The first offering from 20 Y.O. was released on May 1, 2006, was and quickly rescinded and rebranded as a “gift.” The song, a spirited cover of Debbie Deb’s 1984 hit “Lookout Weekend” simply retitled “Weekend,” would have fit the album immaculately. It’s fun, upbeat, and harkens back to percussion and synths Jam and Lewis brought to the records the trio made twenty years prior. The first “official” taste of the album was a safer move; a warm midtempo collaboration with Nelly titled “Call On Me.” 2006 was a big summer for rap-sung collaborations, with Beyonce and Jay-Z’s “Deja Vu,” Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole’s “(When You Gonna) Give It Up To Me,” and Ciara and Chamillionare’s “Get Up” all vying for the top spot on the charts.

“Call On Me” has the sweetness of Janet records prior, garnished by the freshness of Dupri’s trending sonic form (his work with Usher and Mariah Carey in 2004 and 2005 earned him major accolades). It lands halfway through the album, and bookends where Dupri’s contributions very noticeably drop off. The back-and-forth hook with Nelly is catchy, too. The second single, “So Excited” hits hard with heavy scratching and percussion as well as a steamy, double-take inducing music video. It opens the album and features the ever-controversial Khia, setting the tone for the five club-ready records that follow are, and fit well alongside the discarded “Weekend.”

“Do It 2 Me,” soars with a stellar, accelerated sample of Brenda Russell’s “If Only For One Night.” Produced along with No I.D., it sounds fresh, which is ironic since Dupri and No I.D. flipped Luther Vandross’ version of the same song the year before on Bow Wow and Omarion’s chart-topping “Let Me Hold You.” “This Body” has a rock edge and electric guitar-mimicking synths (along with some light electric guitar work) that picks up where 2001’s “Trust A Try” and 2004’s “Just A Little While” left off. It even features an uncredited Dupri laying down a vocally tweaked verse celebrating Janet’s Maxim magazine cover, like any good boyfriend would do.

Some cuts like “With U” are abashedly Dupri, which is unapologetically akin to two recent Dupri hits: Usher’s “Confessions Part II” and Mariah Carey’s “Shake It Off.” If Janet did it first it would have been fresh, but by this point it’s a tired rehash. Not to mention it disrupts the flow of the dance theme the album carries up to this point. “Call On Me” follows, and Dupri clocks out for the rest of the album. This sequencing is where the album struggles. Dupri slows things down slightly and does an Irish exit, leaving Jackson, Jam, and Lewis to pick up the slack. They’re more than a qualified bunch, but you can’t expect this dynamic trio to imitate Dupri’s sound. They have their own sonic profile, and they play into it.

Their portion does start strong, with a one-two punch of two of Janet’s strongest songs of the 2000’s. “Daybreak” is vivacious. It brilliantly encapsulates the thrill of a late-night rendezvous, set to a sweet cornucopia of bells, synths, and a danceable beat. This sounds like the fun Janet yearned for on the album’s introduction.

“Enjoy” is the perfect follow up. It contrasts “Daybreak”’s anticipation and eagerness, and instead provides calm with it’s steady and driving beat, which launches after a robotic voice prompts “enjoy.” The song feels rejuvenating. It’s confectionary and sensual, with a relaxing air, heightened by Janet and the piano following each other with the melody for the majority of the song. If “Daybreak” was the build-up, “Enjoy” is the moment, elongated and savored. While they’re different from the dance-heavy songs with Dupri, with proper sequencing they could fit the album even better. Things quickly turn from there, and the album ends on a low note with two slow and at-times boring love songs that don’t belong.

“Take Care” is a standard ballad of the trio’s making and breaks no new musical ground. The closing cut is a sputtering “Love 2 Love,” which might work elsewhere but is simply too slow for this body of work. The sequencing of these two songs side-by-side triggers memories of the poorly sequenced ballad section in the middle of 2001’s All For You. It makes for an anticlimactic and unsatisfying end to what initially masquerades as an upbeat dance record.

There is some momentary redemption on the Japan version of the album, with the second and final Japan-exclusive track, “Days Go By.” It’s laid back but has enough of a beat that it fits right alongside “Daybreak” and “Enjoy.” After an album that moves, this sweet-sounding mid-tempo where Janet sings about being lost without her man and having him to herself would have served as a better bookend. Like the albums that surround it, 20 Y.O. is not a classic album in Janet’s catalog, but it’s also far from a bad album. It’s a collection of some stellar material that suffers from poor sequencing and creative direction.

