Category Archives: R&B

THE TRICKY STEWART COLLECTION

trickystewartcollection

The-Dream is the biggest shit in R&B right now, but his fans still don’t know much about the guy behind the guy: veteran producer Christopher “Tricky” Stewart. The 35-year-old creative mastermind was already producing for major artists (along with his original partner Sean “Sep” Hall) while still in high school. Originally a native of Chicago’s suburbs, Tricky worked in L.A. for a few years before meeting L.A. Reid and moving out to Atlanta in 1995, where he established his RedZone Entertainment company.

Before long, he was crafting huge mainstream hits for JT Money and Mya, and signing a few semi-successful artists like Blu Cantrell. The RedZone collective has since grown to include key players like songwriter The-Dream and vocal producer Kuk Harrell, a team that’s taken Tricky’s success to new heights. In honor of Love Vs. Money dropping today, I compiled some of my favorite Tricky joints from the last 17 years for this week’s Uggh…Nice Watch release…

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRACKLIST + DOWNLOAD LINK!!

THE NELLEE HOOPER COLLECTION

nelleehoopercollection_coverWhen it comes to British music, Nellee Hooper has been at the center of some major movements. He started out in the early ’80s as a founding member of influential Bristol DJ crew/sound system The Wild Bunch, who eventually spawned trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack.

By the late ’80s, Hooper had moved to London and joined up with Jazzie B in a new group called Soul II Soul, who, for the first time, brought a unique brand of British soul music to the international pop charts. His work on early albums by Björk and Massive Attack led to Hooper becoming one of the most in-demand producers in popular music, making huge hits for superstars like Madonna and U2. Trust me—if you’re not familiar with Hooper, you’ll be amazed at the diversity of truly classic records he’s produced. I’ve compiled some of my favorites for this week’s Uggh…Nice Watch release.

CLICK HERE FOR THE TRACKLISTING + DOWNLOAD LINK!

THE MAURICE STARR COLLECTION

uggh_mauricestarrcollection

As the father of the modern boy band, Maurice “The General” Starr gets a lot of hate. He created two mega-successful pop groups—New Edition and New Kids On The Block—and laid the blueprint for later rip-offs like the N*SYNC and B2K. Unfortunately, this cheesy, pre-fab pop legacy overshadows the fact that Maurice Starr was a skilled songwriter and producer.

Critics may be surprised to learn that Starr was actually a key member of seminal ’80s electro group Jonzun Crew, and that he released a few soulful solo albums himself. In addition to bubblegum pop, he wrote and produced for a wide variety of ’80s artists in everything from jazz to hip-hop. I compiled this compilation of my favorite Maurice Starr-related tracks so everyone can see his well-known boy band material in the context of his greater career.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRACKLIST + DOWNLOAD LINK

Ya’ll Know What This Is…

I’ve been meaning to do this for a minute, so in honor of President Dupri leaving his post, I figured now was as good a time as any*:

Uggh…Nice Watch Presents…
The Jermaine Dupri Collection

Side A!
(DOWNLOAD)

1. Funkmaster Flex feat. Jermaine Dupri & Veronica Webb “Talkin’ Shit”
2. Jermaine Dupri feat. Slim “White Tee (Remix)”
3. Mariah Carey feat. Bow Wow “All i Want For Christmas (So So Def Remix)”
4. Jermaine Dupri feat. UGK “Money, Hoes & Power”
5. Kris Kross feat. Supercat “Jump (Remix)”
6. Xscape “My Little Secret”
7. TLC “Creep (So So Def Remix)”
8. Da Brat “Funkdafied”
9. The Notorious B.I.G. “Big Poppa (So So Def Remix)”
10. The Isley Brothers “Forever Mackin'”
11. Lil’ Kim “Not Tonight”
12. Immature “Tear It Up”
13. Da Bush Babees “Put It Down”
14. Alicia Keys “Girlfriend”
15. Mariah Carey feat. Jadakiss “I Miss You (So So Def Remix)”
16. Tamia “Stranger In My House (So So Def Remix)”
17. Usher “Burn”
18. Total feat. Keith Murray “Can’t You See (So So Def Remix)”
19. Mariah Carey “We Belong Together”
20. Avant feat. Lil Wayne “You Know What”
21. Jagged Edge “I Gotta Be”
22. Ma$e feat. Jay-Z, Lil’ Cease & 112 “Cheat On You”
23. Usher feat. Alicia Keys “My Boo”
24. Mariah Carey “Don’t Forget About Us”
25. Kris Kross feat. Aaliyah, Da Brat & JD “Live & Die For Hip-Hop”
26. Aaliyah “I Gotcha Back”

Side B! (DOWNLOAD)
1. Jermaine Dupri “JD’s Reply (Dr. Dre & Timbaland Diss)”
2. Da Bush Babees “Get On Down”
3. Mariah Carey feat. Da Brat & JD “Honey (So So Def Mix)”
4. Kris Kross feat. Redman “Tonight’s The Night (Remix)”
5. Clipse feat. Jermaine Dupri “Let’s Talk About it”
6. Usher feat. Shyne, Kanye & Twista “Confessions (So So Def Remix)”
7. Xscape “Just Kickin’ It”
8. The Notorious B.I.G. feat. Da Brat “Da B Side”
9. Jay-Z feat. Jermaine Dupri “Money Ain’t a Thang”
10. Mariah Carey “Shake It Off”
11. Jermaine Dupri feat. Nate Dogg “Ballin’ Outta Control”
12. Monica “The First Night”
13. Letoya feat. Mike Jones & Rick Ross “Torn (So So Def Remix)”
14. TLC “Kick Your Game”
15. Nelly feat. JD, Paul Wall, Ali & Gip “Grillz”
16. Da Brat “Give It 2 U”
17. Wyclef Jean feat. Claudette Ortiz “Two Wrongs (So So Def Remix)”
18. Usher “You Make Me Wanna”
19. Mariah Carey feat. Bone Crusher “The One (So So Def Remix)”
20. Dem Franchise Boyz feat. JD, Da Brat & Bow Wow “I Think They Like Me (Remix)”
21. Master P feat. Jermaine Dupri “Da Da Ballers”
22. Kris Kross “Warm It Up”
23. Mariah Carey “Always Be My Baby”
24. Bow Wow feat. Omarion “Let Me Hold U Down”
25. Dru Hill feat. JD & Da Brat “In My Bed (So So Def Remix)”

