20 Years Since....Q1 2003

First visit back to the records I was enjoying in early 2003:

Blackstreet - Wizzy Wow

Blackstreet hit their commercial peak in the mid-90s but their popularity declined at the end of the 90s and they broke up. Then they reunited with this being their comeback single which would become their final Top 40 hit to date.

This was also a time when I was a big R&B fan and Blackstreet were one of my favourites, so this comeback was very welcome.

It's nothing like their 90s material though and the only really singing in the record was Mark Middleton singing the words "Wizzy Wow" at the end. It wasn't a very musical record but that's kind of what I liked about it.

Justin Timberlake - Cry Me A River

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the Justin Timberlake debut hit "Like I Love You". This follow up confirmed that wasn't a one off. This time it's produced by Timbaland so I gave him the credit the same way I'd given The Neptunes credit for liking his debut.

Again I would make the point that this was R&B but in reality it's a pop record disguised as R&B. It's good fun though.

2Pac - Thugz Mansion

The posthumous records kept coming for 2Pac with the latest one at this point being "Better Days" which I bought as soon as it came out. I also owned all the other 2Pac albums to that point.

It's just acoustic guitar and vocals and includes a verse from Nas and this is how to make an acoustic record.

Ja Rule ft Ashanti - Mesmerize

After the success of "Always On Time", Ja Rule were reunited again on this record. This time Ashanti has a bigger share of the vocals and you could class this as both rap and R&B.

It's exactly the sort of record that many ridiculed Ja Rule for but I always stood up for him. Yes it's a bit cheesy but more crucially it's fun.

Snoop Dogg ft Pharrell - Beautiful

If you hadn't got the message that Snoop Dogg's latest album was being produced by The Neptunes then this record should have told you with Pharrell singing the chorus.

There was a town centre bar I was spending many Saturday nights in around this time with a DJ playing all the current hits. I requested this but he said he had it but couldn't play it in there, but he never said why.