10.22.2004
If I could make the world dance...
"Watch my feet while I step, see my smile while I step, feel my vibe while I step 'cause I'm sending out those love signals." ~ R. Kelly
I truly believe if R. Kelly had one wish, he'd wish his troubled past away. I believe he'd do all he could to win back the trust of all those he hurt, including me. I think if you stumpled upon his nightly prayer these are the words you'd here: "Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be an example to people around the world that you can overcome adversity."
I am an R. Kelly fan. I know professing this while the man is going through a rather touchy case involving an underaged girl, a tape and a heap of piss may not be the best confession I could make, but still I would be remissed if I did not admit he is my addiction. Like many I had problems with the man in the very beginning, and even bigger problems with him when the allegations made headlines around the country, like Sparkle I wanted him to fall...hard. But isn't human nature amazing? What's taboo today makes for an even more successful artist the next day. I clearly remember Wendy cursing the man out and professing she'd never spin another of his tracks on her show again. So why was I surprised when I turned on the Wendy Williams Experience and heard the pied piper of r&b professing: "happy people make the world go 'round"? If anybody hated the man and was sure to continue hating him until she saw him under the jail I thought for sure Wendy would be that person. Damn', what the fuck happened?
According to Rock On The Net since February 2002 when the allegations were first reported Kells has sold a reported six million albums, three million of which came from this latest release alone! Not bad for a man dealing with a major career set back, wouldn't you agree? Which gets one to thinking, what is it about R. Kelly that people can't seem to get enough of? Is his music that fucking good, that a whole slew of people (including me) can purchase every album he has released, guilty conscience or not? Hell-fucking-yeah...
Back in November 2003 I was in D.C. for a radio interview on XM radio when Sdot and I decided to hit up one of the local clubs later that night. After making my rounds I settled in to enjoy what was left of my evening. In case I haven't mentioned this in any of my previous posts: Sdot is a party-goer. He loves to be out and about mixing it up and dancing his ass off to the latest hip-hop beats. So I knew exactly where to find him. He and my friend happy feet were getting their groove on, on the dance floor. After watching them and laughing to myself (I really wonder if people know how they look the moment they lose themselves in music?) I went over and joined them. After hoofing it to about three songs happy feet bid us adieu and headed towards a friend he hadn't seen in quite some time. Never willing to let a steady rhythm go Sdot continued to party to what would turn out to be one of the best sets a non-New York D.J., in our humble opinion, had ever played. Then it came on, and I kid you not, swallowed me whole.
I had heard Step In The Name Of Love before but apparently never really listened to the words. That night as the Grand Manier began to settle in, and the steady bass-line began to thump with the sole determination to bring everyone hooping to the floor, I felt R. making his move. Within minutes the expansive dance floor was overflowing with brothers and sisters eager to step in the name of love. And by God we did. "Step, step side to side, round and round, get down, separate bring it back, let me see you do the love slide..." It felt like a trance; like the whole club was being elevated to another level of party. And just when I thought it couldn't get any higher R. Kelly started speaking directly to me--and though the whole room was alive with excitement, with dancer after dancer causing all types of distraction--and the D.J. yelling repeatedly: “do that shit”--I still managed to hear him loud and clear: If they ask you why we did it, tell them: we did it for love.
I grabbed Sdot, pulled him to me and began battling Kells as he sang, if they ask you why we did it, tell them: we did it for love. I had been looking for definitions of our love, definitions of our relationship, words to say to people who couldn't understand our being, who we were, or why sometimes for us it just wasn't a choice, and I finally found it on a crowded dance floor filled with brothers and sisters who shared and understood the sentiment: we do what we do for love.
Kells opened up a whole new world of understanding for me and for the first time caused tears to fall from my eyes in a club. It was a new chapter in our relationship, yes he had possibly done the unthinkable but I was willing to forgive him, even if others weren't. Simply because that's what love does, forgive.
Kelly's new album is taking me on an emotional high, though I must admit I have yet to fully embrace the u saved me part of the set primarily because the happy people side is so fucking magnetic. At first listen one would think the songs sound almost identical, but a seasoned listener knows each is a unique gift unto itself. I have been spinning this album since it's release and not a day passes that I do not find myself yearning to be one of those happy people. I'm almost there.