Listen to Janet have fun on 20 Y.O.

The post Janet Jackson’s 20 Y.O. – Retrospective Review appeared first on THE 97.

On the personal front, Mariah Carey had just finalized her divorce from her husband Tommy Mottola. Unfortunately, that presented some problems for her career as well. Tommy might’ve been her ex-husband, but he was still the current head of her record label, Sony. His powerful position complicated Mariah’s creative process: many of her most frequent collaborators had sworn loyalty to their boss, Tommy; not Mariah. One of those who “turned on a dime” was Mariah’s principal writing partner, the co-composer and co-producer for most of her ballads from 1991-1997: Walter Afanasieff.

At the time, Mariah was working on the soundtrack to her film debut, Glitter, and recorded the song “Heartbreaker” to be its lead single. However, fearful of sitting on a hit for too long, she opted to record what would become Rainbow, her final studio album with Sony. In search for a new writing partner, Mariah found not one but two in Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Mariah collaborated with the legendary Minneapolis based duo on three albums in total: Rainbow, Glitter and Charmbracelet. They also introduced her to James “Big Jim” Wright, who went onto become not only her main writing partner beginning in 2002, but also her musical director when on tour.

For Glitter, which was set in the 1980s, working with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis was an ingenious decision. The duo originally came to fame in the 70s as members of the band The Time, and officially paired up as “Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis” when they began writing for the S.O.S. Band in the 1980s. Officially, that’s where Ms. Carey’s connection with Jam & Lewis begins.

In 1993, Mariah Carey set out on her first concert tour in support of her Diamond-selling Music Box album. With only three albums (but an impressive eight #1 singles) under her belt so far, Mariah opted to include a cover in her set list. Guess what song she chose? “Just Be Good to Me,” by the S.O.S. Band, penned and produced by none other than Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Take a listen. Mariah went on to include the cover in her setlist yet again when she toured for her Daydream album, in 1996. Luckily, this tour was professionally recorded at the Tokyo Dome and, after (24) years of Lambs pleading for it, Mariah released the audio on her Rarities collection in 2020.

However, Mariah’s stellar cover of “Just Be Good to Me” is not the only Jam & Lewis connection to be made during the Daydream era. For the So So Def remix for her 1996 #1 hit, “Always Be My Baby,” she and collaborator Jermaine Dupri opted for a sample of another S.O.S. Band classic: “Tell Me If You Still Care.” The unmistakable loop they selected from that 80s R&B classic completely transformed Mariah’s own now-classic R&B ballad into a 90s Hip-Hop/Soul groove.

Just three years later, Mariah would come full circle, connecting directly with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis on her 1999 album, Rainbow. Together, she, Jam and Lewis wrote and produced Mariah’s 15th #1 single “Thank God I Found You.” Singles aside, the trio also crafted the album’s title-bearing interlude, “Rainbow,” and added Big Jim Wright to the mix to write the ballad “Bliss” and the deeply personal “Petals.” They also co-produced “Can’t Take That Away (Mariah’s Theme),” which was penned by Mariah and Diane Warren, and a cover of Phil Collins’ “Against All Odds.”

In 2020, Mariah unearthed her cover of the Fame classic “Out Here On My Own” from the vault. While Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are not officially credited as producers, the other songs listed on the work tape from 2000 are songs they co-produced for Glitter, and it even says “JJ/TL” in the “Producer” field.

Those two songs, “Want You” and a cover of Cherrelle’s “Didn’t Mean to Turn You” (which was originally written and produced by Jam and Lewis), are among the pair’s contributions to Mariah’s 2001 soundtrack album, Glitter. Mariah also tapped the duo for the film’s most cinematic ballad “Never Too Far,” as well as the gut-wrenching ballads “Reflections (Care Enough)” and “Twister.” Finally, they contributed production to the film’s happier love song, “Lead the Way,” which was originally written by Mariah and Walter Afanasieff in the mid-90s (Big Jim Wright also contributed production to “Lead the Way,” and also co-wrote and co-produced “Want You” and “Twister”). However, as most people know, Glitter didn’t fare too well despite being a damn good album.

