While he is one of the stars of Showtime’s hit series The Chi, Luke James has been making noise in the industry for almost two decades. James began his career singing background for Tyrese with his childhood friend Quentin, with whom he would later form a duo under the moniker Luke & Q.
The duo did sign to J Records. However, their debut album never saw an official release. After the group disbanded to pursue separate ventures, James would go on to write tracks for the likes of Chris Brown, Britney Spears, and Justin Bieber. In addition, James has released three solo albums and two mixtapes.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to highlight the first time I heard James sing. In 2006 as my loyal readers know, I was living in the United Kingdom and spent many a night DJing. I was part of a record pool to stay up on my music during this time. One month one of the songs was “My Turn” by Luke & Q.
Since the song dropped in 2006, it had had a “Mr. Steal Your Girl” vibe before Trey Songz made it famous. The singer’s voices compliment each other, and they avoid R&B thuggery. The lyrics may seem contrived to some, but the duo makes it work.
“Girl, who that dude you with?
Could’ve swore I saw him push up on your friend
Girl, who that dude you with?
Never seen him buy you nothing, always spending your ends
He don’t ice your wrists
Don’t take no trips
Don’t spend no time
He don’t rock your spine
But I’ll ice your wrists
We’ll take the trips
I’ll spend the time
Girl, I’ll hit ya right
Now it’s my turn, forget about your man”.
While I’m 41 now and married with children, the song still resonates, and hopefully, one day, we will get the chance to hear their aborted album.
Final Grade: B+
“My Turn” is available on all streaming platforms.
Thirty years ago, in 1995, Bad Boy Records was a top-notch record label, but over a decade later, it had begun to lose its luster. While the “Bad Boys II” soundtrack and the debut album from Da Band did numbers, no real superstars were left on the label.
Whether it’s the loss of a celebrity you grew up with or a daily dumb remark from our current commander-in-chief, three months in 2025 are already getting crazy. So, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I decided to change it up and offer something inspirational like Mariah Carey and her 2006 hit “Fly Like A Bird.”
Music video director David Yarovesky brings together Bill Skarsgård and two-time Academy winner Anthony Hopkins for his third feature film, “Locked” from the Avenue. Horror icon Sam Raimi produces the film, while Michael Arlen Ross pens the film’s screenplay.