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.
As the King of Pop’s biopic continues to perform well at the box office, I wanted to revisit one of Michael Jackson’s overlooked solo albums, “Forever, Michael”, released in 1975, for my first Second Listen Sunday of 2026.
As Joe prepares for his upcoming Tiny Desk performance, it’s a fitting time to revisit “U Should Know Me,” one of the hidden gems in his catalog. This song, which he wrote and produced himself, first appeared in 1998 on the soundtrack for “Caught Up”, a hood drama starring Bokeem Woodbine and Cynda Williams.
As fans look forward to his upcoming co-headlining “Nights Like This” tour with Akon, Ne-Yo is smoothly transitioning into country music while still maintaining his R&B roots with his latest single, “Ms. Tundra.” This infectious track is the third release from his forthcoming tenth studio album, “Highway 79,” set for release on July 10 via Compound Entertainment.