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SIDE A | “Good Man” by Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is a man reborn so many times, his career is old enough to have kids.
38 years ago, 17-year-old Charles Ray Wiggins walked into bass auditions for Sheila E.’s band, and nearly walked out without realizing he’d gotten the job. The fake named he’d blurted out at sign-ups—”Raphael”— almost completely slipped his mind.
2 years later, “Raphael” became one of “the Tonys” when he, his brother, and his cousin—none of whom are actually named Tony—joined R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné. With multiple #1 hits like “Feels Good” and “It Never Rains In Southern California” under their belts, and soundtrack appearances like Boyz II Men and Poetic Justice on their extensive discography, the band eventually split in 1996. The year before, each member had explored solo musicianship, and Raphael felt primed to pursue his.
John Singleton’s 1995 “Higher Learning” soundtrack is the first time Raphael SAADIQ emerged in music. “Who wants to hear Raphael WIGGINS?” a label exec had asked. (He had a point.) Today, that rose by another name is one of the most prolific creatives of my generation. His list of collaborators range from Lionel Ritchie to Mick Jagger, and Ludacris to the Bee Gees. His musical scores in HBO’s “Insecure,” Netflix’s “Luke Cage,” and 2017 film “Mudbound.” He produced D’Angelo and Solange’s biggest albums, culture-shaping artists and records in their own right.
And in between, this tireless creator even dropped a few records of his own. 2011’s “Stone Rollin” is, in my opinion, the best of them. Soul, R&B, and hip-hop all come together in brilliantly varying degrees of classic, modern and progressive sounds, especially on “Good Man.” It’s a tale of a man who’s left heartbroken despite checking all the boxes of a “good man.” But of course, that’s not always the whole story, and the video fills in the blanks with intense, star-studded scenes. Chad Coleman (The Wire, The Walking Dead) and Yaya DeCosta (Chicago Med, Our Kind of People) play the tormented couple in this 5-minute Oscar-worthy performance alongside Raphael and his backing singers’ silky vocals. “Everything around the man might be bad, his job, friends, lifestyle but underneath it all, he is a good man,” Raphael explains. But the video tells another side: one where the woman in the relationship is willing to do almost anything to escape the lifestyle of a “good man.”
Raphael’s sound and visuals bring a depth to music that feels like an oasis: everything you didn’t know you were thirsting for is right here. Meaningful subject matter, soulful sounds, beautifully shot visuals, and an irresistible hook will land this track on repeat in your playlist, as its creator intended. “I’ve always wanted my music to be like great furniture,” Raphael says, “something you can go back to and reuse all the time.”
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SIDE B | “Money” by Leikeli47 [EXPLICIT]
![SIDE B | “Money” by Leikeli47 [EXPLICIT]](https://i0.wp.com/soundincolorjune.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/8B-Leikeli47.jpg?resize=768%2C960&ssl=1)
Leikeli47 has been dropping music for over a decade now.
In all that time, not once has she dropped her mask.
That’s right. The public has no idea of this woman’s real name.
But that doesn’t mean no one knows who she is. Leikeli’s mask and her music speak volumes. “Being Black, we gotta learn how to wear a mask early,” she says. Harvard Business Review very academically describes code-switching as “adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression in ways that will optimize the comfort of others in exchange for fair treatment, quality service, and employment opportunities.” It’s something most African-Americans practice every day, and it can be exhausting… or so habitual, it’s automatic. Instead, Leikeli is owning it, reclaiming the figurative mask society demands and turning it into a real one by choice.
“With the mask on, nobody knows me. Without the mask on, nobody knows me,” she says. “The mask, it represents freedom. I’m free with it on.” She confessed to Vibe Magazine that she hopes the mask also serves as inspiration. “It gives me the ability to create, to be free, to be fun. Music-making is a people business, and I wear this mask, not just for me, but for you. So you can get out there and do what you want. You can be the person that you wanna be, you can love who you wanna love. I hope today, this mask represents just being different.”
True to her vision, “Money” is all about being a standout, and it’s obvious from the start. The song is almost entirely Leikeli rapping over a single beat. And without all the overproduction, her flawless but still laid-back flow absolutely shines. But don’t let the title fool you. “Money” isn’t about currency at all. It’s about hustle. Specifically, Black hustle.
