R&B singer Tank has been in the music industry for over two decades. He is currently on the road with R&B legends Guy and Keith Sweat as one of the opening acts for New Edition’s Legacy Tour. Despite Tank’s pen game and impressive catalog, some eighties babies weren’t keen on Tank as part of the tour.
While I can admit that some of Tank’s conspiracy theories on Instagram were far-fetched, he is a talented brother, and I still play his music regularly. Having attended the D.C. show for the Legacy tour, I can assure N.E. fans. Tank had a concise set. That said, I wanted to give the brother his just due and highlight one of my favorite songs from his sophomore album, One Man, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Arriving in stores in the fall of 2022, The same-titled lead single led One Man. Like many R&B artists before him, Tank was better at tender, sexed-up balladry than he was at dance floor material. From a writing standpoint, Tank can craft a narrative that resonates with the listener and draws them in with his smooth tones and lush beats. He captures a feeling of love and romance that is difficult to achieve with upbeat, dance-oriented music. “One Man” is a cop-out choice, so I decided to go with “Cake & Ice Cream” (feat. H.E.A.T.).
The seventh song on the album is about a man who is involved with three women and feels conflicted about whom to choose. The title “Cake & Ice Cream” represents the three women as choices and the difficulty of choosing between them. The first woman (“Girl 1”) is his high school sweetheart, who is attractive and successful. He reminisces about their past experiences together and their intense physical attraction. However, he has a child with another woman, and another woman lives with him, which complicates his feelings.
The second woman (“Girl 2”) is the woman he cheated on his first love with. She is dutiful, reliable, and responsible, supporting him financially when times get tough. However, she is suspicious of his other women and wants a committed relationship with him. Lastly, the third woman (“Girl 3”) is called the “bonus chick” or the one who is not the primary choice. Although he is not as invested in her as the other two, he still enjoys her company and sees her as an escape from his troubles.
The song’s chorus emphasizes his confusion and indecisiveness about which woman to choose and the consequences of his actions. He has to choose one woman to be with, which will inevitably hurt the others. The song highlights the complexities of love and the difficulties of relationships and infidelity. While Tank has had his share of misses in his later career, “Cake & Ice Cream” is still one of his better album tracks.
Final Grade: B+
“Cake and Ice Cream” from One Man is available on all streaming platforms.
There are some albums you revisit because of nostalgia, and then there are albums you return to because they remind you just how high the standard used to be. Anita Baker’s Rapture falls into that second category. Released in 1986, the album did more than make Baker a star. It helped define what sophisticated, grown R&B could sound like without losing any soul, sensuality, or personality.
Gwen Stefani had already established herself as a significant force with No Doubt when she released her debut solo album, *Love. Angel. Music. Baby* in 2004. This week, while my iPod was on shuffle, one of my favorite songs from that project, “The Real Thing,” came on. Although the original version has an upbeat new-wave feel, the Slow Jam Mix takes it to another level and is the perfect choice for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Unless you’re a music purist, mentioning Randy Jackson from the famous family is likely to elicit a joke. However, any serious Jackson fan knows that Randy had musical achievements long before the punchlines. Before he was old enough to buy a drink, he had already co-written “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” and “Lovely One” with Michael Jackson.