For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to travel across the pond and show some love to Craig David’s third album, “The Story Goes,” …..and the contributions from The Underdog’s “Take Em Off” and “My Love Don’t Stop.”
The singer was fresh off the success of the 3.5 million-selling “Slicker Than Your Average,” so it made sense that he would link up with the in-demand Underdogs for some heat. I heard “Take Em Off” on a Quiet Storm radio station during my military leave in late 2004 and was instantly hooked on the song. David’s vocal styling perfectly matched The Underdogs brand of R&B.
Craig begins the song by expressing his intense sexual desire for a woman and his intent to engage in a physical relationship with her. The lyrics depict a scenario where both Craig and the woman feel comfortable with each other, although nothing has happened yet. Craig promises to be gentle, sensing that the woman also desires him. He encourages her to remove her clothes so that he can satisfy his yearning. Although the song was never officially released, it could have easily become a hit record if it had reached an American singer.
Usually, I don’t highlight two songs on Slow Jam Saturday, but “My Love Don’t Stop,” David’s second collaboration with The Underdoogs album, is just as worthy. The song’s almost angelic production allows Craig to express his wish to transform his longstanding friendship into a romantic relationship. He recognizes their longstanding mutual acquaintance yet reveals they’ve kept their genuine emotions hidden until now. They’ve decided to stop pretending they don’t care and want to take action now.
The lyrics of “My Love Don’t Stop” evoke memories and recognition between the two characters. Craig sings about how they grew up together, with their mothers bonding and maintaining friendships over the years. He expresses a deep desire to move beyond friendship and experience physical intimacy, wanting to “make love.” The song’s strength lies in its relatable message about deciding whether to preserve an existing friendship or act on a significant physical attraction toward that friend.
Sadly, Craig’s label didn’t have faith in the project and wouldn’t release it in America until 2007, two years after the rest of the world; nevertheless, both songs from The Underdogs are the best in Craig’s catalog.
Final Grade: A
“The Story Goes” is available on all streaming platforms.
My introduction to Nate Dogg goes back to Dr. Dre’s 1992 debut, The Chronic, and the song “Deeez Nuuuts.” Even then, something about Nate’s voice set him apart from everybody else. He wasn’t just singing on rap records. He was bringing soul, gospel, street knowledge, and West Coast cool into the same space. He set the standard for hook singers in hip-hop, and dare I say, he’s still vastly underrated.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I wanted to give Stevie Wonder his due as he prepares to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his masterpiece, “Songs in the Key of Life,” on tour. While the easy choice could have been “Knocks Me Off My Feet”—a classic that still resonates fifty years later—I chose “From the Bottom of My Heart,” the second single from his twenty-third studio album, “A Time to Love,” released in 2005.
It’s hard to believe that an iconic singing competition like American Idol has produced only two Black male winners in its more than two-and-a-half-decade history. Jamal Roberts made history last year when he won the show, following Ruben Studdard’s well-deserved victory in Season Two.