How do I know? It’s encoded. Leikeli leaves little love notes to the culture throughout the lyrics and video. My favorite of them is the line “All my life I had to grind and hustle / I had to work like Kobe just to shine like Russell,” because there’s sooooo much to unpack in that one little line that speaks to Leikeli’s brilliance. She’s shouting out Sofia from The Color Purple and her famous “All my life, I had to fight” monologue. Kobe & Russell is easy enough, right? Not if you said Russell Westbrook. The lady is talking about BILL Russell, basketball pioneer and defensive legend who never averaged more than 19 points per game in his 13 years on the court, but is second in all-time rebounds. The lyricism is off-the-charts, especially paired with Leikeli’s unique voice.
Everything about her says that she takes her craft and her individuality quite seriously, but her sense of humor and personal style shine through too. I promise you’ll smile AT LEAST once watching Leikeli, and her mask wardrobe alone is an entire lookbook. For a woman who hides her real face, she’s very good at expressing her real self. “I am going to tell my story, and I will let you know who I am, regardless,” she says. “You got to survive by any means necessary. My survival is my music and pressing play.”
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SIDE A | “I Want to Be Evil” by Eartha Kitt
Actress. Singer. Dancer. Model. Activist. Sharecropper’s daughter. Muse.
Eartha Kitt was many things.
But not evil.
Well, some folks might beg to differ. After Eartha’s 1968 “White House Incident,” the CIA issued a dossier on “her escapades overseas and her loose morals.” Eartha’s crime? Making Lady Bird Johnson cry.
Eartha had been invited to a luncheon during the Vietnam War, and sat listening quietly like a proper Southern lady… until called upon for her opinion. Which she did not hold back. “You send the best of this country off to be shot and maimed. No wonder the kids rebel and take pot,” she retorted. The First Lady got in her feelings, and Eartha’s US bookings were no more.
But no matter. By then, Eartha had appeared in at least nine films; starred in TV shows I Spy, Batman, and Mission: Impossible; and performed in 12 Broadway productions. Though the CIA had successfully burned many an activist/entertainer’s career, they hadn’t come up against Eartha’s level of star power. Or her hidden talent: Eartha spoke four languages, and sang in at least eleven.
So when the States tried to snuff out her career, Eartha simply shone abroad. “I Want to Be Evil” is one of only three tracks (out of eight) from her 1953 LP titled “That Bad Eartha” that’s sung entirely in English. (Ed. Note: “Uska Dara, A Turkish Tale” also appears on this album and I highly recommend it.) Now, not to diminish Eartha’s singing in any way, but it’s her stagecraft that truly makes her songs come alive. And you’ll see it in action in her absolutely captivating 1962 performance of “I Want to Be Evil” for Swedish variety show Kaskad.
Open scene. A demurely styled Eartha lies atop a tiger skin rug. Her hands cradle her face as she laments her innermost longings… for EVIL. But that’s the joke, isn’t it? None of poor Eartha’s secret machinations are ACTUALLY evil. But ALL of the ways she’s NOT evil are totally authentic and absolutely oppressive. “I Want to Be Evil” is steeped in satire and social commentary that a lesser entertainer simply could not convey.
An Ivory Soap ad touts the American way of coloni… I mean, civilizing the indigenous… with cleanliness. THE IRONY. Go wash your legs, Uncle Sam. The very first proof of virtue Eartha offers is that she’s “posed for pictures with Ivory Soap,” before also noting that she’s “been made Miss Rheingold.” Everyone knows that Ivory Soap has built their brand on being “99.9% pure.” A lot of people DON’T know that soap companies globally exploited Black and indigenous peoples, using them as examples of how their product could make one civilized, or “get the black off.” Rheingold Beer recruited spokesgirls through an annual “Miss Rheingold” competition—one in which Black women were not permitted. I can almost guarantee that the brilliant, well-informed, and former cotton picker Eartha knew both of those things and how subversive those lines would be coming from her mouth, even if her audience saw them as the height of femininity.
Oh, but she is not just the picture perfect woman in appearance & presentation, she is CHASTE. When she mentions that the “only etching I’ve seen have been behind glass,” that’s the vintage Netflix & chill. You know, “would you like to come over and see my art?” Wink wink. She doesn’t even “sing songs like the guy who cries”!! That’s Johnnie Ray, known as “The Cry Guy,” the original teenage heartthrob who influenced Elvis’s sexually charged moves and vocal stylings. Sis is telling you she’s so celibate, she won’t even tempt a man. Again… rich coming from a woman who built an entire career on sex appeal.
