So So Def

Sultry. Seductive. Insinuating. Knowing. Soulful. Sexy. Womanly. Xscape.
On Traces Of My Lipstick, Xscape's third full-length album on So So Def Recordings, the "million dollar girl group" from Atlanta, Georgia, has created an album that is Xscape's most mature and provocative to-date, filled with an emotional depth that speaks to the quartet's growth both as performers and as women.
Brimming with uptempo grooves and slinky, heartfelt ballads examining love in all it's complexities, Traces Of My Lipstick offers solid proof that LaTocha Scott, her sister Tamika, Kandi Burruss and Tameka "Tiny" Cottle have staked their claim as one of the premier female vocal groups of the 90's.
Traces Of My Lipstick is the long awaited follow-up to the group's platinum 1995 RIAA-platinum release Off The Hook, and if you ask the members of Xscape why it took nearly three years for new music, the answer is simple. "We wanted to take our time and give our fans something real," Tiny explains. "It was important that this time we had the right sound, the right songs and the right approach."
Part of the right approach was to reach out to members of the music community, many of whom Xscape had never worked with before. On Traces Of My Lipstick, Xscape join forces with some of the biggest and best practitioners of urban/pop today: the group's longtime creator/collaborator/mentor Jermaine Dupri, Daryl Simmons, Babyface, Keith Sweat, Joe, and Diane Warren. Warren, who has penned number one hits for Toni Braxton ("Unbreak My Heart") and Monica ("For You I Will") gave Xscape the soaring and reflective first single "The Arms Of The One Who Loves You." "We all really like her music and the way that she expresses herself," explains Kandi. LaTocha adds, "working with someone like Diane Warren certainly raises our game to another level... which is exactly why we wanted to work with her."
Among Traces Of My Lipstick's highlights are the smash single "Am I Dreaming," which features the hot vocal act Ol Skool and was produced by Keith Sweat; the gentle harmonies of "The Softest Place On Earth," written and produced by R&B star Joe; and "All I Need," which was produced by Xscape's Tamika Scott.
Although ballads have always been part of the group's vocal repertory (who can forget the haunting hit "Who Can I Run To?" from Off The Hook?), this time around the women of Xscape wanted to slow things down, even more. But don't worry, Xscape can still rock the party... just check out the lips-smacking "All About Me," written and produced by Jermaine Dupri. But the overall tone of Traces Of My Lipstick is moodier, mellower, and much more mature. "It seems that this time, we were in the frame of mind to record ballads," explains Tiny. "And coincidentally, a lot of the tracks we liked were also ballads. So, without even really planning on this being a more serious record, that's exactly what it became!"
"Plus people have to remember that it's been five years since "Just Kickin It" (the group's first platinum single)," smiles LaTocha. "We're women, we've got families, we see things and relationships in different ways than we did back then. So it only makes sense that our material would be more sophisticated and, well, grown up!"
Part of that maturity can be felt in Traces Of My Lipstick's understated theme: that of love from the perspective of the woman and the point-of-view of the other woman. The imagery and provocative nature of the phrase "Traces Of My Lipstick" is meant to raise eyebrows and make people think. "It's pretty powerful, that whole idea of being the woman who's being cheated on," explains LaTocha, "and it's also pretty deep to be the woman who's doing the cheating! And without giving too much of our business away, you can say that we know both sides... intimately."
That sense of intimacy, combined with superlative harmonies and undeniable appeal, have helped make Xscape one of the biggest and most popular R&B singing acts of the decade. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, these childhood friends first gave the world a taste of their soulful sound with their 1993 debut Hummin' Comin' At 'Cha. The CD, which boasted the hit singles "Just Kickin' It" and "Understanding," went platinum and quickly established Xscape as a force to be reckoned with.
That success was eclipsed by their explosive sophomore CD Off The Hook, which was released in 1995. Like it's predecessor, Off The Hook would go platinum while yielding three gold hits, "Feels So Good," "Who Can I Run To?" and "Do You Want To."
With the marketplace seemingly glutted with interchangeable girl groups, the career of Xscape is well-worth noting. With the confidence and skills that can only come from seasoned, savvy experience, Xscape have come up with what the group's strongest, most personal and soulful CD to date. Ask Xscape to sum up the vibe of Traces Of My Lipstick and there is no hesitation: "It's who we are. It's us as women, lovers, mothers and singers."

This millennium's coming to an end and Jagged Edge, So So Def's premier male vocal quartet, are acting as if they have no time to waste. Black music is enjoying more mainstream acceptance than ever and Brian, Brandon, Richard, and Kyle are taking what's rightfully theirs, gracing us with some of R&B's warmest moments of late, all the while remaining true to what's in their hearts and souls on their emotionally-charged sophomore disc, JE Heartbreak.
While paying homage to one of Black music's most notorious male groups is just a small part of their choice of title, there's also a much more personal significance to it. "The other reason why we named this album JE Heartbreak," Brian reasons, "is the fact that in this past year, we felt a lot of heartbreak -- individually and collectively. It was something that we felt we should talk about, so we decided to write about it." "There is a personal life away from the business," Kyle adds. "A lot of people don't realize that."
