Growing up in the nineties, movies aimed at a melanin audience often featured soundtracks that had to be just as flavorful as the films themselves. This week, for Slow Jam Saturday, I want to take a trip back to 1993 and highlight one of the slow jams from the soundtrack of “Menace II Society”.
While the label would release and give a video to “Unconditional Love” from maturing R&B group Hi-Five, the album cut “Top of the World” performed by Kenya Gruv would prove to be just as popular. Co-written and produced with the late great D’Wayne Wiggins, “Top of the World” is a romantic song that centers on the physical closeness between partners.
Kenya Gruv sings about his longing to take his lady to the highest point of the world so they can spend time alone. He repeatedly uses “Top of the World ” to give her the sensation of reaching the ultimate peak of happiness and fulfilment.
Kenya’s lyrics create an urgent tone about his wish to spend time with them because he wants to meet up “real, real soon”. The phrase “I got all night” demonstrates both the urgency of the singer’s desire and his commitment to spend all his time and energy with his lady. The lyrics “We can go upstairs and f*ck a lil while / Baby it’s just you and I” might sound crude, yet they reveal the singer’s intent to build a profound physical and emotional bond.
Kenya acknowledges the women’s beauty while saying they look like someone he fantasized about for many years. This wordplay demonstrates that Kenya has been contemplating this connection for some time and holds strong feelings of attraction for the listener.
To my knowledge, Kenya Gruv never released an album and would find more success as a behind-the-scenes artist. However, “Top of the World” remains a timeless piece of desire and passion that should be included by anyone who intends to participate in safe physical relationships with emotionally connected partners.
Final Grade: A
“Top of the World” is available on all streaming platforms.
Music producers transitioning to a solo album is common in the music industry. For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit Sean Garrett’s solo debut, “Turbo 919,” released in 2008.
If you were to ask most music fans about the R&B song “Fortunate”, they would say the name Maxwell. However, in 2001, another singer named Lathun released a Neo-Soul version of the same title, which serves as this week’s pick for Slow Jam Saturday.
Musician Kem and his sophomore project “Album II” is this week’s pick for Second Listen Sunday. Arriving in stores on May 17th, 2005, the album came when R&B was still shifting. For the most part, younger singers dominated the market, while older crooners like Anthony Hamilton and Brian McKnight were forced to the Urban A/C demographic.