Songoftheday 2/26/21 - Remember when you drove me home from work? I loved the way you only kissed me bye...

 

 

"Love You Down" - INOJ

from the albums So So Def Bass All-Stars Vol. II (1997) and Ready For The World (1999)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #25 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 10

 

Today's song of the day comes from singer INOJ, who grew up Ayanna Porter in Madison, Wisconsin. After a female vocal group she was in failed, she was mostly writing, until offered to sing on a demo for an upcoming compilation of "Miami bass" music on producer Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label. They ended up using her vocals on the final product, a remake of the top ten ballad from R&B group Ready For The World, "Love You Down". Produced by Charles Roane, the record starts out slow, but then the frenetic Miami bass percussion kicks in, and thankfully INOJ (a reverse of her nickname), while she doesn't have a striking voice, keeps flow with the changing beat either way. INOJ's "Love You Down" got picked up on radio, just like the first volume of So So Def All-Stars landed a hit with the Ghosttown DJ's "My Boo" from 1996...

 

 INOJ's version of "Love You Down" reached the pop top-40 in America in February of 1998. The So So Def All-Stars Vol. II album it appeared on first spent 23 weeks on the Billboard 200 sales chart, peaking at #71. INOJ's debut (and only) album, coyly named Ready For The World, arrived in 1999, way past the time of this and her next (and way bigger) hit, and was quickly forgotten.

(5/10)

Up tomorrow: Big Easy rapper goes for the guttural.