Chico DeBarge made a fantastic comeback to the music scene in the late nineties with two solid solo albums in the form of Long Time No See and The Game. Around late summer 2000, Chico seemingly stopped promoting his recent release, The Game, which is a shame because (“Sexual,” the Bobby Brown assisted “Talk About You,” and the Brian McKnight written “When Can I See You Again” were all single-worthy).
Instead, BET started to promote Debarge’s latest single, “Playa Hater.” The song found DeBarge reuniting with his frequent collaborator JOE for another smooth slow jam where DeBarge effectively croons about why he hates men who are doing their ladies wrong.
Nevertheless, “Playa Hater” is one of the strongest songs in the singer’s catalog. Initially set to appear on the soundtrack to the Jamie Foxx film Bait, the song only ended up becoming a single.
The track was a personal anthem of mine during my single days, but that is a story for another day.
Final Grade: A
“Playa Hater” is available on YouTube.
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