Mariah called on Jimmy and Terry once more for her 2002 album, Charmbracelet, enlisting them to co-produce its lead single “Through the Rain” alongside Big Jim Wright, and of course, Mariah. The quartet also wrote and produced the warm and romantic mid-tempo “Yours” (sister to Rainbow‘s “Bliss,” and cousin of Butterfly‘s “Fourth of July” and Daydream‘s “Underneath the Stars”). While “Yours” might’ve been a standout on the album, Charmbracelet would mark the last time fans would see “Carey, Harris and Lewis” credited together on a song.

That is, until today. Nineteen years since their last collaboration, the trio has teamed up again for the first-ever “Jam & Lewis” album. “Somewhat Loved (There You Go Breakin’ My Heart)” is out today. Written by Mariah, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and curiously, The Dream, it’s possible that this song began as a collaboration between Mariah and The Dream, but she finished with Jam and Lewis. Regardless of it’s origin, it’s exciting to hear these three legends reunited once again.

Take a listen to the new song above, and then listen to our playlist below explore their other collaborations and intersections over the years.

Playlist: Mariah x Jam & Lewis

Click here to listen on Spotify.

The post Playlist: Mariah x Jam & Lewis appeared first on THE 97.

In 1997, Mary J. Blige was on top of the world professionally. Her sophomore album, 1994’s My Life was a smash. Mary was at the forefront of the hip hop-soul revolution in music, garnering her the undisputed title “Queen of Hip Hop Soul”. She changed course with 1997’s Share My World, drifting musically towards contemporary R&B. The results still hold up today as amazing. Andrew & Mario highlight some of the album’s top tracks. Allow us to take you back…

Puff, Puff, Pass

After two successful albums helmed by Puff Daddy, Mary and Puff drifted apart. Puff left Mary’s label Uptown Records to start his Bad Boy Records. Soon after Puff signed Faith Evans, who he modeled visually and sonically after Mary. She enlisted the help of Trackmasters, who co-produced her hit “Be Happy” from My Life. Clearly they knew the direction to help further develop Mary’s sound. So did both Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, who make their first appearances on a Mary album here. Jam & Lewis and Darkchild would go on to help produce some of Mary’s biggest hits including “No More Drama” and “Enough Cryin'”.

While 1994’s My Life explored some of the darkest parts of Mary’s soul, Share My World takes a slightly different approach. There are still those dark, soulful, heartbroken moments. However, Mary seems more hopeful, especially on tracks like “Everything”, “Our Love”, and “Love Is All We Need”. Overall, clocking in at 17 tracks, Mary’s Share My World is a masterful progression in Mary’s catalog.

I Can Love You

One of the album’s standout tracks is the opener, “I Can Love You”. Over a sample of Lil’ Kim’s “Queen Bitch” Mary declares that she can love her man better than the woman. With added production by Trackmasters to transform the sample into an R&B track, Mary shines. The song climaxes when Lil’ Kim herself makes an appearance.

The Queen Bee proclaims “If I told you once, I told you twice, QB, throw the booty, like a groupie for mo’ ice”. Kim builds on the premise of the song, listing all the ways she’s down for her man (she happens to be talking about The Notorious BIG). “Under pressure? I ride for ya, die for ya, ruger by the thigh for ya, right hand high for ya”. Kim asserts that she’s ride or die, just like on her debut album Hard Core. The song is a classic amongst Mary’s catalog, and a notable moment in Mary & Kim’s friendship. We were in the building when two finally performed the song together for the very first time in 2015:

Round And Round

The Trackmasters also produced this piano-based thumping hip hop soul heartbreak song. Like “I Can Love You”, “Round And Round” also masterfully samples a recent rap song,  Jay-Z’s 1996 “D’Evils”. Mary laments her mood swings that are the result of a man who’s untrue. It’s one of her catchiest songs and it still feels fresh as if it came out yesterday.

Everything

“Everything” is a soulful and romantic mid-tempo. A Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis production, it is based on obvious samples of “You Are Everything” by The Stylistics and James Brown’s “The Payback.” It was the second top 5 R&B hit from the album (not to mention it’s also arguably one of her signature hits to R&B fans). The music video, shot by Hype Williams, is perhaps one of Mary’s most recognizable visuals to date. The So So Def remix by Jermaine Dupri featured new vocals from Mary and turned the song into a hip hop soul jam.

Seven Days

One of the album’s premiere ballads.  Heightened by the guitar talents of George Benson, Mary is stuck in a dilemma. She has a man who’s friendship inadvertently escalated to a physical relationship. She recounts each day in the week as the relationship escalated. The chorus begins on Monday when he was a friend, and things seem normal until the turning point of Thursday when “things weren’t the same”. The chorus ends concludes with Sunday, when the relationship gets physical. Now what is she going to do?

