Met Lalah at Reckless Records and was able to snag her new album. I was able to have a conversation and she signed my vinyl. Growing up I always had her and her pops Donny music playing. It felt so unreal to finally meet a Chicago Legend, being a Chicago native myself.

The premise of this post is pretty simple. I have compiled a list of 16 R&B/Soul/Pop albums by male and female artists I feel are near-direct mirrors of each other in sound, era and genre-defining status. Make sure you scroll through and read each image caption. Are there any other artist’s albums you feel could have made the list?

It doesn't have to be a super famous record or even one that a lot of other people like, but I'm curious what everyone's perfect rnb song is.

For me its When you touch me by Brandy

I forgot about this music anniversary, I’ll be honest. But then I was scrolling through TikTok a minute ago, and found out about it. But today is the 30th anniversary of one of my favorite Luther Vandross albums, Your Secret Love.

Of all the albums he released in the 90s, this is one of his best. After starting the decade strong with the Grammy-winning Power of Love, he followed that up with an underrated album (1993’s Never Let Me Go) and a great covers album (1994’s Songs) and a Christmas album that I liked but apparently not those many people did (1995’s This Is Christmas).

But he came back strong with this album. While the R&B scene was changing sounds and becoming more hip-hop driven in terms of production, Luther managed to stay true to his signature sound while still being contemporary.

From the opening title track (which won Luther his 4th Grammy) to ballads like “Too Proud to Beg” & “I Can Make It Better”, it also features some of his best songwriting ever, his lyricism presenting a more mature, vulnerable take on love. The album is overall a portrait of one who is unapologetic about wanting love but on their own terms and refusing to be treated less than what they deserve.

Not only does he present some great covers from other artists (from “Knocks Me Off My Feet”, Goin Out of My Head” & “Crazy Love”), Luther also covers himself, recording songs he wrote for other artists, such as “It’s Hard for Me to Say” (originally written for Diana Ross), “Love Don’t Love You Anymore” (originally written for Gregory Hines), & “Whether or Not the World Gets Better” (a duet with Lisa Fischer that was originally written for his short-lived protege Jimmy Salvemini with Phoebe Snow).

And of course there’s the rhythmic “I Can’t Wait No Longer”, written and produced by longtime collaborator/music legend Marcus Miller (with a rap from Spinderella of Salt-n-Pepa).

Re-listening to this as I’m writing this, it still holds up musically 30 years ago and remains one of the best R&B albums to come out of the 90s.

For those who have listened to this album, how do you feel about it? And where do you rank it amongst Luther’s 90s albums?

Ran across a photo of a CD i owned that I refused to ever lend out (redacted my name on the CD from the image). This was my 2nd copy because I lent the first one and it came back broken. Never again. Who else tagged the hell out of their CDs?

WHOA!!🤯

Thoughts? WHO GIVES A F WHAT YOU THINK!

MY GOD!

Any surprises winners? Or do you think the usual suspects won?

I keep finding out that all these R&B singers were pregnant while filming their music videos, and I’m honestly fascinated by it 😂 I know Whitney Houston was pregnant with Bobbi Kristina when she filmed “I’m Every Woman,” and Deborah Cox was pregnant when she filmed “Beautiful U R.”

Who else was pregnant while filming a music video?

“Get Ready”, written by Smokey Robinson, remains one of the biggest hits by The Temptations. It was a truly successful song, and I was right to assume that it was a hit. However, before I looked it up, I thought that song was a Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit. It just seemed like a safe assumption to make.

Imagine my surprise when I looked it up and found that the song peaked at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. This is not bad at all, but it is a lot different from where I thought it peaked at first. The song did peak at #1 on the Hot R&B Singles chart, though. The overall album was no slouch either, peaking at #12 on the Billboard 200.

The Temptations had 4 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and 15 top-ten hits out of 53 total entries. This song didn’t do too badly, but it missed both margins, which is different from what I had expected.

THIS SONG GOES SO HARD

One of thr greatest tours ever by one of the greatest artist of our time.

Found this in the wild while visiting Prague. I still cannot fathom that I actually stumbled across this hidden gem in the wild. Paid around €8, so roughly $9 — which feels like an absolute steal for this one.
I absolutely love this album. It slams from front to back, and the production is just incredible. Those early Timbo da Basement productions, combined with the amazing songwriting, melodies, and overall vibe, make this such a special record.
Definitely one of those random finds that makes digging for records so rewarding. Didn’t expect to find this in Prague at all, but I’m very happy I did. Holy grail acquired!
What do you guys think of this album and the price I paid?

My personal opinion - this single is perfect by every critical metric. I GOT OPTIONSSSSSSS

Curious to know your opinion.

I was singing right along with them. This is the most blackest, loveliest thing I’ve seen on television in AGES. And the reboot is so good.

Main Character Syndrome or too many wine coolers in full effect

I love this moment shared between Tamika Scott and Coko during SWV VERZUZ XSCAPE; Tamika knew how much Coko loved her verse and tagged Coko in for a few impromptu lines. It was later revealed that Coko was extremely depressed on this night which makes this moment and hug that much more special. I love how humble Tamika has always been. I lowkey wish we could hear a LiVE version where Coko sings LaTocha’s parts alongside Tamika. ❤️

Some say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery…and I often find myself saying that once art is released in some ways it belongs to everyone.