R&B foursome Jagged Edge returns to the music scene with their latest single “Inseparable” from their upcoming 11th studio album, All Original Parts. As my readers know I wasn’t particularly kind to the group with my reviews of their last two projects The Layover and A Jagged Love Story.
I hit play on JE’S latest single and instantly the song caught my attention with its production choice for sampling Silk’s 1992 hit “Lose Control”. The group has success in the past sampling a nineties hit when the sampled hits from Ralph Tresvant and Al B Sure on their vastly underrated JE Heartbreak II albumin 2016. Per the norm group mates Brian and Brandon Casey pen while co-producing with the legendary Bryan-Michael Cox.
“Inseparable” is a typical JE ballad about showing love to your significant other who completes you. One of the five love language is words of affirmation .While my personal love language is a mixture of physical touch and quality time, I’ve always been a fan of words of affirmation which is why I think I’ve always had an affiliation for R&B ballads and slow jams. With “Inseparable” the pen game of the Casey brothers easily validates the definition of words of affirmation.
And that is Words of Affirmation is typically the language of someone who gets off knowing their partner is paying attention to them, notices what makes them tick, and appreciates what makes them special, JE’s latest single could’ve easily been a song about the group’s brotherhood and longevity. When we look at the facts the only eighties/nineties R&B group to have a thicker discography than JE is Boyz II Men. I don’t agree with the auto tuning and trap R&B flavors that make its way into “Inseparable”, However, there are enough bright moments in the song to build anticipation for the next album.
In addition, kudos to the group who celebrates the 25th anniversary of their debut album A Jagged Era on Friday, October 21st.
Final Grade: B-
“Inseparable” is available on all streaming platforms
Growing up in the nineties, movies aimed at a melanin audience often featured soundtracks that had to be just as flavorful as the films themselves. This week, for Slow Jam Saturday, I want to take a trip back to 1993 and highlight one of the slow jams from the soundtrack of “Menace II Society”.
Last week marked two significant anniversaries for one of the greatest artists of all time, Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson. It’s only fitting that I show him some love for Second Listen Sunday. The first anniversary was on the 21st, commemorating nine years since his passing. The second anniversary was on the 22nd, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his seventh studio album, “Around the World in a Day.”
One of my most significant decisions late last year was to pledge to Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. At the time of this writing, I am in Atlantic City for my fraternity’s Regional Conference, where I will represent my chapter, Beta Alpha Omega. In that regard, I believe the perfect song for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday is “The Best Man I Can Be.”