__________________________________________
Album: Happy People | Label: Jive | Released: 08.24.2004
Standout tracks: Red Carpet | Love Signals | Ladies Night | If | Steppin' Into Heaven | If I Could Make The World Dance | Happy People
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I truly believe if R. Kelly had one wish, he'd wish his troubled past away. I believe he'd do all he could to win back the trust of all those he hurt, including me. I think if you stumpled upon his nightly prayer these are the words you'd here: "Thank you Jesus for allowing me to be an example to people around the world that you can overcome adversity." I am an R. Kelly fan. I know professing this while the man is going through a rather touchy case involving an underaged girl, a tape and a heap of piss may not be the best confession I could make, but still I would be remissed if I did not admit he is my addiction. Like many I had problems with the man in the very beginning, and even bigger problems with him when the allegations made headlines around the country, like Sparkle I wanted him to fall...hard. But isn't human nature amazing? What's taboo today makes for an even more successful artist the next day. I clearly remember Wendy cursing the man out and professing she'd never spin another of his tracks on her show again. So why was I surprised when I turned on the Wendy Williams Experience and heard the pied piper of r&b professing: "happy people make the world go 'round"? If anybody hated the man and was sure to continue hating him until she saw him under the jail I thought for sure Wendy would be that person. Damn', what the fuck happened?
According to Rock On The Net since February 2002 when the allegations were first reported Kells has sold a reported six million albums, three million of which came from this latest release alone! Not bad for a man dealing with a major career set back, wouldn't you agree? Which gets one to thinking, what is it about R. Kelly that people can't seem to get enough of? Is his music that fucking good, that a whole slew of people (including me) can purchase every album he has released, guilty conscience or not? Hell-fucking-yeah...
Back in November 2003 I was in D.C. for a radio interview on XM radio when Sdot and I decided to hit up one of the local clubs later that night. After making my rounds I settled in to enjoy what was left of my evening. In case I haven't mentioned this in any of my previous posts: Sdot is a party-goer. He loves to be out and about mixing it up and dancing his ass off to the latest hip-hop beats. So I knew exactly where to find him. He and my friend happy feet were getting their groove on, on the dance floor. After watching them and laughing to myself (I really wonder if people know how they look the moment they lose themselves in music?) I went over and joined them. After hoofing it to about three songs happy feet bid us adieu and headed towards a friend he hadn't seen in quite some time. Never willing to let a steady rhythm go Sdot continued to party to what would turn out to be one of the best sets a non-New York D.J., in our humble opinion, had ever played. Then it came on, and I kid you not, swallowed me whole.
I had heard Step In The Name Of Love before but apparently never really listened to the words. That night as the Grand Manier began to settle in, and the steady bass-line began to thump with the sole determination to bring everyone hooping to the floor, I felt R. making his move. Within minutes the expansive dance floor was overflowing with brothers and sisters eager to step in the name of love. And by God we did. "Step, step side to side, round and round, get down, separate bring it back, let me see you do the love slide..." It felt like a trance; like the whole club was being elevated to another level of party. And just when I thought it couldn't get any higher R. Kelly started speaking directly to me--and though the whole room was alive with excitement, with dancer after dancer causing all types of distraction--and the D.J. yelling repeatedly: “do that shit”--I still managed to hear him loud and clear: If they ask you why we did it, tell them: we did it for love.I grabbed Sdot, pulled him to me and began battling Kells as he sang, if they ask you why we did it, tell them: we did it for love. I had been looking for definitions of our love, definitions of our relationship, words to say to people who couldn't understand our being, who we were, or why sometimes for us it just wasn't a choice, and I finally found it on a crowded dance floor filled with brothers and sisters who shared and understood the sentiment: we do what we do for love.
Kells opened up a whole new world of understanding for me and for the first time caused tears to fall from my eyes in a club. It was a new chapter in our relationship, yes he had possibly done the unthinkable but I was willing to forgive him, even if others weren't. Simply because that's what love does, forgive.
Kelly's new album is taking me on an emotional high, though I must admit I have yet to fully embrace the u saved me part of the set primarily because the happy people side is so fucking magnetic. At first listen one would think the songs sound almost identical, but a seasoned listener knows each is a unique gift unto itself. I have been spinning this album since it's release and not a day passes that I do not find myself yearning to be one of those happy people. I'm almost there.
__________________________________________
Album: Happy People | Label: Jive | Released: 08.24.2004 Standout tracks: Red Carpet | Love Signals | Ladies Night | If | Steppin' Into Heaven | If I Could Make The World Dance | Happy People
