When we started to get hit with the Timbaland production sounds in the latter half of the 90s, it took some time get a feel for this new sound hitting us. It was about to detour the sounds of R&B and Hip Hop we had grown accustomed to during the previous years leading up to that point. 90s R&B will always hold a special place in a lot of our hearts regardless of the age we were during that era. Switching up to the beginning of the latter half of the 90s we were hit with 2 songs that really broke this new sound: Ginuwine's "Pony" and Aaliyah's "One In A Million." They didn't sound like other songs on the radio and slowly built an audience that catapulted both tracks to the top of the charts. Timbaland was bringing us a new era of production and along with Ginuwine and Aaliyah, he was helping expose a few others like Missy, Magoo, and R&B trio Playa.
Playa consisted of Static Major, Smoke E, and Digital Black. We were introduced to them with their debut single "Dont Stop The Music," in the last months of 1997. Now, 1997 was a mix of everything and a lot of mediocrity, so it was hard to grasp songs that year after a solid year in 1996. 1998 regrouped as a whole, big time, but 97 was and still is such a random and unbalanced year for music. "Don't Stop The Music," gave us a something that was bumpworthy (yeah, I just said that) and set us up for their follow up single, the classic ballad "Cheers 2 U."
I remember seeing "Cheers 2 U" for the first time on BET's "Midnight Love." A show that came on at 9pm PST and gave us an hour of the latest slow jams and the occasional classic hit thrown in the mix. "Cheers 2 U," starts off with a sensual mood setting beat that combines a slow and fast tempo, concurrently, that is a ballad disguised in a hard hitting Timbaland drum pattern. The video itself sets off a mood. It starts off with all 3 members sitting in chairs in a dark room, followed by a few seconds of silence before the beat drops. It sets up an intimate music video that fits the songs perfectly. The visuals then switch up and give off a very old school feeling in its setting and the song holds a relaxing tempo throughout the song.
Although their album dropped in 1998, they came onto the scene in 1997. Next year we hit 25 years since "Cheers 2 U," dropped. The song was ahead of its time and in no way sounds like a 25 year old song. I find myself being drawn to the song time and time again and then realize the song was not a huge hit during its release. I'm sure you can classify it as a song that aged well and built a following much later than its initial release. The song topped out at #38 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and hit #10 on the R&B and Hip Hop Singles chart, but the way it's viewed and remembered, it seems like it would have been at least a Top 25 song in its prime. Playa's debut album would only release the 2 previously mentioned singles and a 3rd single would never hit the airwaves. The album would also be the sole release we'd be treated to from the group. Although they stayed busy on the production and writing side of things, Playa wouldn't breakout the way Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Missy eventually would.
A fondly remembered song, here's the classic "Cheers 2 U."
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