Love Is All We Need

The lead single off the album was assisted by Nas. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis used a beat based off a sample of Rick James’ “Moonlight.” With its more joyful theme and melodic structure, this song was a stark contrast with Mary’s earlier work, especially her 1994 sophomore album. The universal lyrics and Mary’s soulful and raw vocal approach made the song a surefire hit, despite it never getting a commercial release from the label. A remix with Foxy Brown, sampling Diana Ross’ “Do You Know Where You’re Going To?” and bearing the unmistakable Trackmaster fingerprints, also made the rounds at radio.

Share My World

Of course the album’s title cut is another standout cut. Over smooth Rodney Jerkins production, Mary sings “share my world, don’t you leave.” Though it sounds like a love song, she’s actually pleading with her man to stay and remain a part of her world. She even promoted the song on The Jamie Foxx Show, and sang the song with Jamie. Mary shared her world and said not to leave, and here we are awaiting the 11th album since Share My World.

Stream Mary J. Blige’s Share My World:

The post Mary J. Blige’s “Share My World”: Mary’s Next Step at 20 appeared first on THE 97.

Due to the reception of the film, and the comparatively mild success of the album (it didn’t yield a Hot 100 number 1 nor did it reach number 1 itself, and went platinum, which was considered low sales compared to Mariah’s at-the-time recent releases), it was heralded as both a critical and commercial flop. However, looking back at this body of work and the reputation it received, it’s perplexing. What the Glitter album really is, is a misunderstood, brave attempt at bridging gaps and merging genres as only Mariah can do.

Scanning through the critical reception of Glitter in 2001 finds a variety of opinions. Some critics were optimistic while others were down right negative. Comments range from “a big step forward” and “quite good” to “a minor misstep in a stellar career” all the way to “a mess” and “the pop equivalent of Chernobyl”.

Billboard got closest to describing the album, when they analyzed the album’s styles as follows:

First, there’s the ’80s-hued material reflective of her imminent film debut (after which the set is titled). Then, there are the ballads that are an essential element of her every album. Finally, she indulges in her fascination with hip-hop culture – a move that should continue to confound fans who pledged allegiance to the diva during her early pure-pop phase.

They almost hit the nail on the head except for the final classification of the hip hop songs on the album. If anything, this piece of Glitter is the most important. It showcases Mariah’s continued status as a musically visionary who can both identify and create trends based on the direction popular music is moving. These songs are not merely hip hop tracks erratically juxtaposed with ballads and ‘80s-hued material: They are, by enlarge, updates and interpretations built on 80’s songs and would-be hip hop breaks.

80’s Meets Hip Hop

Take “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” for example. The song (original and Mariah version) relies on a loop that would have, and could have served as a killer hip hop break in the 80’s. It fits perfectly amongst the early 2000’s musical landscape with updated instrumentation (including Randy Jackson on the bass) and more hip hop-based, hard-hitting drums. It’s both an extension and an update: with furthering contemporary hip hop elements, such as the verse from a young Fabolous and adlibs from producer DJ Clue. Busta Rhymes serves as the song’s hype man, another example of paying homage to the structure of 80’s hip hop groups. In retrospect, the song foreshadows the 80s throwbacks that would become musically ubiquitous in the years to come.

There are similar comparisons to be made with the “Loverboy” remix (which was also included on the Glitter album), along with “Don’t Stop (Funkin 4 Jamaica).” Both of these songs find themselves to the left and rely heavier on contemporary hip hop to incarnate them. Both versions of “Loverboy” rely on an updated loop of Cameo’s “Candy” to drive their instrumentation. While the remix is slightly reconfigured to include two rap verses (one where Ludacris and Shawnna trade bars and the other where Da Brat and Twenty II do the same), the original is mapped out like a standard pop song. All sampling drama aside, Mariah went as far as to invite Cameo into the studio to re-sing parts of “Candy” which serve as a bridge on the original version of the song.

“Don’t Stop,” on the other hand, is built with many of the same elements as the original “Funkin For Jamaica,” but instead tweaks minor pieces to form an update. Furthermore, the included elements are reconfigured to structure a typical 2000s rap song with full-fledged verses from Mystikal and Mariah playing hook girl (along with a vocal bridge that is an album highlight). Mariah and Mystikal create a brilliant marriage between an 80s funk jam and 2000s rap.

