The year was 1987 when a young brother from Harlem managed to accomplish what millions aspire to: he got on. Collaborating with another Harlemite on an independent label (later picked up by a major), the young man professed to the world his desires for a particular female, and the nation ate it up.
That’s when the real work began. Later in the year with the release of his self-titled album, Keith Sweat went on the quest to stay on. Hood-certified as a classic on its release, coupled with critical acclaim and 3 million disks sold, that album set a bar. If the next release didn’t do similar numbers or better, there was a chance that he could slide from sophomore jinx stature directly to the “one-hit wonder” category. Album two, “I’ll Give All My Love to You,” garnered similar kudos and scaled multi-platinum sales, and proving that the third time’s the charm, “Keep It Comin,” the third studio album, established a pattern.
Sweat was firmly entrenched as a platinum-plus recording artist, and with that type of success, the next challenge lay in wait. That next phase was the establishment of a boutique record label, Keia Records, designed to expand his creativity and put other artists in position to follow his path. For the introduction to the label, a group recorded on Sweat’s third album, with a tune called “Give Me What I Want.” Five dudes, Tim “Timzo” Cameron, Johnathen “John-John” Rasboro, Jimmy Gates, Gary “Big G” Glenn and Gary “Lil G” Jenkins, hailing from Atlanta, collectively known as Silk, were given the ball. The end results? Well it’s 2016 and Silk has just released a new project. Do the math. In 1992, they were thrust into the market and in 2016, they’re still here.
Of course some challenges have occurred during the tenure. This album comes 10 years after their last project, 2006’s “Always and Forever.” That collection was an album of covers, songs that inspired them to create. Hard-core fans needed it for their collections, but many felt underserved. The new joint, “Quiet Storm,” is more in line with what their fans expect. Top-notch harmonizing, original material and the full five-man team. Happy Days are here again!
Glenn says of the time between projects, “We wanted to be precise about our direction. We measured ourselves one way when we were younger. Now we want to see ourselves as musicians first and lovers second … and we wanted to be more mature in our approach to our creativity.”
He continues, “Part of the challenge is the obvious numbers. It’s hard to manage one person, let alone five, marching in the same direction. Even from a financial standpoint, it’s a challenge. You have to be walking in the same direction with one common goal.”
That commonality led Silk to the winners circle quite a bit. Although proud to have the platinum plaques and classic material on their resume, doing it the way they’ve done so is the most meaningful accomplishment. Says Glenn, “We go out of our way to emphasize the end-game of the vocal—like the Golden State (Warriors) or San Antonio—that emphasize a team approach. Sometimes we do something with a couple guys that could go out just like that, but we wait until all the voices can be put in ‘cause that’s what makes it special. The background vocals surround the lead vocal. We have one guy that sings bass and another sings high. Acknowledging that creates certain vocal cues and brings different things to different songs, but we always have the team concept.”
As for content, with some of their biggest records (“Freak Me,” “I Can Go Deep,” “Meeting in My Bedroom”) leaning towards the steamy side of romance, their lead single, “Love 4 U 2 Like Me,” may seem like a departure of sorts. Jenkins says, “Keep in mind, a woman’s ear is the best way to keep them happy. They want to hear that you appreciate them. They want to hear in what ways you appreciate them. And throughout the album, we offer plenty of lyrical opportunity to take your relationship wherever you want to go.”
Glenn adds, “We want to make sure people understand that we are not abandoning our formula as far as ‘love-making’ music goes. We are just acknowledging that foreplay is necessary, but it’s not always spoken about these days. There’s something more to it. And there’s more to us than what people may have initially heard.”
Their mentor, that guy Keith Sweat, he’s still at it as well. He’s to celebrate the release of a new record with a CD-release set of concerts at B.B. King’s on April 28 and 29 at 8 p.m.
Over and out. Holla next week. Til then, enjoy the nightlife.
