Chico DeBarge made a fantastic comeback to the music scene in the late nineties with two solid solo albums in the form of Long Time No See and The Game. Around late summer 2000, Chico seemingly stopped promoting his recent release, The Game, which is a shame because (“Sexual,” the Bobby Brown assisted “Talk About You,” and the Brian McKnight written “When Can I See You Again” were all single-worthy).
Instead, BET started to promote Debarge’s latest single, “Playa Hater.” The song found DeBarge reuniting with his frequent collaborator JOE for another smooth slow jam where DeBarge effectively croons about why he hates men who are doing their ladies wrong.
Nevertheless, “Playa Hater” is one of the strongest songs in the singer’s catalog. Initially set to appear on the soundtrack to the Jamie Foxx film Bait, the song only ended up becoming a single.
The track was a personal anthem of mine during my single days, but that is a story for another day.
Final Grade: A
“Playa Hater” is available on YouTube.
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.