El Debarge broke into the music scene as a member of one of the eighties’ best family groups at the Motown label. When El left the group in 1986 for a solo career, industry insiders expected El to succeed tremendously. Motown didn’t allow El to write or produce anything on his first album. Thus the album didn’t cross over to the pop charts or connect with R & B audiences.
While El’s second and third albums would showcase his writing and production skills, neither made a dent on the charts. Hoping to reclaim some of his former glory, El linked up with some industry heavyweights Jermaine Dupri and Babyface for his fourth album, Heart, Mind, and Soul.
The second single, “Where Is My Love,” from that album is this week’s pick for Slow Jam Saturday. Babyface had wanted to work with El for the longest so linking the two together for a duet made perfect sense. Babyface’s signature voice opens the song setting the mood for a lush ballad.
In the second verse of the song “Where Is My Love,” El croons a song about a man’s yearning for true love and sings about how he uses that yearning to find it. Through the lush tenor, he expresses his desire for a woman who will act as a receiver of his love and devotion. There is a sense of urgency in the lyrics and the exploration of the longing for a companion with whom one can share special moments. In addition, there is an urgency to meet them as soon as possible.
On vocal levels, both El and Babyface can be heard singing about wanting to give her everything they have. As soon as they meet, neither man hesitates to do whatever her heart desires as long as she lets them. At the song’s end, both El and Face express their hope that the love they want will eventually find them.
Final Grade: A
“Where Is My Love” from Heart, Mind, and Soul is available on all streaming platforms.
I’ve always been a fan of Eric Bellinger. My admiration stems not only from the records he has released under his own name but also from the impressive career he built behind the scenes. Long before casual R&B listeners recognized his face, they were already familiar with his songwriting through tracks he penned for artists like Chris Brown, Usher, Justin Bieber, and Wale.
As many of you know, I had the opportunity to visit Paisley Park earlier this week while vacationing in Minnesota. During the tour, our guide shared that an expanded edition of Prince’s album “Parade” is expected to be released to celebrate its 40th anniversary. After spending the day exploring the Twin Cities, it felt like the perfect excuse to revisit one of the most fascinating and underrated albums in Prince’s legendary catalog.
One of the reasons I’ve always considered Prince to have the edge over Michael Jackson is his remarkable collection of ballads and