#GERALD LEVERT SONGS FROM LADT ALBUM CRACKED#

Heavy D wasn’t placed on here as an afterthought and no A&Rs or executives had to force Levert into collaborating with him. In fact, Levert was adept at making hits as the sound of R&B shifted (their 1987 jam “Casanova” being proof of this.) Just Coolin’ is the album-defining cut, the titular song. In the case of Levert, both Gerald Levert and Marc Gordon were young enough to have grown up with Rap. Levert featuring Heavy D - “Just Coolin’” (1988/89)Ĭover of Levert and Heavy D's single, 'Just Coolin'' Source: Atlantic Records This ensured that more established Black music acts would employ a rapper in hopes of securing a hit as the sound of R&B switched over to New Jack Swing.

#GERALD LEVERT SONGS FROM LADT ALBUM CRACKED#

As a result, “Don’t Rock The Boat” peaked at number three on the Hot Black Singles chart in November 1988 but never cracked the Hot 100.

Further proven by the fact they didn’t give Ecstacy’s name the small type treatment on the single cover. In this particular case, Ecstacy wasn’t going to alienate their core fan base or make consumers or radio DJ’s shy away from a Midnight Star song. The success of this experiment ensured there’d be more collaborations with rappers in the future. Sadly enough, he never once acknowledged Roxanne Shante’s role in making the song a hit. In August 1988, “Loosey’s Rap” hit number one on the Hot Black Singles and would be the last number one of Rick James’ music career. Inexplicably, Roxanne Shante was nowhere to be seen in the video once it hit BET and MTV. On the single sleeve, both Roxanne Shante & Big Daddy Kane are credited in small type so as to not deter rap-hating radio programmers/DJ’s or older music fans from playing or purchasing it. Cold Chillin’ was on Warner Bros, and because of the success of Big Daddy Kane-penned albums for people like Biz Markie, a collabo seemed like a definite home run. Rick hadn’t had a hit since his 1985 project Glow, so Warner paired him with Roxanne Shante of the Juice Crew. Rick James left Motown after the failure of his 1986 LP The Flag, and signed with Reprise/Warner for his 1988 offering Wonderful. Rick James featuring Roxanne Shante - “Loosey’s Rap” (1988)Ĭover of Rick James, Roxanne Shante and Big Daddy Kane's 1988 single, 'Loosey's Rap.' Source: Reprise Records With that being said, here are the first 10 R&B/Rap collaborations on record. Chaka hated it and it didn’t lead to more pairings of the sort. I'm also leaving out early forced collaborations, like Chaka Khan’s cover of Prince’s “I Feel For You” with Grandmaster Melle Mel. Very few were organic, but the success of these early pairings ensured they’d become standard as the years passed.Ī couple of things to note: I won’t be including songs where the artist themselves rapped either part of or an entire verse themselves (example: Bobby Brown on “Don’t Be Cruel” or Vanessa Williams on “The Right Stuff”). Most early R&B/rap collaborations were either forced or orchestrated by record executives. Older Black music executives never embraced the genre, but when they saw how many rap singles and rap albums topped the chart in 1988 they began to suggest established R&B acts collaborate with rappers to stay relevant and make hits on black radio both old and young fans could enjoy. Many of black music’s gatekeepers weren’t fond of rap, including Don Cornelius, Frankie Crocker, and Donnie Simpson. Sean Levert died in March 2008.This sea change opened the door to R&B artists finally doing collaborations with rappers. Gerald Levert died of a heart attack in November 2006. Beginning in the 1990s, Gerald began dividing his time between LeVert, and his solo career, but the band went on to release three more albums, and Rhino Records released a greatest hits album in 2001. Both The Big Throwdown and Just Coolin' received gold certification. The band's success continued with their 1988 follow-up album Just Coolin', which was nominated for Best R&B/Urban Contemporary Album for the 1989 Soul Train Music Awards. Ī pair of additional R&B Top Five singles were also released from this album: 'My Forever Love' and 'Sweet Sensation'. However, the band's next album, 1987's The Big Throwdown became an even bigger success, on the strength of the Number One R&B hit ' Casanova', which gave them a crossover hit on the pop chart (number 5) and also a UK Top 10. Bloodline followed in 1986, and this album included the band's first big R&B hit ' (Pop, Pop, Pop, Pop) Goes My Mind', a track that went all the way to Number One. In 1985, they released their debut album, I Get Hot, which included tracks whose vocals drew strong comparisons to Sean and Gerald Levert's father Eddie. The group released their first single, ' I'm Still', for Harry Coombes's Tempre label.

Formed in 1983, LeVert was composed of Sean and Gerald Levert (sons of Eddie Levert, founder and lead singer of R&B/ Soul vocal group O'Jays) and Marc Gordon. LeVert was an American R&B vocal group from Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

Gerald levert songs from ladt album