R&B singer Tank has been in the music industry for over two decades. He is currently on the road with R&B legends Guy and Keith Sweat as one of the opening acts for New Edition’s Legacy Tour. Despite Tank’s pen game and impressive catalog, some eighties babies weren’t keen on Tank as part of the tour.
While I can admit that some of Tank’s conspiracy theories on Instagram were far-fetched, he is a talented brother, and I still play his music regularly. Having attended the D.C. show for the Legacy tour, I can assure N.E. fans. Tank had a concise set. That said, I wanted to give the brother his just due and highlight one of my favorite songs from his sophomore album, One Man, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday.
Arriving in stores in the fall of 2022, The same-titled lead single led One Man. Like many R&B artists before him, Tank was better at tender, sexed-up balladry than he was at dance floor material. From a writing standpoint, Tank can craft a narrative that resonates with the listener and draws them in with his smooth tones and lush beats. He captures a feeling of love and romance that is difficult to achieve with upbeat, dance-oriented music. “One Man” is a cop-out choice, so I decided to go with “Cake & Ice Cream” (feat. H.E.A.T.).
The seventh song on the album is about a man who is involved with three women and feels conflicted about whom to choose. The title “Cake & Ice Cream” represents the three women as choices and the difficulty of choosing between them. The first woman (“Girl 1”) is his high school sweetheart, who is attractive and successful. He reminisces about their past experiences together and their intense physical attraction. However, he has a child with another woman, and another woman lives with him, which complicates his feelings.
The second woman (“Girl 2”) is the woman he cheated on his first love with. She is dutiful, reliable, and responsible, supporting him financially when times get tough. However, she is suspicious of his other women and wants a committed relationship with him. Lastly, the third woman (“Girl 3”) is called the “bonus chick” or the one who is not the primary choice. Although he is not as invested in her as the other two, he still enjoys her company and sees her as an escape from his troubles.
The song’s chorus emphasizes his confusion and indecisiveness about which woman to choose and the consequences of his actions. He has to choose one woman to be with, which will inevitably hurt the others. The song highlights the complexities of love and the difficulties of relationships and infidelity. While Tank has had his share of misses in his later career, “Cake & Ice Cream” is still one of his better album tracks.
Final Grade: B+
“Cake and Ice Cream” from One Man is available on all streaming platforms.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I want to revisit 2004 and highlight Romeo’s debut solo album, formerly of Immature. Titled “Food for Thought” and released on June 22nd, this project marked the singer’s change of name to Young Rome in an effort to distance himself from the youthful sound of his group, much like his bandmate Marques Houston had done a year earlier.
In the nineties, Hip-Hop reigned supreme, and every label CEO wanted a share of the lucrative R&B market. One strategy was to keep singers on their roster who could deliver catchy hooks, keeping everything in-house and saving money. Bad Boy had Carl Thomas, Death Row had Danny Boy, and Roc-A-Fella had Rell, our featured artist for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday
Growing up in the eighties, I was surrounded by incredibly talented male R&B singers who could deliver unforgettable love songs. Artists like Luther Vandross, Jeffrey Osborne, and Peabo Bryson dominated the airwaves, but Freddie Jackson was another voice that truly deserved recognition.