Instead, what music lovers did realize was that So So Def, already an urban leader in breaking formerly unknown acts (Kris Kross, Da Brat, Xscape), had scored big-time with their first male group as well. Cross-pollinating soothing old school soul harmonies and textures with thoroughly rugged '90s sensibilities on their RIAA gold-certified debut disc, A Jagged Era, the four Atlanta natives brought an earthy quality back to modern R&B. Though they could stay in beat with the best of 'em -- as was evident on their disc single, "The Way That You Talk" (featuring JD and Da Brat) -- it's no surprise that their way with a sultry groove is what ultimately clicked with music lovers. Indeed, the sensitive "Gotta Be" went on to become what some may refer to as "the people's hit." "Everything we got was from the people," Brandon (a.k.a. "Case Dinero") suggests. "'Gotta Be' was a hit record, it was one of the most requested songs of the year." "The fans validated us," his identical twin brother, Brian (a.k.a. "Brasco") concludes; "they were reaching out to us."
JE Heartbreak is a mostly self-written collection of songs running the gamut from straight-up street head-nodders to those heart-wrenching soul ballads we've come to expect from them. Indeed, many of their experiences over the past year have resulted in an emotional well of personalized material. Though they're quick to tell you that not every scenario is necessarily autobiographical. Brian explains, "just like on A Jagged Era, we did a lot of writing. Even though each song is not necessarily a direct situation that one of us has been through, a lot of them are close to us."
Using their free time to write new material during the sometimes hectic promotional touring for A Jagged Era, Jagged Edge manifested a wealth of new songs earlier than anyone could have expected. "Every time we came home," Kyle recalls, "we didn't have any free time. There weren't any breaks. We were on a real grind; that's the growth from the first album to the sophomore album." With producers Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox (of the Noontime camp), Gary "Gizzo" Smith and Teddy Bishop on board, JE Heartbreak created an honest reflection of where these young men are coming from. Here are four guys who didn't mind communicating their truest feelings in a relationship. They pledge devotion despite "what others may say" on the sensitive, soothing "Promise"; they conjure memories of old school slow-grind classics, while wooing the object of their affections away from an unworthy lover on "He Can't"; they make the ultimate proposal, singing "meet me at the altar in your white dress" on "Let's Get Married"; "What You Tryin' To Do" finds them forthrightly stating their love intentions to the sound of an acoustic-tinged, swirling soul sway; while admittedly incorporating "a little Marvin Gaye-ish" flavor on the quiet storm of "Healing."
And though they're saying everything the ladies yearn to hear from a man, they acknowledge that sometimes it's the young lady who's not ready for real commitment. "True Man," a smoldering, to-the-point ballad, deals with this head on. Brian clarifies the song's message, saying it's about "meeting certain people, trying to get things right and they don't go right. Sometimes you meet a girl and you decide to just do the right thing all the way. And the girl doesn't always see it that way. Well, she claims she sees it that way, but her actions speak otherwise. 'True Man' is saying, "You say you want this now; but you can't even handle it. I gave you all of that; but that's not really what you want."
Don't think for a second that Jagged Edge can't get a party started. After all, their group moniker has always symbolized their penchant for being smooth, but a li'l rough around the edges. JE Heartbreak comes equipped with some beat-driven party jams that are ripe for summer Jeep cruisin'. "Did She Say?," the premier single, busts a bumpin' Beatnuts-looped groove that could fill any dance floor, while it doesn't get any more jammin' (or jiggy) than "House, Money & the Keys to the Range." "Girl Is Mine," after a Bobby Brown-inspired intro, brings the fellas to a funk-fused '90s sound that features the gruff, streetcore mic stylings of Def Jam rapper Ja Rule. "Well, Ja, JD and Jay-Z are all tight," says Brian of how they connected with the blazin'-hot MC. "Ja's style works; that's why he's on every R&B thing right now. I ain't mad at Ja."
Jagged Edge haven't changed much from the four teenagers who sang in separate singing groups at church youth rallies. Nothing but fate could have led all four to Atlanta. After relocating to the southeast's most flourishing music town from their native Hartford, Connecticut, Brian and Brandon quickly connected with the local church community, where they instantly aligned themselves with the local vocalists. After a chance meeting with Kyle, then a member of another group, Brain and Brandon teamed up with Kyle and two other vocalists, doing what they now refer to as a "R&B/hip-hop/Take 6 kind of thing." After a slight line-up change, Brian, Brandon, Kyle and a fourth member formed Twin AK, a group which caught the attention of star-making Michael Bivens and his Biv 10 label. When music industry red tape threatened to slow the pace of their recording career, the group's fourth member opted out, just as the remaining members had ankled the Biv 10 deal. Enter Xscape member Kandi Burruss who suggested Richard Wingo, a past schoolmate of hers, to be a part of the group. Finally feeling as if they had the right chemistry, the foursome recorded a demo (financed by the twins' father) they could shop; Kandi subsequently put the Jagged Edge demo into the hands of a close associate of Jermaine Dupri's. An a capella performance at JD's home made it a "done deal."