For this month’s final Slow Jam Saturday selection, we continue highlighting the songwriting talents of Jon B. R&B songstress Toni Braxton was already a force when she released her second album Secrets in the summer of 1996. This album saw Braxton reuniting with Babyface and working with legends such as Diane Warren and David Foster.
Braxton also found time to work with some new jacks, including Tony Rich and Marc Nelson. Naturally, Babyface found a way to include Jon B in the project as well. Jon and Babyface collaborate on the album’s closing song, “In the Late of Night. A heartbreaking song about saying goodbye to lost love, for me it rivals one of Toni Braxton’s biggest hits, “Unbreak My Heart.”
The emotion and pain that Ms. Braxton put into this song make the listeners want to give her a shoulder to cry on or even just a hug. Jon and Babyface’s lyrics include, “Always thought your promise was for life, I did not think that I Would hear you say good-bye.” For me, both men had to go somewhere painful in their past to evoke this emotion.
Would you please make sure you visit ReviewsandDunn.net tomorrow when Edward Bowser of Soulinstero.com joins me for the Second Listen Sunday? Ed and I will be discussing Jon B.’s overlooked third album, Pleasures U Like.
Final Grade: B+
Secrets is available on all streaming platforms.
Thirty years ago, in 1995, Bad Boy Records was a top-notch record label, but over a decade later, it had begun to lose its luster. While the “Bad Boys II” soundtrack and the debut album from Da Band did numbers, no real superstars were left on the label.
Whether it’s the loss of a celebrity you grew up with or a daily dumb remark from our current commander-in-chief, three months in 2025 are already getting crazy. So, for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I decided to change it up and offer something inspirational like Mariah Carey and her 2006 hit “Fly Like A Bird.”
Music video director David Yarovesky brings together Bill Skarsgård and two-time Academy winner Anthony Hopkins for his third feature film, “Locked” from the Avenue. Horror icon Sam Raimi produces the film, while Michael Arlen Ross pens the film’s screenplay.