![]() Dru Hill’s two album hit-streak, led mostly by Sisqo’s vocals and personality, helped establish him as a standout entertainer of his generation. After carrying much of the responsibility as lead vocalist, Sisqo would emerge as the face of the band with his frequent changes to his hair color and extravagant wardrobes. Ironically, Enter the Dru was so successful that it arguably led to the group members’ search for individual stardom. The heart and soul of Enter the Dru is the group’s versatility in switching from providing R&B/hip-hop club bangers like “This is What We Do” featuring Method Man to bringing poignant songwriting to life, as with “One Good Reason,” with lines like, “Our love is like an hour glass / you know we’re running out of time / how could you go and do this to me / when you know its messing with my mind.” Nokio, who lent his behind-the-board talent to eight of the album’s seventeen tracks in addition to contributing vocals, quietly left a huge imprint on the LP. The proverbial “good guy” of the foursome provided a softer side to the group’s sometimes raunchy flirtations of sexcapades, offering a sentimental reflection on the girl he let slip away. The “Angel” (Interlude) also served as a lead-in for the song of the same name, which Woody cowrote along with Campbell. James “Woody” Green, who appeared to be the humbler personality in the group stepped to the forefront for an interlude that served as his formal public introduction. shared vocal duties for the more ceremonial, yet still edgy second single written and produced by industry titan, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds. Dru Hill’s growing list of charting singles proved the quartet’s depth in having multiple members able to carry lead vocals and deliver a hit record. Riding the success of “How Deep,” the group released “These Are the Times” as the second single, which reinforced the group’s versatility in many ways. The up-tempo hip-hop beat meshed perfectly with Mark “Sisqo” Andrew’s soaring vocals that celebrated Baltimore’s bad boy lover image with lyrics like, “How deep is your love for me / tell me what it's gonna be / and do you see yourself with a n***a like me, on the low low / so your friends won't know.” “How Deep” successfully bridged the group’s hit-streak from their platinum debut and closed the summer of 1998 for Def Jam Recordings who used the song for the Rush Hour soundtrack. On the short list of producers that were sketching the blueprint for a modernized sound was Warryn Campbell who is credited for producing Enter the Dru’s lead single “How Deep is Your Love” along with Rick “Dutch” Cousin and band member Tamir “Nokio” Ruffin. With R&B’s approach to musical production evolving into more of a synthesis between new sounds generated from high tech programming and traditional sampling, the genre seemed primed for an updated model in the dawn of Y2k. Their sophomore LP Enter the Dru certainly did not disappoint fans of the home team or the masses as the group continued to set trends with their flamboyant fashion and impeccable four-part harmony. After the success of their 1996 eponymous debut, Dru Hill was in the driver’s seat to take music fans for a journey through a town dubbed “Charm City”, while sharing the unique highs and lows of the Baltimore love experience. ![]() One of the most prideful experiences of being a Baltimore native in the mid to late ‘90s was watching the soulful quartet known as Dru Hill turn our city into the capital of R&B. ![]() Even when they get all warm and cozy with Babyface on the potentially mushy "These Are the Times" (in spite the absurdity of the straight-faced line "Tear you up in little pieces/Swallow you like Reese's Pieces"), Dru Hill slice into the section of '90s soul music that crosses bedroom come-ons with classic street savvy (and nervy beats) without sounding at all whipped.Happy 20th Anniversary to Dru Hill’s second studio album Enter the Dru, originally released October 27, 1998. There's a gutsy edge to the songs here (especially the hard-knocking "How Deep Is Your Love") that make one-time peers like Boyz II Men sound like the soulless R&B robots they are. And for a good deal of Enter the Dru, the formula works. The best of the late-'90s R&B crooning quartets ups the musical ante on their sophomore album, lacing the silky-smooth grooves with splashes of street-tough shouts that are meant to antagonize as much as they are to seduce. ![]() Ver Más Your browser does not support the audio element. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |