R&B/hip-hop songs with jazzy guitar licks ca. 2003-04

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These songs are all on a playlist I created a few months ago after a conversation with Some Dude on a thread I don't remember. The compilation was begun out of simple nostalgia for this era -- when I started listening to pop radio for the first time in several years -- but I realize now I straight-up love this shit. The key: each of these songs is anchored by clean jazzy-sounding guitar, some in a smooth electric vein and others in a nylon-acoustic almost-Spanish style.

For the sake of the poll, I took out "Slow Jamz" -- for one, because I thought it would run away with the win, but also because the guitar on it isn't nearly as prominent as it is on the rest of these. But feel free to add any others I may have missed!

Poll Results

OptionVotes
Juvenile ft. Soulja Slim, "Slow Motion" 3
Fabolous ft. Tamia, "Into You" 1
Baby Bash ft. Frankie J, "Suga Suga" 1
Fabolous ft. Lil' Mo and Mike Shorey, "Can't Let You Go" 1
Lil Flip ft. Lea, "Sunshine" 0
Ja Rule ft. R. Kelly and Ashanti, "Wonderful" 0
Jennifer Lopez, "I'm Glad" 0
Ginuwine, "In Those Jeans" 0
Busta Rhymes and Mariah Carey ft. Flipmode Squad, "I Know What You Want" 0
Chingy ft. J-Weav, "One Call Away" 0
Mya, "Fallen" 0
Cassidy ft. R. Kelly, "Hotel" 0
Nick Cannon ft. R. Kelly, "Gigolo" 0
Usher, "Confessions Part II" 0
Da Brat, "In Love Wit Chu" 0


jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 02:51 (fifteen years ago)

"suga suga" is prob my vote, with "confessions II" & "slow motion" & "into you" v close

J0rdan S., Tuesday, 10 August 2010 02:53 (fifteen years ago)

Bash sounds like he's about to saddle up a horse and ride off into the sunset on that shit.

― The Reverend, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 4:46 AM Bookmark

"mc hammer" (f/ mc hammer) (The Reverend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 02:54 (fifteen years ago)

a bit more obscure / lot less pop but does this count?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72HNX6bJ2ag

blap...tremendo (deej), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 02:57 (fifteen years ago)

lol at you calling him "bash"

J0rdan S., Tuesday, 10 August 2010 02:58 (fifteen years ago)

this actually might be a lot closer to what yr talking about
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7GKzcQ225Y

blap...tremendo (deej), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 03:01 (fifteen years ago)

Yeah, that's pretty good. Although it's a bit different from the songs in the poll b/c it relies way more on chords.

(Speaking of which, deej: Have you heard the band Blah Blah Blah? Do you have an opinion on them?)

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 13:24 (fifteen years ago)

cool poll! i never woulda thought to group these songs together by this criteria.

for me it's "Slow Motion," a few others i like but a lot of these i hated at the time.

dark twisted fanta girl (some dude), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 14:25 (fifteen years ago)

it's between "i know what you want" and "fallen" for me, leaning towards the former

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 14:56 (fifteen years ago)

"sugar" by trick daddy/cee-lo/ludacris might fit here?

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 14:57 (fifteen years ago)

bookmarking

progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:02 (fifteen years ago)

I think my least favorite on this list is "Gigolo," but I don't dislike any of them.

A few other stray thoughts:

*I don't mean to suggest that none of these songs have chords, but the way they employ them is different from that Mac Dre song. They're not chunky chicka-chicka chords where the same chord is strummed a few times before changing to the next. Sometimes they're played so that each note rings out separately (I think there's a term for this?), and they're usually only strummed once within the pattern.

*Notable effects and techniques I like: 1) the chorus-y guitar on "One Call Away"; 2) the slide on "Wonderful."

*What is the super-famous classic rock song that "In These Jeans" is quoting in the opening riff (and then later at the ends of lines)? This is driving me crazy.

*When I commented about the Spanish inflection on some of these, I was mostly thinking of "Hotel."

*Listening to "Fallen" again, I realize that the guitar is not at the forefront as it is on some of the other songs, it's just like a little subtle circular pattern beneath everything else. But I think it's pretty crucial to the overall feel.

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:32 (fifteen years ago)

"sugar" by trick daddy/cee-lo/ludacris might fit here?

Oh, that's a good call. I think I hadn't considered it because it's a little later (2005)? Also b/c you wouldn't think a Talking Heads sample would work in the same way as some of the ones that sound like they're lifted from George Benson records. But I think it does.

I would be curious to know (or be reminded of) other songs like this post-2004. What's particularly interesting to me is that it seems like this aesthetic was popular within a fairly brief two-year window.

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:36 (fifteen years ago)

it's just like a little subtle circular pattern beneath everything else

Oh!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSWPNzEsZg0

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:46 (fifteen years ago)

<3 that song

Tolaca Luke (admrl), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:49 (fifteen years ago)

So I guess Mya sampled Pharcyde, and Pharcyde sampled Stan Getz, at 2:05 here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoCnWALGMEw

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:51 (fifteen years ago)

Not really jazzy, not 2003-2004 but I really like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOiI6zIZXP8&feature=related

Tolaca Luke (admrl), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

earlier example - "where the party at" by jagged edge

later example - "two hearts (studio remix)" by kylie minogue

progressive cuts (Tracer Hand), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:53 (fifteen years ago)

xp I think that counts!

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:54 (fifteen years ago)

Re the Nas song: it's much more stripped down, but the guitar is totally jazzy and used v. similarly to the songs in the poll.

jaymc, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 15:56 (fifteen years ago)

this would also be u&k in this mini-genre:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLwyvNjYUdY

and a more recent example

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rKDxyv2Chg

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:37 (fifteen years ago)

i also never knew that the radio edit turned "like to fuck til i cum" into "like to touch til i uhhh". sounds so lame.

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:37 (fifteen years ago)

(am interpreting "jazzy" fairly loosely obv)

لوووووووووووووووووووول (lex pretend), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:39 (fifteen years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUaFMOlPvgQ

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:40 (fifteen years ago)

^2004

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:40 (fifteen years ago)

this is "Fallen" vs "Suga Suga" for me

people are for loving (HI DERE), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:42 (fifteen years ago)

2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UVhSVFa-zs

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:47 (fifteen years ago)

2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj1YoEDe7qk

hope this helps (Granny Dainger), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 16:54 (fifteen years ago)

oh shit i would have voted for "in da wind" if it was here

The Reverend, Tuesday, 10 August 2010 21:45 (fifteen years ago)

god 'ryde or die bitch' is totally one

blap...tremendo (deej), Tuesday, 10 August 2010 23:49 (fifteen years ago)

heh this is a cool phenomenom. why did this happen i wonder

zvookster, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 00:54 (fifteen years ago)

totally never heard 'fallen' as being a part of this for some reason

blap...tremendo (deej), Wednesday, 11 August 2010 01:19 (fifteen years ago)

the fallen video...would swyve

zvookster, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 01:24 (fifteen years ago)

yeah cosign to ships re mya

r|t|c, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 02:23 (fifteen years ago)

Ahem....

*What is the super-famous classic rock song that "In These Jeans" is quoting in the opening riff (and then later at the ends of lines)? This is driving me crazy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WiK74i0bms

jaymc, Wednesday, 11 August 2010 03:33 (fifteen years ago)

2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc8CIHgvKlA

J0rdan S., Wednesday, 11 August 2010 04:07 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

System, Saturday, 14 August 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

System, Sunday, 15 August 2010 23:01 (fifteen years ago)


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