And remember how Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray basically disintegrated when his portrait was destroyed because he was living too hard? YAAAAAAAS GIVE IT TO EARTHA because it’s not enough to simply be judged as a dirty, loose woman, she’s trying to look the part and “see some dissipation in [her] face,” y’all.
“I Want to Be Evil” is hilariously funny, and Eartha’s animated expressions along the way turn a very simple song with clever staging and camerawork into a full-scale production, and protest song too. She once told the Austin Chronicle that “discontent very often makes geniuses.” If being GOOD in a patriarchal, inequitable society was to be her fate, the undeniably genius Eartha Kitt chose EVIL.
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SIDE B | “I’m Every Woman” by Chaka Khan
Prince didn’t only help jump-start careers like Tevin Campbell’s from SIDE A, he also invigorated careers like Chaka Khan’s. Her cover of his “I Feel For You” earned Grammys for the both of them.
But “I’m Every Woman” came first, setting the stage for Chaka’s incomparable solo career. By the time it was released, Chaka Khan had already made a name for herself as the beautiful frontwoman of funk band Rufus. All funk from that era relied heavily on bass & guitar wah pedals, but the deeply saturated sound Rufus created, combined with Chaka’s soaring vocals made them one of the most influential bands of the 70s with four consecutive #1 R&B albums, five #1 R&B singles, and many more accolades. Toss in Chaka’s hippie glam style with belly-baring tops, feathers and beaded fringe, and fearless experimentation, and by the time she released “I’m Every Woman,” the world had already figured that out for themselves. So of course her female affirmation anthem was met with wild success.
Chaka is yet another artist whose influence and impact is so sweeping that I could not begin to tell you all of her accomplishments, nor do I need to. Everybody knows that Chaka Khan is legendary. But even Chaka knows that the music industry treated her differently than her R&B female counterparts. And the reason is very simple:
RESPECTABILITY POLITICS.
Even in her prime, she wasn’t afraid to address her truth in the September 1980 issue of Interview Magazine. “I won’t become a household word, or achieve the fame I deserve in my lifetime because of the way I look.” Now, you might be thinking that other African-American women that I just featured DID become household names. But consider the difference.
Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, and the other genre-crossing ladies all “cleaned up nice.” Diana fronted the Supremes like an angel, Aretha gained fame singing in churches, and Patti was most successful in gospel. They were all nice girls easily packaged up for a “mainstream” (read: white) audience for American Bandstand and The Ed Sullivan Show. On the other hand, Chaka could have walked into a taping of Soul Train (where she and Rufus did in fact perform many, many times). She was a high school dropout and member of the Black Panthers. She was adamant about wearing her natural hair without manipulation, and vocal about having received her name from a Yoruban high priest. (Chaka’s “government” name was Yvette Marie Stevens until she was a teenager.) AND she was shaking it around in front of a group of MEN? Oh, no, hunny.
But Chaka’s talent and determination grew beyond the little box the record labels and promoters tried to put her in. Her multiple Grammy wins and noms, along with a brilliant performance in The Blues Brothers broke barriers. You’ve heard her in other artists’ songs, like Kanye’s “Through the Fire.” You’ve heard artists like Whitney Houston cover “I’m Every Woman,” and it’s even appeared in adult cartoon King of the Hill. ” In 2000, she performed at BOTH the the Democratic and the Republican National Conventions, and Chaka is STILL releasing award-winning music like her 2019 single “Like Sugar.”
So I might have to respectfully disagree with Mother Chaka on this one. She’s not every woman. Having lived through her ups and downs, fought through personal and professional battles, endured racism and sexism, and STILL come out on top, she’s more like every woman’s #goals.
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SIDE A | “Can We Talk?” by Tevin Campbell
Child stars rarely stay wholesome and endearing. But there’s a lot that makes Tevin Campbell one-of-a-kind.
He was only 14 years old when his first solo hit charted. These days, there’s kids on The Voice younger than that, but back then, such a thing was unheard of. But Prince Rogers Nelson and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds made sure we were listening. Prince dedicated an entire scene in Graffiti Bridge, the sequel to Purple Rain, to Tevin’s first solo single “Round and Round.” The first single from Tevin’s second album was “Can We Talk?” written and produced by Babyface. I’m confident that the weight of those two names in launching a single person’s career isn’t lost on you.
It goes without saying that he could sing. Where most teenage boys’ voices are wrecked through puberty, Tevin kept the incredible range that he debuted with. Grown men were Tevin Campbell fans on the merits of his voice. A guest appearance on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as Ashley’s celebrity crush didn’t hurt either. In short, no matter the age or gender, everybody Black was rooting for Tevin Campbell.
