After a three-year hiatus, R&B quartet Xscape returned to the R&B scene with their third album, Traces of My Lipstick. Despite the angelic sound in their voices, the image on the first two albums was more Hip Hop. However, for the group’s third album, the cover saw the ladies in elegant red attire, tapping more into their sex appeal. For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, the typical choice would be to go for “The Arms of the One Who Love You” or “My Little Secret.” However, I decided to go with the album’s third single and my favorite Xscape song, “Softest Place on Earth.”
R&B hitmaker JOE and his writing partner Joshua Thompson penned the elegant slow jam, which perfectly highlighted the singing talents of the group. While the song is about sensuality, it never becomes crass or vulgar. Instead of hearing the song as an adult in a relationship, it’s a song that a woman will play to show her mate just how she feels about it. Who wouldn’t want to be in an intimate moment with your special someone with these lyrics in the background?
Baby won’t you come inside,
I’ll take you on a fantasy ride.
Take a journey through my universe,
My love’s the softest place on earth.
You don’t have to pull the blinds,
Let the neighbors lose their minds.
Baby, you can be the first,
Inside the softest place on earth.
While Xscape would go on too long of a hiatus after this single, the song stood the test of time.
Final Grade: A
“Softest Place on Earth” from Traces of My Lipstick is available on all streaming platforms
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”.
Last week marked two significant anniversaries for one of the greatest artists of all time, Mr. Prince Rogers Nelson. It’s only fitting that I show him some love for Second Listen Sunday. The first anniversary was on the 21st, commemorating nine years since his passing. The second anniversary was on the 22nd, celebrating the 40th anniversary of his seventh studio album, “Around the World in a Day.”
One of my most significant decisions late last year was to pledge to Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Inc. At the time of this writing, I am in Atlantic City for my fraternity’s Regional Conference, where I will represent my chapter, Beta Alpha Omega. In that regard, I believe the perfect song for this week’s Slow Jam Saturday is “The Best Man I Can Be.”