After it was learned that Sir Etimus' wifey had mocked Boyz II Men and the lyrics for "Motown Philly," I felt this review was necessary to defend the honor of the "most successful R&B male vocal group of all time[1]," which "set and broke records for the longest period of time a single remained at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100[1]" and was only "the second artist (behind The Beatles) to replace themselves at the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100[1]."
Before I begin my review of the lyrics for "Motown Philly," I would like to take the time first to take a historical and cultural perspective of Boyz II Men. Perhaps it's because I had just finished reading "
Can't Stop Won't Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation" by Jeff Chang, and it's given me a fresh perspective of the music I grew up to and came of age to; that is, the role of hip hop in the larger cultural and political movements occurring that was both shaped by hip hop and conversely influenced the direction of hip hop and the hip hop generation: from the black panther movement to race riots in Watts to Korean-Black relations in LA to the LA riots to housing developments and the deterioration of the urban city...
See, to me, when I think of the early 90s, which was my golden age of music, I think of new jack swing. The new jack swing sound really got it's start in the 80s, with New Edition (which ultimately led to Bell Biv Devoe), Heavy D, Tony Toni, Tone, Janet Jackson, and the like, but it all really came to a peak with "Motown Philly." When I think of the new jack swing sound, that's the song that immediately comes to mind, and therefore to me, represents the 90s sound. Ultimately, Boyz II Men built their reputation as an R&B group that hearkened back to the days of Motown and illicits comparison to Motown groups such as The Temptations. And lets be frank, they dropped the best vocals of any pop group in my lifetime. But since this is a review of "Motown Philly," my emphasis is not on R&B at this moment, but on hip hop and what it has meant to me. Hip Hop began as party music. Starting from it's roots in Jamaica and taking foot in the Bronx, DJs such as Kool Herc emphasized loud soundsystems, heavy beats, and hyping the crowd. Back then, hip hop was all about forgetting the struggle of normal life and just partying to a dope beat. Somewhere along the way, hip hop became brand conscious (My Adidas by Run DMC), political (Public Enemy), and a narrative for the struggles of inner city youth (NWA). These groups were all important in my evolution of a hip hop fan: my love affair with Hip Hop began with Run DMC, listening to my brother's bootleg copy of Raising Hell with tracks such as It's Tricky, Peter Piper, Walk this Way, and You Be Illin; NWA's Straight Out of Compton was the very first tape I bought; and Public Enemy's Apocalypse 91 was the first rap CD I ever bought. In the 90s, hip hop took on more jazzy sounds (A Tribe Called Quest) and then became dominated by the g-funk sound (Dre, Snoop, Warren G) and I loved it all. But somewhere in between, R&B and hip hop started to converge a little bit, which is ultimately what the new jack swing sound was: soulful and harmonizing melodies and vocals over big beats.
In the 2000s, R&B and Hip Hop artists have become so intertwined (collaborations with John Legend, Alicia Keys, Lauren Hill, etc. with Kanye, Jay Z, The Roots, etc), but there was none of that in the 80s. The two genres were distinctly unique. In the late 80s and early 90s, I listened pretty much exclusively to "slow jamz" by R&B artists such as Babyface and rappers such as those mentioned above. The convergence of these sounds was amazing to me, and the beats brought me back to the early days of hip hop, when it was just about having a good time.
And though it was Teddy Riley of Blackstreet that is credited with the new jack swing sound, no song captures the feeling of new jack swing more so than Motown Philly (Cooleyhighharmony, by the way, was the very first CD I ever bought). And so begins my review of the lyrics for Motown Philly [my comments in brackets].
[the song starts of with just the hottest beat ever! it always gets me pumped up, and then the snares hit, and BAM. just awesome]
Chorus: Motownphilly back again Doin' a little east coast swing Boyz II Men going off Not too hard, not too soft[First off, this song is a tribute to their hometown of Philly, which is something that is prevalent in the culture of black music (and if we were to just talk about love for Philly, there's the Fresh Prince and The Roots that have paid homage to their city of brotherly love). Then there's the new jack swing sound: not too hard, not too soft.]
It's long overdue but now Philly's slammin' Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD The east coast family Never skipped a beat, na While cooling on south street Jet black benz, plenty of friends And all the philly steaks you can eat[Philly's slammin'...jet black benz, plenty of friends...I just imagine good times and streets filled with energy. Is a jet black benz materialistic? yes, but that's also a part of the culture of branding and hip hop. "Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD" is another part of the culture; representing your crew. "And all the philly steaks you can eat" - c'mon, who doesn't love philly steaks!]
Back in school We used to dream about this everyday Could it really happen? Or do dreams fade away, yeah Then we started singin' They said it sounded smooth So we started a group and here we are Kickin' it just for you[This is another theme that is common throughout hip hop (the best example of which would be Juicy by Biggie). Dreaming of making it big, making a better life, making the most of your talents.]
Chorus Michael bivins' rap: Yo these four new jacks is real Smooth on the harmony tip Nate, mike, shawn, and wan You know the mentality Keep flippin' the gift The spotlight is on us now Watch us do this Da da, daaa da da, da da da da da da Live and direct from philly town Rap and hype and we can get down We are ready to roll So now the world will know that we flow[listen closely here. The song doesn't go completely acapella, but when they sing "da da..." there's a pause in the background instrumentals that emphasizes the vocals, which kind of puts the listener in the middle of their audition to Bivins.]
Back in school we used to dream about this everyday Could it really happen? Or do dreams fade away Then we started singing them They said it sounded smooth So we started a group and here we are Kickin' it just for you Chorus Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men Then we started singing them They said it sounded smooth Michael bivins' rap: Now check this out One day back in philly Four guys wanted to sing They came up to me i said What's your name? (boyz ii men) Ya know what i'm sayin' Than i said alright fellas Well let me see what you can do And then wan said Yo mike, check this out See if this one moves you[and sometimes you just have to catch a lucky break and have someone take a chance on you. In this case it was Michael Bivins of Bell Biv Devoe. In fact, it's come full circle for Boyz II Men, whho got their name from New Edition's song, "Boys to Men," and performed an acapella version of New Edition's "Can You Stand the Rain" for Bivins. So here Michael bivins is backstage at his concert, listening to these young cats from Philly that are named after one of his songs, singing one of his songs for him.]
Doom doom doom da da, doom doom doom da da Da di da di da da, da da, daa daa daa Doom doom doom da da, doom doom doom da da Da di da di da da, da da, daa daa daa ohh[ok yeah, written down, this looks stupid, but it's really all about showcasing the range of their voices and harmony. You gotta admit, these brothas can sing.]
Chorus Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men, Boyz II Men Boyz II Men, ABC, BBDFootnotes:
[1] Wikipedia -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyz_II_Men
