothers f/ Jill Scott

What are your babymakers?

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