Keith Sweat: A Study In Slow Jams
By JASON BUGG
Keith Sweat may be rolling into Municipal Auditorium the day after Valentine's Day, but that doesn't mean that the love won't still be flowing. Bubbling up to the pop surface after the hits of '70s and '80s Love Walruses like Barry White had all but dried up, Sweat is a living, breathing link from those disco-era pioneers to the Autotune drenched rappers of today.
Sweat is one of the last kings of the slow jam. Forget the ringtone-ready street anthems of T-Pain and Lil' Wayne, Sweat's songs contain more than hooks -- they're invitations to love.
And we invite you, dear reader, on an audio-visual journey through some career highlights guaranteed to make you you-know-what.
Sweat helped bring the slow jam from its roller rink roots to its penthouse present, all while displaying his rather uncanny sense of timing and vocal delivery. If the aforementioned T-Pain and Lil' Wayne need a vocal processor to sound nasally and ready for love, Sweat did it naturally and with a sense of class with a touch of hip-hop's flair. It was called New Jack Swing.
Keith Sweat's popularity reached its apex in 1996, with the release of his self titled album. The album garnered two top five singles ("Twisted" and "Nobody") and went platinum four times. The album's cover featured Sweat on sitting on a thrown, and it was appropriate. For a shining moment, Sweat was New Jack king.
Although Sweat isn't the soundtrack to everyone's more intimate moments today, the appeal of his music is still strong. Sweat currently hosts The Sweat Hotel, a slow jam heavy radio show heard in 20 cities. But that isn't all Sweat is doing now, he's also showcasing his love for McDonald's Chicken McNuggets in a series of television commercials.
So when Keith Sweat brings his slow-jam-heavy, New-Jack-Swinging affair to the Municipal Auditorium, expect some fond memories to be relived and some new ones to show up. McNuggets will be eaten. And in nine months, Kansas City's birthrate may well explode.
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