Keith Sweat-Twisted/112 (featuring Biggie & Mase)-Only You/Dru Hill-In My Bed (So So Def remix)

I was in a cafe grading papers the other day (it's scary how many anecdotes begin with those ten words these days), and "Twisted" by Keith Sweat came on. I almost lost it. I hadn't heard it in so long! Totally classic slow jam. I didn't listen to tons of male R & B singers back in the 90s: I was more into rap and female R & B. The following songs, however, were three of my favorites.

I'm not so sure how I feel about the fact that two of these three songs are Bad Boy and So So Def remixes. Puff Daddy (I mean Puffy [I mean P Diddy] {I mean Diddy} ((I mean Tweetle-Dee Cocoa Puff Breath))) is annoying in a multitude of ways. On Ready to Die, his mumbling in the background serves no purpose other than to ever-so-subtly keep himself in the public's mind. Maybe that's some PT Barnum-style self-promotion tactic, but being on the listening end of it is kind of exasperating. Anyway, he's gotta be doing something right, cause "Only You" is a great track. The beat isn't very creative, but it's a serviceable vehicle for 112's vocals. I must say, though, I'm glad that Mase left rap to join the ministry, cause he looks seriously uncomfortable in this video. When Prodigy of Mobb Deep raps, "They never around when the beef cooks in my part of town," it sounds real. When Mase raps, "And when the beef come you nowhere to be found," I'm thinking THE ONLY BEEF YOU KNOW ABOUT IS YOUR MOM'S BEEF WELLINGTON.

Jermaine Dupris of So So Def also suffers from what Suge Knight would call "producers all up in the video" syndrome. It's ok, though, cause "In My Bed" is a great song. It has a similar garden-variety beat, but it works with Dru Hill's vocals, which I really love. I'm not quite sure why this video cuts off before the end, but i kinda like it cause it cuts off Jermaine Dupris. Haha. Less you, and more Dru Hill and Da Brat, please. It kinda felt weird typing Da Brat just now. She's gonna have to change her name if she ever records an album of jazz standards. "The All Grown Up! Artist Formerly Known as Da Brat" has a nice ring to it.