The year was 1995, and I was a braces-wearing pimply-faced fourteen-year-old. The premiere R&B groups were Boyz II Men and Jodeci, basking in their third album’s success. The Thanksgiving movie season was getting ready to kick off with Toy Story and Goldeneye on track to do huge numbers. Around the same Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson would reunite for their third film, Money Train.
Growing up as a film connoisseur in the nineties, one of my favorite things about movies was the soundtrack. Sometimes an introduction to a new artist would come through a soundtrack appearance. In particular, the Hip Hop and R&B ones. My pick for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday is an R&B group whose music I first discovered on a soundtrack.
Most people think 112’s debut song was the classic “Only You” the group’s first recording was actually “Making Love” from the Money Train soundtrack. Up-and-coming producers Tim & Bob produced the song in addition to co-writing it with the members of 112. Q, Mike, Slim, and Daron were in their late teens when recording the track, and the group’s signature harmony comes across effortlessly. Q handles the first verse, with Slim coming in on the second verse. However, each member gets a chance to shine on the song. Concurrently the group’s church roots come across in the bridge.
While “Cupid,” the group’s signature ballad, would start a great run of hit slow jams for them, “Making Love” is a personal favorite. Along with “Why Didn’t You Love Me,” the song is one of the 112 rare ballads from the group’s early days that deserves more recognition.
Final Grade: A
“Making Love” from the Money Train soundtrack is available on YouTube.
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.