I was always pretty meh when it came to Jaheim. Yeah, I definitely recognized that his voice was far more mature than his contemporaries, harkening that grown and sexy era when people relied on their voice more than gymnastics and pyrotechnics.
But still, was never really feeling him.
But yesterday, as I was chilling and listening to Midnight Love's Sultry Slowjam edition, Jaheim's "Fabulous" appeared on the screen (aside: Curse rap artist Fabolous for causing a whole generation to always second guess the correct spelling).
Now I had seen this video several times before, as it was played ad nauseum back in 2002 when it was hot, but I had never really listened so closely nor watched the video so intently.
Portraits of concrete-colored Black life grace the screen as Jaheim aurally paints vignettes of our cousins, friends, and people from around the corner.
Young cat, got back, did a little bid
Now he hard, he buff, he tough -- doo rag and timbs
Kinda hard to get a job back out on the block
Charge that to the game
Young girl, she grew up in a rush
Had it bad, no dad, she don't know who to trust
Every man she ever loved only wanna crush.
Charge that to the game
So simply stated, yet speaking volumes, the lyrics give color to conditions permeating Black life. With an unapologetic "tell it like it is" tone, Jaheim shares a story. Yeah we may used prepaid cell phones for local calls and "name our kids them funny names", but "don't hate on us [because] we're fabulous".
The video ends with children clad in white t-shirts, beaded braids a-swinging, chirping along as Jaheim sings, "Never G-I-V-E U-P and keep your H-E-A-D U-P, cuz U-N-I-T-Y is all we need to get our R-E-S-P-E-C-T."
What an uplifting message that speaks the truth with simplicity, authenticity, and soul.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EnDm-67WhCg
But still, was never really feeling him.
But yesterday, as I was chilling and listening to Midnight Love's Sultry Slowjam edition, Jaheim's "Fabulous" appeared on the screen (aside: Curse rap artist Fabolous for causing a whole generation to always second guess the correct spelling).
Now I had seen this video several times before, as it was played ad nauseum back in 2002 when it was hot, but I had never really listened so closely nor watched the video so intently.
Portraits of concrete-colored Black life grace the screen as Jaheim aurally paints vignettes of our cousins, friends, and people from around the corner.
Young cat, got back, did a little bid
Now he hard, he buff, he tough -- doo rag and timbs
Kinda hard to get a job back out on the block
Charge that to the game
Young girl, she grew up in a rush
Had it bad, no dad, she don't know who to trust
Every man she ever loved only wanna crush.
Charge that to the game
So simply stated, yet speaking volumes, the lyrics give color to conditions permeating Black life. With an unapologetic "tell it like it is" tone, Jaheim shares a story. Yeah we may used prepaid cell phones for local calls and "name our kids them funny names", but "don't hate on us [because] we're fabulous".
The video ends with children clad in white t-shirts, beaded braids a-swinging, chirping along as Jaheim sings, "Never G-I-V-E U-P and keep your H-E-A-D U-P, cuz U-N-I-T-Y is all we need to get our R-E-S-P-E-C-T."
What an uplifting message that speaks the truth with simplicity, authenticity, and soul.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=EnDm-67WhCg
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