Songoftheday 08/26/24 -I will leave you my room key, I'm feelin' the way you carry yourself girl and I want to get with you 'cause you's a cutie..

 

 

"Hotel" - Cassidy featuring R. Kelly

from the album Split Personality (2004)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #4 (one week)

Weeks in the Top-40: 18

 

Today's song comes from rapper Cassidy, who grew up Barry Reese in Philadelphia, where he joined the hip-hop scene as a member of the group Larsiny, who were signed to the Ruff Ryderz label and appeared on their second collaborative album Ryde or Die Vol. 2, which went to #2 on the Billboard 200 sales tally in Billboard magazine in 2000 and sold over a million copies.  A producer from the album, Swizz Beatz (who didn't do their cut) nevertheless saw potential, and signed Cassidy to a solo deal on his own label under Clive Davis' J Records. 

 

In the fall of 2003, Cassidy released his first solo single "Hotel", which featured then still unincarcerated R. Kelly, who was still placing in the top ten on the American pop chart with "Step In The Name Of Love". Written by Cassidy with Kelly and Swizz Beatz (under his real name Kasseem Dean), the record samples the rap classic "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugarhill Gang, which in turn samples Chic's disco anthem "Good Times", which gave Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards writing credit even though their instrumental isn't even used. The lyrical interpolation is paired with the song for the "hotel motel Holiday Inn" lyrical hook, as Cassidy tries to lure a lady to his room. Of course, the part he grabs from the rap record is if she won't "participate, then he'll take her friend" part. Ick. Rather than the disco of Sugar Hill/Chic, Swizz Beats sticks a faux-Latin groove under Cassidy and Kelly, but it's not offensive, and Kelly does give a decent groove over the affair handling the chorus, but it's soiled by the overbearing come-ons. The music video has Kelly in a cringy eye mask situation, as he was leaning into his "Pied Piper" persona that will definitely come to bite him in the ass later on...

"Hotel" was Cassidy's first and biggest hit, reaching the top five on Billboard's Hot 100 in March of 2004, while peaking at #6 on their R&B Singles chart and #2 on the Rap Singles list. On the radio, the song went to #10 on the Mainstream Top-40 chart, and #5 on the R&B/Dance-oriented Rhythmic format. Internationally, the single rose to #8 on the British Singles chart, and reached the top-40 in Denmark (#11), Ireland (#16), Germany (#22), Sweden (#24), Australia (#25), and Switzerland (#28).  Cassidy's debut album, Split Personality, which was named for the attempted balance between mainstream-friendly fare and his harder rap start, came out in March as the single was cresting and spent a week at #2 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, and topped the R&B Albums list for a week. 

The second single from Split Personality, "Get No Better", featured singer Mashonda, who was Swizz Beatz' wife at that time. But despite that, the single stalled down at #51 on the R&B Singles chart and #79 on the Hot 100, though it scored a second top-40 hit in the UK at #24 and Ireland at #21.

Cassidy (and R. Kelly for that matter) will be back to the series.

(3/10)

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Here's Cassidy performing in Finland in 2007...

Up tomorrow: Country jingoist hails the military.