Songoftheday 11/24/23 - We went through this before, actin' like the L's can't bag 'em no more...

 

 

"Paradise" - LL Cool J featuring Amerie

from the album 10 and Deliver Us From Eva (Original Soundtrack) (both 2002)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #36 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 3

 

Today's song comes from rapper and actor LL Cool J, who returned to the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in the fall of 2002 with "Luv U Better".  The follow-up single from the record was "Paradise", which featured R&B singer Amerie, who had broke through on the Hot 100 herself for the first time in the summer of that year with "Why Don't We Fall In Love?". Produced by the Poke & Tone team (Jean-Claude Olivier and Sam Barnes), the record sampled the 1982 minor R&B hit "Risin' To The Top" by Keni Burke (R&B #62), written by Burke with Allan Felder and Norma Jean (Wright), the latter the original female lead singer of the disco group Chic. All these people shared writing credit with LL (as Todd Smith), Amerie, and Curtis Jackson, otherwise known as then-getting-huge 50 Cent. The verses take the usual Bonnie-and-Clyde-style love professions common in rapper/singer duets of that time (J. Lo and Ja Rule made bank from it), though of course LL cleans it up though still brings the boasting on what he can provide. However with his daddy-voice he can convince me of anything he promises, and it's not just blowing smoke (calling Will Smith). Amerie's assertive choruses echo a positive response with little else necessary to keep the groove going. The production uses the post-disco sheen of the sample to anchor LL's flow, and the trip back to the early 80s soul train is welcome. The music video takes them (and Gabrielle Union) to a tropical getaway with clips from the movie Deliver Us From Eva which LL and Gabrielle starred in. In return, the pair found themselves with another crossover hit...

"Paradise" became the second top-40 hit from 10 on Billboard's Hot 100 in February of 2003, while peaking at #14 on their R&B Singles chart and #10 on the Rap Songs list. On the radio, the song went to #16 on Billboard's Mainstream R&B airplay chart, and #17 on the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single reached the top-40 in the United Kingdom (#18) and Australia (#28).

A third release from the 10 album, "Amazin'", featured singer Kandace Love, and like "Luv U Better" sported original production from the Neptunes. The record had a little more forced posturing, and it stalled down at #73 on Billboard's R&B chart.

Both LL Cool J and Amerie will be back to the series.

(6/10)

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's LL (sorry, poor audio) and Amerie performing at a football game...

Tomorrow I'll have my top "hit" tunes of this week, then Monday SOTD will be back with a Canadian country singer with an anger management problem.