Fast forward to 2019 when I guess the world forgot that. Tevin’s fame had diminished over time, and he did take a hiatus from 2003 to 2004, but he never stopped entertaining. He dropped 4 complete albums from 1991 to 1999, appeared on Moesha, the 2005 Broadway production of Hairspray, and the Mo’Nique Show, all while touring abroad. But when Mother Aretha Franklin passed away and there was talk of Tevin performing at her 2018 funeral, folks on the Twittersphere tried to throw shade.
NO. We protect Tevin Campbell at all costs. Celebrities and us regular folks alike came out in droves to tell the world that Tevin Campbell is a treasure. It was one of those rare touching moments that brought the Internet together.
AND THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.
In December of last year, R&B singer Tank, who’s very forthcoming about his hearing loss, showed the world that he could still sing Tevin’s “Can We Talk?,” the song that in his opinion is the mark of a “real R&B singer.” In the video’s caption, Tank issued the #CanWeTalkChallenge, and the Internet said ABSOLUTELY. Professional singers, actors, and ordinary TikTokers all joined in, and today, over 27 million people on the Internet’s youngest social network have heard the sweet sounds of a song that’s now become a nearly 30-year-old trend.
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SIDE B | “Word Up!” by Cameo
FULL DISCLOSURE:
At its biggest, the collective of musicians that would become Cameo was once 14 members deep.But let’s be real: Cameo would never have captured our attention without charismatic lead singer Larry Blackmon.
And his giant red codpiece.
In fact, Cameo already had 12 years in the game by the time “Word Up!” released in 1986. The song became the band’s biggest success and one of the 80’s biggest musical signs of the times.
In the years before their iconic hit, the members of Cameo were a deep funk band with a brass section, inspired by Parliament-Funkadelic. But the 80s ushered in a very different society with a very different style and sound. Gaudy costumes were out, over-the-top hair and accessories were in. Personal computers were just becoming a fixture in American homes. New Coke’s spokesperson was computer-generated. And definitive slang accompanied this bold, newly digitized era. Larry Blackmon and Cameo fully embraced that cultural shift in “Word Up!” and the culture ATE. IT. UP.
As the cherry on top, Cameo even cast LeVar Burton as their dance nemesis detective. At that point, the world only knew LeVar from Roots and Reading Rainbow. His next starring role was as Lieutenant Commander Geordi La Forge on Star Trek: The Next Generation. I’m not saying Gene Roddenberry was a Cameo fan, but I mean, who wasn’t?
Either way, everyone’s stock skyrocketed after “Word Up!” and basically hasn’t stopped since. “Word Up!” and Cameo’s follow up single, “Candy,” have been sampled and covered so many times it’d be impossible to list them all, but Mel B, Korn, Mariah Carey, and 2Pac are just a handful of the artists who’ve sold records on the shoulders of Larry Blackmon and the many, many still active members of Cameo.
We don’t have to talk about the codpiece.
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SIDE A | “Lady Marmalade” by LaBelle
They don’t teach French at South Philly churches.
And that’s the only place that young Patricia Holte would have learned it since she spent every waking moment singing at Beulah Baptist Church.
But when famed New Orleans producer Allen Toussaint asked girl group LaBelle to record “Lady Marmalade,” the “Belles” knew they had a hit, even if they didn’t know a lick of the language.
Poor Patti had been performing “Lady Marmalade” for months before her divine intervention turned revelation when angry nuns came after her for promoting a sexual lifestyle. That’s how sweet, naive, church-going Patti found out she’d been singing about sex work all along.
“Nobody, I swear this is God’s truth, nobody told me what I’d just sung a song about,” she told Jet Magazine. Her shame almost kept her from going back to church, but when she did, the way she was welcomed made her realize “Hey, hookers are people too.” Billboard Magazine got a slightly more colorful quote: “A hooker has to make a living, too — she don’t take the mic out of my mouth and I’m not gonna take the mattress from under her.”
