After their 1990 sophomore album release, The Future, R&B trio Guy began an extended hiatus. Teddy Riley went on to form another group, Blackstreet and then become an in-demand producer. While Aaron Hall would go on to start his solo career with the risqué ballad “Don’t Be Afraid.” Like most R&B fans, I was curious to know what the third member of Guy, Damion “Crazy Legs” Hall, would do.
Hall previously showcased his solo vocal talents on the Forte song “Holding On” from the Zebrahead soundtrack two years prior, and did some Gospel plays here and there. However, not many folks know Hall released a solo project in 1994. For that reason, I wanted to give Hall the Slow Jam Saturday spotlight with his 1994 debut solo single “Satisfy You” feat. Chanté Moore. Bryan Loren handles production on the track and caters well to Hall’s voice.
Music heads know that the song was initially offered to Michael Jackson during the recording sessions for “Dangerous.” The King of Pop passed on the song but let the song’s producer, Bryan Loren, know he would sing backup if Loren kept the song for himself.
Set to a luxuriant instrumental sound, “Satisfy You” exemplifies nineties R&B. Hall opens the song crooning, “Hey girl, my only wish is to satisfy you.” He then takes his vocal register up a tad over the track, allowing the listener to feel Hall’s emotion for his lady. The icing on the cake in the song, though, is the vocal compliments that Moore and Hall’s voices give each other.
“Satisfy You” was the perfect song to introduce Hall as a solo artist, and hearing the song validates that the singer should have had more chances to sing lead on Guy’s tracks. Hall never tries to emulate his older brother but instead shows his own style in a great way.
Final Grade: A
“Satisfy You” isn’t available on any major streaming platforms; however, it is available on YouTube.
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.