Songoftheday 1/23/24 - Baby girl you know my situation and sometimes I know you get impatient, but you don't put on a show to get ovations take it to court and go through litigations...

 

 

"Can't Let You Go" - Fabolous featuring Mike Shorey and Lil' Mo

from the album Street Dreams (2003)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 19

 

Today's song comes from rapper Fabolous (aka Johnathan Jackson), who returned to the Hot 100 in Billboard magazine in the autumn of 2002 with his contribution to the movie Barbershop, "Trade It All, Pt. 2".  That hit would also be a bonus track on his sophomore effort Street Dreams, which came out in the spring of the following year. Fabolous' next single to promote the album, "This Is My Party", was released to radio right after "Trade It All" peaked, but it was only able to climb to #59 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart, though it stayed on the list for twenty weeks. Another preview cut, "Damn", got enough airplay on urban radio to pop on to the R&B list for four weeks with a high of #69. 

For the third release from the set, Fabolous reunited with the rapper who gave him his break, Cynthia Loving or Lil' Mo. Jackson appeared as a featured rapper on her single "Superwoman, Pt. II", which just missed the Hot 100 top ten at #11 in summer of 2001. The new song, "Can't Let You Go", also brought in singer Mike Shorey. Written by Fabolous and Lil Mo with producer Justin "Just Blake" Smith, the song's lyrics spell out that she's rapping to his sidepiece, wanting it to keep it on the down low for now, to avoid "litigations" from a wife that's "a bit uptight" (harsh). He continues as a love song to the mistress, including the unbelievable line "...there's somethin' you provide, 'cause the entree ain't good without somethin' on the side, ya know?" Shorey and Lil Mo just act as the chorus in the back. The music video tries to portray the dichotomy but then right when the "moment" hits it jarringly segues into a miniclip for "Damn", with it seems both women dancing like strippers behind him. It's a choice...

Since the smooth delivery of the song let people forget the content, pop radio went on board in a big way, giving Fabolous (as well as Shorey and Lil Mo) his first top ten crossover pop hit in May of 2003, while spending three weeks at #2 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart and also hitting #2 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the song peaked at #23 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, #2 on the Mainstream R&B airplay list, and taking a week at #1 at the dance/R&B-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single rose to #10 in the Netherlands, and reached the top-40 in the United Kingdom (#14), Australia (#27), New Zealand (#33), and Belgium (#37 Flanders). The Street Dreams album, which was released in March of 2003, came in at #3 on both the Billboard 200 and R&B Albums sales tallies, going on to sell over a million copies.

This would be Mike Shorey's last time on the chart. It seems he released a single, "Forget", in 2019. But Fabolous and Lil' Mo will both be back to the series.

(4/10)

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Here's the trio appearing on a live TV appearance in 2003...

and lastly, in concert...

Up tomorrow: Country singer gets famous.