Happy New Year everybody! Now, between making plans for a new Cottage Country mix series and locking down dates for the rest of the new year. I thought I would put this mix together before the hits of 2020 start rolling and rewind it a bit. So let’s go back…back into time…back to the late 80’s early 90′ for this. I always wanted to do an ALL 45 / 7″ New Jack Swing mix.
What is New Jack Swing? New Jack Swing is a style of music that existed from about 1986 to 1992 that blended black R&B, pop and Hip Hop (with its origins in groups like New Edition and songs like Doug E Fresh’s “The Show” & Slick Rick’s “Children’s Story”). The name ‘New Jack Swing’ was chosen because the beats characteristically swung with almost a DC Go-Go feel (another musical form at the time). The sound became hugely popular with songs like “Poison” by Bel Biv Devoe and Boys II Men “Motownphilly” (which starts this mix) crossing over to broader audiences. Even across the world the sound was popular, in fact a lot of the 45s used in this mix were from Europe. In fact, a lot of New Jack Swing 45s are European only releases (as the US market began to move towards digital media).
Some of the defining producers of the genre are Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis (particularly early on) and of course super producer Teddy Riley, who would eventually come “full swing” and define 90’s hip hop (pushing that genre into the pop stratosphere). So, whether you like it or not, we live in a post -New Jack Swing world (at least in terms of pop music and culture). Gangster rap would turn out to dominate New Jack Swing as hip hop’s wimpier cousin but pop music has never quite gotten over New Jack Swing. You can hear it into the late 90’s with “Backstreet’s Back” sounding exactly like Prince’s “My Name Is Prince” and more obviously Britney Spears’ 2004 cover of “My Prerogative”. I can remember Bobby Brown’s original being a favourite of my older sister and, in contrast, my Dad thinking it was hilarious (a sort of generational cry for independence).
So here it is Dougie Boom X New Jack Swing X 45s vinyl = NEW JACK SCHWING!
Tracklisting:
Boys II Men – Motownphilly
Another Bad Creation – Iesha
Joe Public – Live & Learn
TLC – What About Your Friends
Wrecks-N-Effect – New Jack Swing
Bel Biv Devoe – Do Me!
Redhead Kingpin And The F.B.I. – Do The Right Thing
Bobby Brown – My Prerogative
Father MC – Lisa Baby
Janet Jackson – Nasty Boys
Levert – Pull Over
Johnny Gill – Rub You The Right Way
Tony! Toni! Toné! – Feels Good
Jane Child – Don’t Wanna Fall In Love
Cameo – Candy
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