You Can Get The Finger…The Middle!
(A Sidebar For The Haters):

Top 10 Wack-Ass Productions From The Don Chi-Chi:
1. Rakim “Guess Who’s Back (So So Def Remix)”
2. Cappadonna feat. Da Brat “We Know” (Produced by Jermaine Dupri)
3. Whodini Six (the whole album)
4. Everything he did on MC Lyte’s Bad As I Wanna B album
5. Jessica Simpson feat. Bow Wow “Irresistable (So So Def Remix)”
6. TLC feat. Craig Mack “Kick Your Game (Remix)”
7. Mariah Carey feat. Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz “My All (Remix)”
8. The Braxtons feat. Jay-Z “So Many Ways”
9. El Debarge “Slide”
10. Mariah Carey “You Had Your Chance”

* A note to the completist fucks (yes, you):
I wanted to include something from the Silk Tymes Leather album on the collection, but I didn’t really feel like spending my weekend combing the used CD stores of NYC. Take a breath and watch these videos.

Respect SWV Or Get Your Brains Knocked Out


SWV “Right Here (Funkyman Remix) (1993) (Produced by Lord Finesse)

Why is it that TLC is always credited as being the greatest female R&B group of the 90s, while SWV gets remembered as an anonymous, talentless one hit wonder?

Sure, maybe SWV didn’t have an extremely annoying rapper in their group, but after TLC’s first album, their musical relationship to hip-hop was tenuous, at best. While SWV was a more traditional R&B group, with Teddy Riley’s post-New Jack Swing swagger and crytal clear slow jams, TLC’s music quickly became a washed out, adult contemporary comprimise of R&B. This allowed TLC to stay at the top of the charts throughout the 90s, while SWV slowly floundered into obscurity. Aside from their regular producer Brian Morgan, SWV worked with some of the best producers of the decade: Timbaland, Puffy and The Neptunes all collaborated with the girls early in their careers. Oh, and we musn’t forget the obvious: SWV can sang (at least Coko can), while T-Boz and Chili’s frail-ass pipes can’t even compete.

I guess another reason SWV gets written off is because they didn’t quite have the charisma of T-Boz, Chili and Lefteye, nor were they as good-looking (Although I will say that I always had a soft spot for Taj, the “shy one”). I still prefer SWV because they always came off kind of like three nice church girls who somehow got conned into wearing leather daisy dukes and singing the devil’s music. Regardless of who you prefer, Coko, Taj and Lelee had a gang of hits that still bang today. And now, the definitive collection:


Uggh..Nice Watch Presents
The SWV Collection


Side A: For The Jeeps
(DOWNLOAD)

1. SWV feat. Wu-Tang Clan “Anything (Old Skool Remix)”
2. SWV feat. Pharrell Williams “Right Here (UK Back To Black Mix)”
3. SWV “Weak (Bam Jams Jeep Mix)”
4. SWV “You’re the One”
5. SWV feat. Wreckx-N-Effect “I’m So Into You (Teddy Riley Remix)”
6. SWV feat. Missy Elliot & Timbaland “Can We”
7. SWV On & On (Produced by Eric Sermon)
8. SWV feat. Busta Rhymes “You’re The One (Bad Boy Remix)”
9. SWV “Right Here (Funkyman Mix)” (Produced by Lord Finesse)
10. SWV “It’s All About U”
11. SWV “I’m So Into You”
12. SWV feat. Redman “Lose My Cool”
13. Blackstreet feat. SWV & Craig Mack “Tonite’s The Night (Remix)”
14. SWV “SWV (In the House)”
15. SWV feat. Lil’ Cease “Love Like This”
16. SWV feat. Puff Daddy “Someone”
17. SWV feat. Trigger Tha Gambler, Smoothe Da Husther & The Lost Boys “You’re The One (Allstar Remix)”
18. SWV feat. Michael Jackson “Right Here/Human Nature (Remix)”
19. [BONUS TRACK] SWV “It’s All About U (Bounce Baby Bounce Mix)”
20. [BONUS TRACK] SWV feat. Jay-Z “You’re The One (DJ Clark Kent Remix)”

Side B: Between The Sheets (DOWNLOAD)

1. SWV “Rain”
2. SWV “Downtown”
3. SWV “Use Your Heart” (Produced by the Neptunes)
4. SWV “When U Cry”
5. SWV “Understanding”
6. Blackstreet feat. SWV “Can’t Get You Out of My Mind”
7. SWV “All Night Long”
8. SWV “Fine Time”
9. Blackstreet feat. SWV “Tonight’s The Night” (Produced by The Neptunes)
10. SWV “Mystery”
11. SWV “Always On My Mind”
12. Quincy Jones feat. SWV, Babyface, Barry White & Portrait “Slow Jams”
13. SWV “Love Is So Amazing”
14. SWV “Weak”