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30 Days of Musical Blackness With VSB, Day 21: Nicole Bus, 'You'

Almost nine years ago now, I was listening to the radio, back when that was a thing, and I heard a song that sounded so much like a Lauryn Hill song, or one that should have been a Lauryn Hill song, that I absolutely yelled out the window, โ€œLAURYN BACK LAURYN BACK GOT ALL THESE…

Almost nine years ago now, I was listening to the radio, back when that was a thing, and I heard a song that sounded so much like a Lauryn Hill song, or one that should have been a Lauryn Hill song, that I absolutely yelled out the window, โ€œLAURYN BACK LAURYN BACK GOT ALL THESE NWORDS SCREAMING THAT LAURYN BACK!โ€

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Well, I was wrong as hell. Not only was Lauryn not back, the song wasnโ€™t even by Lauryn Hill. I came to find out that song was Jazmine Sullivanโ€™s โ€œHolding You Down (Goinโ€™ In Circles).โ€ Granted, Jazmine Sullivan doesnโ€™t sound exactly like L-Boogie, but she definitely sounded like one of her (non-biological) children. It has a Fugees-esque beat, you know, a sample-driven drum breakbeat and distinctive, impassioned singing. For the entirety of the summer of 2010 I was WAITING for Lauryn Hill to jump on a remix and take back the crown. Of course, that never happened.

Nicole Bus, โ€œYouโ€ (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jwfurbP2is

The reason I shared that whole-ass long intro was because I had the EXACT same feeling when I heard Nicole Busโ€™ โ€œYou,โ€ another song whose vocals were clearly inspired by Lauryn Hill. โ€œYouโ€ is some of that new-age Mary J. Blige hip hop/R&B. The Needlz-produced track is the R&B version Wu-Tangโ€™s โ€œC.R.E.A.M.โ€ (using The Charmelsโ€™ โ€œAs Long As I Got Youโ€ as the foundation, of course), but with Nicole Bus, a Netherlands-born-and-raised singer with some powerhouse pipes. The song is about her boo in all of his glory. Itโ€™s such a modern version of a throwback R&B era when singers would just crib whole ass hip-hop records and just sing over them (think Teedra Moses, โ€œBe Your Girlโ€), turning them into doooope new records with new shelf lives. There are literally only good things to say about this record. Itโ€™s been stuck in my head since I first heard it. AND it bumps in the whip.

I heard โ€œYouโ€ driving down the highway on some satellite-radio station and immediately Shazamed. I mean, sheโ€™s shouting out ball players (i.e., Steph Curry), fictional TV characters (Ghost from Power) and โ€™90s movies like Love Jones. Bus does this over โ€œC.R.E.A.M.,โ€ sounding like a version of Lauryn Hill that had me wishing sheโ€™d hop on a remix to this song. For that, Nicole Bus is all good in my book and I look forward to her future musical offerings.

By the way, every single linked song in this article is bomb as hell. Sure this is about highlighting Nicole Busโ€™ โ€œYou,โ€ but you got five for the price of one today.

Youโ€™re welcome.

Straight From The Root

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