By Brittnee’ Jones
The music gods blessed us with some LIT music in the early 2000s, but nothing compares to the Hip-Hop & R&B of the early 2000s!! Not only did we receive music from top artists at this time, but this was also the season of One Hit Wonders!! Speaking of…do you ever wonder what ever happened to those who showed up on the music scene, gave us a smash hit (or 2) and then fell off the face of the Earth?? Well today, I’m gonna highlight some one hit wonders who were definitely “For The Culture” and their careers should’ve been bigger than what they were! (Side Note: Some of these artists need an episode of Unsung so we can know what went wrong…)
Koffee Brown
“Don’t Stop” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iHJ4ci7y-o (Courtesy – Warner Music)
Koffee Brown stepped on the scene at the end of the year 2000. To me, they gave me the vibe of a modern day, neo-soul version of Ashford & Simpson. Their vocals literally complimented each other & they filled that “male/female R&B duo” void that was missing at that time…or so they thought. Their debut song “Don’t Stop” debuted at #10 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts. Unfortunately, they left the limelight after only one album (Mars/Venus).
“It’s been 5 months….since you went away…”. Who would’ve thought that phrase would make such an impact when you first heard it? When you saw Amanda Perez with her tough demeanor, baggy clothes and dripped in gold chains, rings & necklaces, you didn’t really know what to expect. I was not expecting to hear such a soft yet soulful voice. On top of that, she played the piano! When “Angel” debuted in 2003, I knew that she would be around to stay! However, Amanda was unable to top the greatness of “Angel” and she quietly fell off the charts. Her last single was released in 2013.
Smilez & Southstar
“Tell Me” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_wwEglFUb4 (Courtesy – Warner Music Group)
“Love..Hate..Mistakes…tell me what you think is going on”? You had to be there!! I knew we were in for a treat when we heard the sample of Diana Ross & Marvin Gaye’s “Stop, Look, Listen to Your Heart”. This catchy song by hip-hop duo Smilez & Southstar was released in 2004. The video for this song was so much fun and it took you back to the days of oversized sweatsuits, jerseys and thick a** headbands! However, the duo was unable to match the success of “Tell Me” which broke the “Top 40” charts. The duo then later disappeared. Tell me…have you seen them??
“Supergroups” are a hit or miss, but when former Tony! Toni! Tone’! lead singer Raphael Saadiq summoned Dawn Robinson of En Vogue & DJ Ali Shaheed Muhammad from “A Tribe Called Quest”, I knew he struck gold!!! The group formed in 1999. What’s interesting is that all member of this group left their groups around this time…talk about perfect timing! Lucy Pearl released “Dance Tonight” as a part of the Love & Basketball soundtrack in 2000. The song gave me ALLLL of the feel-good vibes!! The song peaked at #5 on the Hip-Hop & R&B charts and they were even nominated for a Grammy as well as an American Music Award. With a mastermind like Saadiq, they could do no wrong. Unfortunately, after one album, they parted ways. They had all the potential in the world.
Oh, I had HIGH hopes for this songstress who hit the scene with a BANG in 2001! Blu had that voice that gave you The Cotton Club in Harlem 1920 vibes! It was soulful & jazzy! She released “Hit Em Up Style (Oops) in 2001 which came along with a LIT “revenge” video!! This led to the song peaking at #2 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Blu was nominated for two Grammys. It seemed that the rocket was strapped on Blu. Unfortunately, that fire dimmed out quickly. What could’ve been.
If you didn’t know Nina Sky, then you knew the song that they were most famous for. Nina Sky (twin sisters Natalie & Nicole) stepped on the scene in 2004 when they released “Move Ya Body”. There was not a club in 2004 that wasn’t playing this song! The beat was lit & all it made you want to do was, you guessed it, Move Ya Body LOL!. This song peaked #1 on the “dance” charts and #4 on the Billboard “Hot 100” charts. Besides being featured on N.O.R.E.’s “Oye Mi Canto”, they never reached the success of their first single. As a twin, I was definitely rooting for them!
Now ya’ll know GOOD & well I can’t do a One Hit Wonder tribute without shouting out the one & only Jerrell C. Jones, known to the world as J-Kwon! First of all, who started that rumor that J-Kwon went to Belleville West?! LOL!! St. Louis native J-Kwon stepped on the scene in 2004 with a song that we would Chicken Head and Nina Pop to for years to come titled “Tipsy”. Simple, straight to the point and a lot of fun! Everybody knew the words to this song!! Tipsy peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 charts (stayed #2 for 14 weeks), it peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and it hit #1 on the US Rap charts. J-Kwon had another single, along with a few features but none of them were able to reach the heights of Tipsy. You can check out his “Chronicle” story on BET.com!
While I can’t highlight every One Hit Wonder from that timeframe (we’ll be here all day), I will shout out those you grew to love….just for them to disappear quicker than Milli Vanilli’s singing career…
Huey – “Pop, Lock & Drop It” (Man, R.I.P.)
Wayne Wonder – “No Letting Go” (Couldn’t get that beat of out my head for YEARS!!)
Isyss – “Single for the Rest of my Life” (So if I caaaan’t haaave yoooouuu!!!)
ATL – “Calling All Girls” (They missed the “boy band boat” but I loved this song!)
One Chance – “Look at Her” (What’s Happeniiiiiiiiing?!?)
MIMS – “This is Why I’m Hot” (That basic a** song was lit!)
Glenn Lewis – “Don’t You Forget It” (He definitely should’ve had a bigger career)
Lumidee – “Never Leave…Uh Oh” (featuring Fabulous was just the icing on the cake)
JS – “Ice Cream” (Sex sells…just didn’t work for the Johnson Sisters)
Profyle – “Liar” (You a liar, a cheater, a deceiver, a heartbreaker….you know the rest)
Jimmy Cozier – “She’s All I Got” (Sometimes I love her, sometimes I love her not)
Sunshine Jones – “Heard It All Before” (Couldn’t get away from hearing this song)
Sharissa – “Any Other Night” (Boy you picked the wrong tiiiiiiiiiiime!!)
Truth Hurts – Addictive (Rakim snapped on this song….that’s all I got)
Houston – “I Like That” (He definitely could’ve been bigger…but like us all he had his demons)
Brooke Valentine – “Girlfight” (………..It gave her fame and a spot on Love & Hip Hop)
Chamillionaire – “Ridin” (They see me rooooolllin….they hatin’!!!)
Trinidad James – “All Gold Everything” (He took his bag and then chucked up the deuces)!
Dorrough – “Ice Cream Paint Job” (YEAH BUDDY, rolling like a big shot….that’s it, that’s the phrase)
D4L – “Laffy Taffy” – (Chile….what a time this was!!)
Ruff Endz – “Someone To Love You” (I dedicated this song to my first Middle School crush lol)
Welp there you have it folks!! Do you have a favorite One Hit Wonder from the early 2000s?! Drop them below in the comment section!
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