Just An Excuse to Post Some of My Favorite Songs

So last night I went to a Ledisi/ Mint Condition concert. Being that it was a Friday night and I work from 3am to 10am on Saturday mornings (and yes, I'm at work right now) I ended up getting only 2 hours of sleep. But boy was it worth it!!! Sooooo worth it! Ledisi tore up that stage and then Mint Condition went on ahead and set that ish on fiah.

Now here are some of the things that was running through my mind while Mint Condition slayed the audience.

1. I didn't know that "Stokley," Mint Condition's lead singer, was so short.
2. I also didn't know that he looked so much like Kirk Franklin - maybe it was his being short and wearing a hat and jumping around the whole stage.
2a. He may be short, but with a voice like that he could get it I can understand why he is the lead singer.
3. What happened to good male R&B groups?

So I got to thinking about some of the songs that came out during my formative years and how much music has changed since then. I remember singing R&B songs in the backseat of my mom's mini van along with my sisters. Just belting out lyrics that had no curse words, no reference to sex or body parts but had a grown person's swag to it that even we recognized as children. Songs so serious it made you understand that this man (and about 3 or 4 of his buddies) were pouring out their very souls...every last inch of what their heart could offer...putting it on a track and giving you the privilege of listening to it in the courtesy of your own home. With real drums, piano and saxophone in the background.

"This feeling is the one thing my heart is sure of." Yall don't hear me though!

I'm sorry not really but I am a lyric person. I listen to every word an "artist" sings and you can't just talk about "inventing sex" or "getting sex therapy." You have to grab my heart and just rip it out of my chest while it's still beating. I am very passionate about words. And I know that "sex sells" but I'm that old-fashioned kind of day-dreamy, romance obsessed girl that still listens to a song and imagines that it's about me.

(Even though this song really is about me. I actually have almondy, dark brown eyes in real life.)

So if you're going to sing about love, (deep RuPaul voice) you betta sing about LOVE. And I mean real love. Unlike these teeny boppers out here today, some of us can still tell the difference.

For example, have you ever been on your way to see the love of your life after not seeing them for maybe a year, a month, a week or even just one day. But the anticipation of seeing them makes you feel like your heart is going to just jump out of your chest?

Or have you ever gotten out of a relationship with someone that you loved because they didn't know how to give you what you needed? Well, I'ma need you to fast forward to 2:10 on this next video.

Or how about some plain, ole-fashioned feel good music?

And the videos! Remember the music videos?

You want special effects? 6 seconds in. (It's like they appear from thin air).

Cutting edge fashion? Just check out the shoulder pads and hair at 34 seconds.

Sensual dance moves? 1:28 to 1:40

And see who Rihanna stole those sunglasses from at 17 seconds.

Okay, okay, the videos weren't the best...but at least they tried!

On a positive note, there are plenty of good songs out there that remind me that R&B is not completely dead but I guess going to the Ledisi/ Mint Condition concert last night just brought back some nostalgic memories of my favorite male R&B groups. Also, I will be meeting Boyz II Men (another group that was killing the game) for an event coming up in April and I've been listening to a lot of their music lately. Seeing them perform should be interesting (despite the absence of Mike a.k.a the only decent looking one in the group). And that brings me to another thing about the R&B singers. They weren't lookers, but the way they sang and performed their songs...it didn't matter! In some cases, the uglier they were...the better they sounded.

If you can tell me who wasn't blasting that song in 1991, I will give you a million dollars!

Well, I guess we're at the end of this post. But you know I can't conclude without posting a song from one of the best male R&B groups of all time...

Sexual Chocolate!!!

They play so fine, don't you agree?