Point is, Ms. Patti was here for ALL the people. And she was joined by Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash, her accompanying members in the legendary LaBelle, which had gained success in the first place thanks to their very unique approach to music. Their covers included “Wild Horses” and “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.” Their original songs included titles like “Morning Much Better” and “Touch Me All Over.” LaBelle was bound to stand out and together, the funk-soul trio absolutely took the world by storm with “Lady Marmalade.” Everyone wanted a piece of the incredible energy, harmonies, and presence LaBelle brought to the stage. These three ladies became the first Black vocal group ever featured on the cover of Rolling Stone. They were the first pop group of ANY race to play the Metropolitan Opera House founded in 1883, and now one of the most globally accessible music venues in the world.
In this performance recorded live for MTV/VH1, see for yourself why LaBelle absolutely stunned critics, record labels, networks and audiences alike. Remember, I called them a funk-soul group and clearly there is no lie. The costumes you’ll see in this performance are actually tame in comparison to most of LaBelle’s wardrobe, if you can imagine this much skin, sequins and shine being “tame.” But the vocals here are completely outrageous. Patti’s infallible pitch, runs, and ad-libs, these amazing three-part harmonies that just materialize out of nowhere, and the fact that it all happens while dancing around in these get-ups? Otherworldly.
“Lady Marmalade” was LaBelle’s biggest hit, but in the tale all we know too well, success frequently drives a wedge between even the closest of groups. Each lady already had different desires for the direction of the group, and eventually they all followed their hearts and disbanded. Yes, Patti is the “Godmother of Soul” you know and love so well. But Nona Hendryx found her own success in rock, eventually writing, recording and collaborating with Dusty Springfield, Prince, Keith Richards and many, many more. Sarah Dash went on to dazzle in dance and disco music, and you’ve most famously heard her with the Stones as well, duetting on “Time Is On My Side.”
Unless you just don’t listen to music, you’ve heard “Lady Marmalade” so many times, I’m certain you’ve been singing that racy French line to yourself the entire time you’ve been reading along— “voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir?”—so take a break and do yourself the favor of watching & hearing my favorite performance of it from the only ladies who could truly do it right.
Even if they had no idea.
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SIDE B | “F**k It All” by Elle Varner [EXPLICIT]
![SIDE B | “F**k It All” by Elle Varner [EXPLICIT]](https://i0.wp.com/soundincolorjune.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/5B-ELLE.jpg?resize=768%2C959&ssl=1)
You’d think Elle Varner is southern because she’s got a voice like molasses: slow and syrupy.
That’s also precisely what makes the lyrics and video behind “Fuck It All” so unexpected.
But watch and you’ll see exactly where the lady’s coming from. Despite her faithfulness, she’s a woman scorned, and the song details her options after learning of her betrayal: wallow, self-sabotage, or as she very succinctly puts it, “fuck it all.”
Guess which one she picks?
What you won’t see coming though is how she executes that thought. Literally.
And honestly, I love that for her. Because when her first album released in 2012, Elle’s brand of singer/songwriter soul (and probably a record label) positioned her as the “good girl” in a sea of R&B songstresses. 2014’s “Fuck It All” carves out space to be a good girl who gets mad too. The stereotypes on both sides of the coin make it hard to be yourself as a Black woman. Defy people’s preconceived notions of what a “Black woman” is but show any emotion whatsoever along the way, ESPECIALLY with profanity, and you’ve merely “proven” them right. “Fuck It All” is Elle’s battle cry in the fight against being a good Black girl for the benefit of others.
It’s also a welcome departure from traditional female R&B content. We’ve all heard ladies pining for a man, rebounding after a man, regretting a man, but “Fuck It All” is ALL about her. She says the word “you” twice, and that’s the ONLY mention of another person in the whole song. It’s pretty amazing to listen and watch this woman claim her destiny and own her true feelings. Her perspective is refreshing, and her piercing voice will absolutely enchant you from the start. The video opens as she practices another song on piano, and it’ll make you want to lay your head on her lap. Whether or not it was intentional, it’s another moment that establishes her femininity and makes you want to care for her.
But don’t be fooled, and don’t forget. The loveliest and most delicate of creatures are full of dangerous surprises. And sometimes cuss words.
I don’t know what’s up with the age-restriction. I’m guessing it’s the combination of explicit lyrics and brief suggestions of violence, but there’s no inappropriate content here. Just a woman’s wrath. 🙂
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SIDE A | “Garage Rooftop” by Q
Q specializes in feel-good music for people who don’t feel so good.
Especially if those people are men.
Over half the tracks on his 2021 album titled The Shave Experiment mention his tears in some way. The others explore themes of anxiety, vulnerability, fear, joy, and a lot of other things that “real men” just don’t talk about.
