Songoftheday 2/8/24 - If they gleam in the sun while they spin and they fit on my truck then, and if it came in a sack no stems no seeds in the bag then...
"Put That Woman First" - Jaheim
from the album Still Ghetto (2002)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #20 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 11
Today's song comes from R&B singer Jaheim, who returned to the top-40 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart for the third time in the beginning of 2003 with "Fabulous". His follow-up, the second from his sophomore effort Still Ghetto, was "Put That Woman First". Written by the singer with Mary Brown, Clifton Lighty, and Balewa Muhammad, the song uses a sample of the 60's hit "I Forgot To Be Your Lover", giving that record's artist William Bell and producer Booker T Jones writing credit (by the way, that song was the one Billy Idol remade into the top ten 80's hit "To Be A Lover"). The lyrics having Jaheim lament the impending loss of his lover, but instead of blaming her (though checking the signs she's done) he puts the blame squarely on himself. It seems like a pep-talk to himself to straighten up and fly right to possibly get her to stay. His voice, which previously sounded like a distillation of Marvin Gaye, now takes a tone that I'd swear was Luther Vandross (well, at least a decent Luther impersonator). The production from Dinky Bingham and KayGee Gist (the latter from Naughty By Nature) is simple and unobtrusive allowing Jaheim's vocals to take center stage.All and all a respectable effort that gave the singer his highest-charting crossover hit...
"Put That Woman First" became Jaheim's biggest hit on Billboard's Hot 100, landing in the top 20 in June of 2003, while climbing to #5 on their R&B Singles chart.
The third single from the Still Ghetto album, "Backtight", sampled the Teddy Pendergrass song "Somebody Told Me". It made it to #51 on the R&B Singles chart and missed the Hot 100. The same went for the final single "Diamond In The Ruff", which topped out at #64 on the R&B Singles list.
Jaheim returned three years later with his third album on the Divine Mill imprint on Warner Brothers Records, Ghetto Classics. The album debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 sales tally, and spent two weeks at the top of the R&B Albums chart, going on to sell over a half-million copies. But despite that success radio wasn't as friendly this time out. The lead single "Everytime I Think About Her", which featured a rap feature from Jadakiss, only nicked the R&B Singles Top-40 at #38, missing the Hot 100 entirely.
After moving his camp (and Divine Hill label) to Atlantic Records, Jaheim released his fourth studio set The Makings Of A Man, which just missed the top ten on the Billboard 200 at #11 in 2008, while reaching #3 on the R&B Albums list, spending almost twice the weeks on the former list than his previous album and again selling "gold" (half-million copies shipped). The first single "Never" went to #1 on Billboard's older-skewing Adult R&B radio chart, and peaked at #12 on the main R&B list, while returning the singer to the Hot 100 at #76. That was followed by Another Round, which came in at #3 on the Billboard 200. Two cuts from the record hit #1 on the Adult R&B chart, peaked at #12 on the R&B Singles list, and nicked the Hot 100: "Ain't Leavin' Without You" (#93) and "Finding My Way Back" (#95). The latter was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 2011, losing Best Male R&B Vocal Performance to Usher for "There Goes My Baby" and Best R&B Song to John Legend's "Shine". The Another Round set was also up for the Best R&B Album Grammy which went home with John Legend and The Roots for the Wake Up! album. Jaheim's final album on Atlantic, Appreciation Day, arrived in 2013, with his most recent R&B Singles hit "Age Ain't A Factor" (#53). The album made it to #6 on the Billboard 200, and #3 on the R&B Albums list.
His most recent album, Struggle Love came out in 2016. Unfortunately, instead of new music, Jaheim's most recent press coverage was his arrest in 2021 for animal abuse with the many dogs he kept on his New Jersey property. So yeah, f**k this guy. But as a impartial judge, the song is quite nice.
And Jaheim will be back to the series in a featured spot on a rapper's top ten hit.
(6/10)
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and lastly, on Steve Harvey's Neighborhood Awards in 2013...
Up tomorrow: up and coming British modern rock titans tell the time.
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