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+
One of the great things about buying a soundtrack when I was in my DJ prime was discovering a slow jam that I could put on my mix CDs. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to highlight one of the songs: Jagged Edge’s cover of Air Supply’s, “All Out of Love.”
After twenty-six years in the game, Atlanta-based quartet Jagged Edge is currently on the road celebrating the anniversary of their magnum opus sophomore album, “J.E. Heartbreak,” with a tour titled “An Intimate Evening With Jagged Edge.” To kick off our seventh wedding anniversary celebration, my wife and I will be the D.C. date on the tour this coming Wednesday.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to travel back to 1999 and show some love to R&B group Amyth, which was initially signed to LL Cool J Rock the Bells Records. Hailing from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the group was formed in 1995 while the members were students at Southern University.