Rotation

Guy

III

MCA

A lot of things have changed since these new jack swing originators released their last album oh-so-many moons ago. For one thing, it looks like people have completely forgotten just how massive an impact Guy has had on R&B. These days, folk just know the members from their post-Guy projects. Head guy/producing mastermind Teddy Riley is just that dude from Blackstreet, lead-singer-turned-solo-artist Aaron Hall is mostly just an R. Kelly look-alike, and Hall’s brother Damion — damn, is that brotha even alive?

Think about it: When was the last time you heard a young R&B artist or group give big-ups to these brothas? Everybody knows that if it weren’t for this group laying down the foundation, you wouldn’t be hearing most of the stuff on black radio today. From that song about “getting the hell on” to that song about some character’s “wanting 15 minutes to get up in it,” each contemporary R&B tune is merely a reminder of the ground-breaking Guy did with its self-titled debut in 1988 (and 1990 follow-up, The Future). Songs such as “Groove Me,” “Teddy’s Jam,” “I Like” and “Goodbye Love” made macking musical. With just two albums (albeit two great ones) to its legacy, Guy broke up in the early 1990s, and as years rolled on, the term “new jack swing” became just as faded as a flattop. With the release of III, Guy is back to receive the respect it so rightfully deserves.

The record is like a feast you can’t stop gorging on. Each song has a virile intensity and an aggressive passion to be as addictive as the next. The swing is still there, but it’s covered in heavy, pulsating wraps of funk and bounce. Riley captures this sound with the aid of young-turk producers (Riley disciples) such as Eddie F, Darren Lighty and Tony Rich. Guy’s first single, “Dancin’,” favors rump-shaking club-bop, while “We’re Comin'” and “Spend Time” show their tastes for pimp-tight G-funk. “2004” even has Riley and the brothers Hall venturing into Prince territory (“Erotic City”-style). And no Guy album is complete without an edition of “Teddy’s Jam,” a largely instrumental song that appears on both records and seems to indicate some sort of trend. On III‘s installation, Riley pays tribute to the late, peerless Roger Troutman by riffing on Zapp’s “Dance Floor.”

But III is not made up of all bumping R&B dance tracks. As expected, the boys lay down a couple of serious tunes for all the women in the house. The slow and sexy ladies-in-distress number, “Rescue Me,” features Hall mercilessly breaking the sistas down. And “(Why You Wanna) Keep Me From My Baby” is Aaron’s autobiographical tale of a father’s reaching out to his young son. Riley’s synthesizer wizardry and Hall’s gospel-trained vocal chops make the song sincere, hardly maudlin. Same goes for “Love Online,” which is described in accompanying press material as “the first Internet love story.” (Britney Spears’s “E-Mail My Heart,” anyone?)

Overall, it’s the subtle touches that amaze. When you hear the powerful bass slaps of “Tellin’ Me No” or the heavenly harmony of “Get Away,” you know this isn’t the handiwork of some cocky R&B upstarts. This is the work of seasoned pros.

III potently reminds us that 1) ain’t a damn thing changed with Guy, and 2) every R&B performer out there owes a debt of gratitude to these cats. Interestingly enough, a verse from the album’s “Teddy’s Jam” perfectly sums up just how much influence Guy has had on modern R&B: “We’ve given many years of funk to you / And y’all still don’t know what to do.”