

This heavy soul song is a response to James Brown’s 1966 hit “This Is a Man’s World”. 70: Sybil – Make It Easy On MeĬoming off of the smash success of her cover of Dionne Warwick’s “Don’t Make Me Over,” the former disco diva embraced a more R&B sound on her second album Sybilization featuring the upbeat breakup song, “Make It Easy On Me.” Despite it being about a relationship that has run its course, the infectious dance-pop production makes it sound like she was better off anyway. The 90s were an especially freaky time for R&B – see: “Freak Like Me,” “Freek’n’ You” – and Silk add their own sensual single to the mix with their No.1 hit, “Freak Me.” Under the guidance of New Jack Swing vocalist/producer Keith Sweat, Silk couched their more lustful lyrics in gorgeous vocals, so you had to go back and read the lyrics before blushing. Honeyed and at once yearning and comforting, Evans’ velvet voice skims over this wistful romantic ballad with depth and precision.

But the church-choir-bred vocalist had a talent that was leaps and bounds beyond many of her peers. The widow of Notorious B.I.G., Faith Evans’s musical talent is often overshadowed by her personal life. “Never Lie” was off the group’s second album, Playtime is Over, which saw the group catering to an older audience than their usual teenaged fanbase, and hitting No.5 on the Billboard Hot 100. 73: Immature – Never Lieĭon’t let the name fool you, Immature were wise beyond their adolescent ages, making grown R&B jams to slow drag to. It had all the hallmarks of the classic Dru Hill sound: impeccable harmonies, staccato production flairs, and Sisqo’s unmistakable vocal runs. This single also helped the group blow up when it appeared on their sophomore album Enter The Dru. Not to be confused with the Bee Gees’ classic, this song instead is all about Dru Hill’s sexual prowess. After breaking out in 1989 with “Can’t Stop” they teamed up again with Babyface and L.A.Reid on their third album Reflections the most essential slow dance ballad, “‘Til You Do Me Right. The Indianapolis-based trio was one of the most versatile groups of 90s R&B, from vintage soul to New Jack Swing and slick ballads they could do it all.