But Q seems pretty real to me. (And yes, that IS his real name. Q Steven Marsden.)
“Crying is for everyone,” he says. “If I can cry and still be courageous and still be strong, I feel like that’s [being] more of a man, if anything. Let me cry, but I’ll still take care of what I gotta do. Those are your emotions. It’s a feeling and feelings aren’t always fact.”
That’s enough to make Q and his musical perspective unique, but the way he delivers it is unlike anything you’ve ever heard before.
Throughout The Shave Experiment, Q sings in two ranges over low-fi synth melodies, electric guitar, and drum machines. In “Garage Rooftop,” you’ll get a taste of how tons of reverb and (the frequently abused) auto-tune can actually make beautiful music of Q’s comforting tenor and hopeful falsetto. But all of that sweet sound comes with even sweeter visuals. “Garage Rooftop” is a mélange of stolen moments between lovers splashing in waves, snuggling on grass, and of course, dancing on rooftops. It’s adorable in a way that almost makes you feel uncomfortable. Q’s vocals are raw and unfinished, the camera frames faces close enough to see blemishes, and each scene feels so intimate and authentic. Maybe even too authentic because after all of that sweetness, Q shows us that things aren’t always what they seem, and sometimes you don’t realize what you’ve got till it’s gone.
Life lessons aside though, that authenticity is another key trait of Q’s videos. In “Take Me Where Your Heart Is,” another of my Q favorites, he takes the same girl out bowling, and they do the kind of goofy stuff you do when you’re a grown person who doesn’t actually bowl. I don’t know if this woman is really Q’s girlfriend, someone he knows well, or just a great actress, but their chemistry is so easy that you’ll find yourself super invested in this fictional (?) relationship, and genuinely hoping things turned out OK.
And if not, rest assured, Q’s got a song for those feels too.
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SIDE B | “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. [EXPLICIT]
![SIDE B | “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. [EXPLICIT]](https://i0.wp.com/soundincolorjune.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/4B-BIG.jpg?resize=768%2C959&ssl=1)
A swan song and prophecy, the Notorious B.I.G.’s second and final album, a double-disc titled “Life After Death,” changed the face of hip-hop. It was the first time so-called “gangster rap” planted itself firmly into the mainstream, with the biggest East Coast rapper in the early 90s coastal hip-hop beef recruiting top musicians across rap and R&B as unexpected collaborators. Jay-Z, Faith Evans, Lil Kim, 112, Kelly Price, Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony, Mase, Angela Winbush and many more are featured prominently across B.I.G.’s twenty-five “Life After Death” tracks.
The album’s first single, “Hypnotize” was merely the first of many “Life After Death” tracks to leave its mark. Five days after its release, on March 9, 1997, B.I.G. died at the hands of a still unidentified assailant and “Hypnotize” became the first song to posthumously reach #1 on American charts since John Lennon’s death in 1980, and the fifth ever. That July, the album’s second single, “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” became the sixth. “Life After Death” would officially live forever.
“Hypnotize” was B.I.G.’s last video, and the performance that he & Sean “Puffy” Combs deliver is tremendous. The video pulled inspiration from Bond movies and 1995’s Will Smith and Martin Lawrence buddy action comedy, “Bad Boys,” which in itself is a nod to Puff’s record label Bad Boy Entertainment. There’s layers to these things, just like in the song.
The reason it sounds so damn familiar is that Puff brilliantly sampled a couple of hit-makers to create this one. The beat is taken from Herb Alpert’s “Rise,” a Grammy-winning single from the summer of 1979, and the hook from Slick Rick’s “La Di Da Di.” Over all of that, B.I.G.’s signature effortless flow shines, as do all of his “flashy ways.” It was one of the first music videos to feature rappers surrounded in luxury instead of flexing their street cred. In fact, between the wardrobe, cars, yachts, helicopters, and special effects, the budget for “Hypnotize” was closer to that of a 90s small film than a music video.
It’s also the prime example of a banger of a song and an epic video becoming greater than the sum of their parts. Ask any hip-hop fan one of the most memorable moments in rap video history, and they will absolutely tell you that it’s B.I.G. and Puff fleeing their pursuers backwards while B.I.G. raps “Escargot, my car go one-sixty swiftly.” But it’s only one of many incredible moments and clever lyrics you’ll find here. Honestly, “Hypnotize” is all around eye and ear candy, but still just a taste of 24-year-old Christopher Wallace’s potential as the man who in death gave rap a whole new life.
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