On a rainy Sunday evening of December 10th, R&B music fans took a trip back to the nineties with an exceptional performance of the legendary R&B trio SWV at the MGM Theater at the National Harbor. The group commenced their set with an energetic and captivating performance of two hit songs, “Can We” and “I’m So Into You.” The crowd was on their feet, and the ambiance was electrifying as the ladies continued to perform dancefloor anthems, including “You’re The One,” “Right Here,” and “Someone.”
On the ballad tip, the ladies found the time to cater to the men in the audience with “Rain,” “Downtown,” and, to my surprise, the album track “It’s About Time.” The highlight of the evening, though, had to be the ladies each getting a solo spotlight. Taj did a cover of “Heard It All Before,” Lelee put her foot in “Untitled How Does It Feel,” while Coko took us to church with a performance of her debut solo single “Sunshine.”
As the night drew to a close, my heart was filled with joy upon hearing the ladies of SWV deliver a stunning rendition of Patti LaBelle’s timeless classic, “If Only You Knew .”The crowd was in awe as the trio concluded their performance with their iconic hit, “Weak,” and sang along in perfect harmony. While I have had the pleasure of attending multiple SWV concerts over the years and understand the importance of catering to fans, I couldn’t help but yearn for them to reintroduce the seductive “All Night Long” and their 2016 chart-topping hit, “MCE (Man Crush Everyday)”, into their shows.
Final Grade: B+
From his early days in the family group Wings of Faith, Mr. Gill was born to make music. However, as R&B fans know, Johnny Gill’s initial release with Atlantic Records failed to make a significant impact when it first came out. The 1983 self-titled debut showed a strong voice struggling to adapt to a studio that couldn’t properly utilize its power.
My introduction to Myron was with the song “Sistas” on the “Eddie” soundtrack in the summer of 1996. Before setting up his solo album, Myron would write classics for Mya and Dru Hill. “Destiny” was written by Myron and Tyrice Jones, and the latter was also producing. Set to a sample of Herbie Hancock’s “Come Running to Me”, the song explores how fate governs the formation of connections between people meant to exist from the beginning.
Music producers transitioning to a solo album is common in the music industry. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit Sean Garrett’s solo debut, “Turbo 919,” released in 2008.