Since first gaining fame with his role as Power Ranger Joel Rawlings, actor Keith Robinson has always been a force in the entertainment industry. With his current role as Dr. Ted Richardson on the hit soap “Beyond the Gates”, Robinson is adding more to his resume. However, as longtime fans know, he’s also one hell of a singer.
Robinson recently released the lead single “Forever Bae” from his upcoming album, “Love Episodic II. On his latest single, Robinson doesn’t just serenade his lover. He weaves a warm, slow-burning affirmation of eternal devotion that sounds like it’s been carved right out of the man’s heart and onto the track.
Robinson wrote the song with producer Jamezz Bon, who returns the favor in kind with a honeyed, classic soul backbone awash in smooth harmonies and earnest sincerity. “Forever Bae” is no gimmick. It’s a grown man unashamedly baring his heart in the most grown-man way possible.
Inspired in part by his performance as Dr. Ted Richardson on the soapy smash “Beyond the Gates” and in part by a real-life love story that the South Florida singer wanted to pay tribute to, “Forever Bae” blurs the line between fact and fiction, art imitating life with buttery falsettos and Sunday-morning sentiment. (“This is the beginning, this is our night / Mighta took a minute, but we got it right”) The opening lines set the tone for a mature, weathered romance that’s been through the wars and come out on the other side together.
Robinson’s voice is equal parts velvet and gravel, an instrument that speaks to decades of both heartache and devotion. The repetition of the lines “Now we are one…This is our forever, baby” could be some hackneyed radio slogan. Still, Robinson takes excellent care to give the words gravity, turning the hook into a mantra, a wedding vow wrapped up in satin and soul.
“Forever Bae” isn’t reinventing the wheel. It doesn’t need to. At its heart, R&B is still just about connection, and in a sea of disposable culture and fly-by-night romances, Keith Robinson reminds us that some things don’t change. Forever is still a possibility. Sometimes, it comes with a hook you can slow dance to.
Final Grade: B+
“Forever Bae” is available on all streaming platforms while “Love Episodic II” is due out in the fall.
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.