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, βLAURYN BACK LAURYN BACK GOT ALL THESE NWORDS SCREAMING THAT LAURYN BACK!β
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Well, I was wrong as hell. Not only was Lauryn not back, the song wasnβt even by Lauryn Hill. I came to find out that song was Jazmine Sullivanβs βHolding You Down (Goinβ In Circles).β Granted, Jazmine Sullivan doesnβt 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, βYouβ (2018)
The reason I shared that whole-ass long intro was because I had the EXACT same feeling when I heard Nicole Busβ βYou,β another song whose vocals were clearly inspired by Lauryn Hill. βYouβ is some of that new-age Mary J. Blige hip hop/R&B. The Needlz-produced track is the R&B version Wu-Tangβs βC.R.E.A.M.β (using The Charmelsβ βAs Long As I Got Youβ 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. Itβs 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, βBe Your Girlβ), turning them into doooope new records with new shelf lives. There are literally only good things to say about this record. Itβs been stuck in my head since I first heard it. AND it bumps in the whip.
I heard βYouβ driving down the highway on some satellite-radio station and immediately Shazamed. I mean, sheβs shouting out ball players (i.e., Steph Curry), fictional TV characters (Ghost from Power) and β90s movies like Love Jones. Bus does this over βC.R.E.A.M.,β sounding like a version of Lauryn Hill that had me wishing sheβd 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 Busβ βYou,β but you got five for the price of one today.
Youβre welcome.
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