Only “If We” featuring Ja Rule and Nate Dogg refuses classification in the aforementioned trio of categories. It sits perfectly as a time capsule and blueprint of early 2000s hip hop/pop collaborations that broadened Ja Rule’s mainstream appeal (most notably being the blueprint for the Jennifer Lopez/Ja Rule “I’m Real” Remix). The song has a west coast rap influence and is driven by a toy piano, lush strings, and particular guitar licks that recall early 90s Dr. Dre productions. While it doesn’t fit perfectly, as a single it would have been a great hood ornament to help tie everything together for the 2001 audience and display the progression of music that adorns the album.

True 80’s Homage

The trio of ‘80s-inspired material is a prime showcase of Mariah’s continued musical versatility. She has never been shy about her admiration for the era, and over these upbeat tracks, she doesn’t hold back. Samples and interpolations aside, “Didn’t Mean To Turn You On” is the sole straight up cover on the album. Produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (who also wrote the song), Mariah actually sings over a shortened version of the original instrumental that Cherelle used in 1985 (with some additional drum programming).

“All My Life” is a stellar period piece. Mariah wanted authenticity with this project. She reached out to the legendary Rick James, who was more than up to the task of contributing to the project. Strings and funky synths adorn the Mary Jane Girls-esque instrumental as Mariah coos and fills the breaks with airy conversation between Mariah and Rick.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis were determined to achieve an authentic sound while working on this album. They were so determined that they went as far as to dust off their old synthesizers from the 80s. This is most apparent on “Want You,” a duet with Eric Benet. The synths are a time machine, as are the keyboards, guitar and the programmed drum loop.

Ballads

As far as the ballads go, Mariah always excels when she releases some emotion and throws in a few melismatic runs. On Glitter, she steps a bit out of her typical writing process and writes from the perspective of another person. Yet she still excels at showing off her songwriting prowess, especially when it comes to her diverse adjective use. Though most of the Glitter soundtrack leans heavily on the 80s, these ballads have a distinct Mariah sound of the time.

Mariah started writing music for Glitter years before it came to fruition: So many, that Walter Afanasieff (whom Carey stopped working with after Butterfly in 1997) gets not only a writing credit but also a credit as an instrumentalist on “Lead The Way,” a momentous Mariah love song. It details her character’s unforeseen romance with the film’s love interest, Dice. The song also contains the longest note Mariah has ever held, clocking in at 21 seconds (though some argue that she actually goes over 30 seconds without a breath). “Lead The Way” stands as one of Mariah’s most beautiful and poignant love songs to date.

The two ballads that are performed in the film both focus on heartbreak and loss, as opposed to love. “Reflections (Care Enough)” is a gut-wrenching ode to Billie’s mother, who abandons Billie at the beginning of the film. Mariah digs deep as a songwriter and laments Billie’s emptiness without her mother in her life. She questions whether the mother ever cared and even goes as far as to suggest that she “could have had the decency to give (her) up, before (she) gave (her) life.” “Never Too Far” is the driving ballad of the film. Placed as the final musical performance of the film, Mariah’s character Billie reflects on love torn away too soon. She declares that she “won’t let time erase, one bit of yesterday” and that “nobody can take your place.”

“Twister” has heartbreaking significance to Mariah. All of the other ballads are written from the perspective of her character Billie, but “Twister” is a tribute to Mariah’s stylist Tonjua Twist. Twist worked with Mariah for years, most notably being responsible for the cut-waistband look in the “Heartbreaker” video. She tragically took her own life in the spring of 2000. It’s the shortest song on the set, clocking in under 2:30. What it lacks in length it more than makes up for in honestly and vulnerability. The song remains one of the few that Mariah has revealed the meaning of. Eerily the song took on a perceived autobiographical meaning from the outside looking in when weighing all of the tabloid drama surrounding Mariah leading up to the project’s release.

Through and through Glitter may not have accomplished what it was supposed to, but the impact it made is undeniable. It remains as a stellar body of work amongst Mariah’s catalog. Glitter continues to highlight her singular forward-thinking creativity and ability to both see and influence trends.

PS: Mariah, if you’re reading this, it’s been years. PLEASE let us hear the original “Loverboy.” We know it slays. We know it sits over “Firecracker” perfectly (we have proof of it from Brat’s verse in the remix). It’s time.

Listen to Mariah Carey’s Glitter

The post Celebrating Glitter, Mariah Carey’s Most Underrated Album appeared first on THE 97.