Following the lukewarm response of his debut solo album King of Stage in 1986, teen idol Bobby Brown was at his crossroads in his career. While his former bandmates New Edition had linked up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis to oversee production on their Heartbreak album, Brown elected to work with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Antonio “L.A.” Reid. L.A. and Babyface were already making a name for themselves in music, so it was a brainer to work with them. In May 1988, Brown released “Don’t Be Cruel,” the first single from his same-titled sophomore album.
Music historians liken the song to Janet Jackson’s “Control” as it showcased a maturing artist coming into his own. From the opening instrumentation moments of the song to the moment Bobby sings the first note, he displays confidence well beyond his age of 18 when he recorded the song. L.A. and Babyface, with additional writing by Daryl Simmons, provided Brown with a song that has a man pursuing a woman who isn’t interested in his games.
Don’t Be Cruel was the beginning of a successful atop-the-charts run for Brown and one of his most notable songs. Thirty-three years later, the song still sounds fresh, and I can’t help but smile every time Brown does his rap in the song.
Final Grade: A
Don’t Be Cruel is available on all streaming platforms.
Nineties R&B was home to many female groups, so standing out took more than good looks and a major industry endorsement. I still remember seeing Allure in a Vibe ad and thinking how gorgeous those four women were. The question was whether they had the talent to compete in the music scene.
In 1996, I first heard the Houston quartet Ideal on the Original Gangsters soundtrack. Their interpretation of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” featuring the Chi-Lites, caught my attention.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.
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