There was a singer who shall remain nameless set the tone for the nineties slow jams. However as nineties R&B fans know there were tons of singers who provided quality albums and tracks when it came to making a playlist via audiocassette. Lincoln Browder, better known as Link, was one of the singers.
Before releasing his debut single, “Whatcha Gone Do,” Link burst onto the scene after writing LSG’S “My Body” which we all know is a classic. That said, his debut CD Sex Down holds no punches. The theme of this CD is SEX, and he cleverly pulls off his tales of sensuality with radio-ready hooks.
“I Really Wanna Sex Your Body,” “Gimme some,” “Sex Down “and “911 0024” were all single-worthy. While some of the up-tempo, material is not as strong, the slow cuts on Sex Down are pure ear candy, and I can only imagine how many babies were made from the album. I must also shout out composer Darrell “Delite” Allamby, working hand in hand with Link on the production.
To my surprise though, my favorite song on the project is the ballad “Spill,” which finds a ladies’ man realizing he is in love for the first time. I am surprised this was not a single or given to a more prominent artist at the time because it has hit potential written all over it with the endearing lyrics. If you have never heard the album Sex Down, I highly encourage you to check it out on your favorite streaming platform.
Final Grade: B
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.