10 Essential Songs That Give You the Best of New Jack Swing

I explore one of the most underrated music phenomenon of the 20th century.

New Jack Swing is more than a music genre that, for a brief period, produced hit after hit on the R&B and pop charts. It was a pop culture force that, with the appetite for 90s nostalgia at an all-time high, continues to influence music production to this day. Part hip-hop, part Quiet Storm, part jazz fusion, when you hear it, you know it, and, more importantly, don’t forget it.

Although New Jack’s lineage can be traced back as far as 1985, the term was coined by Barry Michael Cooper in his 1987 Village Voice feature on Teddy Riley. Cooper notes that the Harlem-born production style “was the pendulum that shifted modern pop music into a new direction.” Fast-forward a few years to the early-90s, and you see just how dominant New Jack Swing was in the mainstream. Trends change, but, as we’ll see, the legendary hits from this era live on.

In this post, I share 10 tracks that underscore just how great New Jack Swing was. I cover a variety of artists from the 80s and 90s, many of whom hit their commercial peak thanks to New Jack’s moment in the sun.

If you enjoy retrospectives like this one and want more content delivered to you regularly, please consider subscribing. It helps grow this community of music fans better than anything else.

---

Let’s get after it:

1. “I Want Her” by Keith Sweat (1987)

The first single off his debut LP, Make it Last Forever, Keith Sweat’s “I Want Her” is often cited as the first genuine hit song of the New Jack Swing era in R&B. Riley’s production is largely responsible for this, with stuttering hi-hats and dramatic synth stabs floating effortlessly over those booming, rolling 808 drums.

“I Want Her” was Sweat’s first song to take a sizable bite out of the US singles chart, peaking at No. 5 on the Hot 100 in April 1988. Though he never had a No. 1 hit stateside (he’d get close with “Twisted,” a slow jam that peaked at No. 2 in 1996), he’s the artist who opened the floodgates for New Jack Swing and made American audiences hungry for more of the same.

2. "My Prerogative" by Bobby Brown (1988)

You can’t discuss New Jack’s success story without mentioning Bobby Brown or, more specifically, his 1988 album Don’t Be Cruel. That LP spawned five massive singles and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Of those hits, “My Prerogative” is the most significant of a bunch that includes “Every Little Step” and “Rock Wit’cha” for two key reasons.

First, it’s Brown’s only Hot 100 chart-topper as a solo artist (though he’s had plenty of face time in the Top 5) and, by association, the first proper New Jack Swing No. 1. But, perhaps more importantly, it proved that this new, modern take on R&B could give pop artists a much-needed edge. Like Janet Jackson did with Control, this solo record helped Brown shed his New Edition image and, in the process, push an entire genre into the spotlight.

3. "Groove Me" by Guy (1988)

Let’s give Teddy Riley the rest of his flowers with this pick. He produced both “I Want Her” and “My Prerogative,” but if I were to point to one song that, from a musical standpoint, is the most emblematic of New Jack Swing’s appeal, it’s “Groove Me,” the most successful song from Riley’s boy band Guy. Its charm is all in that groove.

Recorded primarily in Riley’s mother’s house, his instrumental sounds like a party coming out of your speakers. There’s just the right amount of swing on that snare drum and funk on that bass, creating a beat that practically dares you not to nod or dance along with it. Add Aaron Hall’s effortlessly soulful vocals to the mix and you’ve got an all-time jam. Peaking at No. 4 on the R&B charts in 1988, “Groove Me” helped give New Jack the momentum it needed to conquer the US.

4. "Nite and Day" by Al. B Sure! (1988)

Before releasing “Nite and Day,” Al B. Sure! was a vocalist for Heavy D & the Boyz, another excellent R&B group that’s been mentioned in this newsletter before. But, with this song, the man born Albert Joseph Brown III carved out a sexier, more romantic niche for him and other artists, proving that male singers in New Jack Swing could offer more than aggressive club stompers.

I mentioned Quiet Storm earlier, and of all the songs on this list, “Nite and Day” may be the one most reminiscent of that subgenre. There’s even a remix that’s clearly reaching for bedroom anthem status, stripping away some of the swing on the drumbeat and placing more emphasis on the electric keyboard instead of the guitar. Though this statement may be presumptive, I’m sure there are younger New Jack Swing fans who may have been conceived to this track back in the day.

5. "Poison" by Bell Biv DeVoe (1990)

Now ubiquitous on 90s-themed streaming playlists, “Poison” was, according to the available data, a bit of a slow burn. Eventually peaking at No. 3 in June of 1990, it spent 22 total weeks on the Hot 100 and, in many ways, kickstarted the 90s in R&B and hip-hop. From the fashion to the layered vocals that include both rapping, crooning, and gospel-influenced harmonies, it’s a bonafide torch-passing moment.

“Poison” is also an interesting case study of how chart data was skewed in the pre-SoundScan era (for more background on that topic, check out Rob Harvilla’s excellent piece from the Ringer). It was a radio and MTV staple that helped their debut LP of the same name go Platinum four times over. Mysteriously, it never topped the Billboard 200. With more accurate sales data, that narrative may be quite different today.

6. "Rub You the Right Way" by Johnny Gill (1990)

Released as the lead single for his self-titled third album, “Rub You the Right Away” wraps many of the themes this post has touched on—boundless energy, infectious rhythm, and undeniable sex appeal—into one explosive package. It was the pinnacle of Gill’s solo career, though if you count his time spent as part of New Edition and LSG, he’s sold over 15 million records worldwide.

Produced by DJ Eddie F, who worked with Heavy D & the Boyz, and Dave “Jam” Hall, who’d go on to work with Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, the instrumental gives this track a timeless party-starter quality. The bass still has the power to hit your chest like a freight train, while the James Brown squeal sample fills in the cracks with a nod to soul hits of yesteryear.

Listen to how nuts the Arsenio crowd is going during Gill’s performance. Not much can top that energy.

7. “Feels Good” by Tony! Toni! Toné! (1990)

Hailing from Oakland, California, Tony! Toni! Toné! was a force to be reckoned with in the first half of the 90s. The trio’s sophomore record, The Revival, is credited as an album that deepened New Jack Swing’s sound by incorporating Black music history into the production side of the equation. Other New Jack cuts off the LP, like “Oakland Stroke” and “Let’s Have a Good Time,” sample artists like the Fatback Band and the Pointer Sisters, to name just a couple.

The soul staple that anchors “Feels Good” is the Lyn Collins classic “Think (About It),” which was already part of hip-hop culture by way of its inclusion in the instrumental for “It Takes Two” by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock. Here, the Collins sample is played twice simultaneously, one in each stereo channel. Listen closely for the overlayed break, moving both forward and backward. It’s a neat trick that helps make this track so well-crafted.

8. "Motownphilly" by Boyz II Men (1991)

Best known for ballads like “End of the Road” and “I’ll Make Love to You,” Boyz II Men are one of the most successful acts in music history. The group has sold over 60 (!) million albums worldwide and scored 5 No. 1 US in the 90s. “Motownphilly” wasn’t part of that latter group, but it’s a terrific example of how New Jack Swing incorporated more than just hip-hop elements into its sonic tapestry.

In his write-up for NME, journalist Dele Fadele called “Motownphilly” “East Coast style and sass in abundance, mixing and matching MFSB strings, House synth-bass, raps, and the ghost of several songs rolled into one." That willingness to fashion something fresh and vibrant out of Black music totems of the past is an aspect of New Jack Swing that made it incredibly special.

Also, can we take a second to acknowledge how great the fashion and dance moves in the following clip are? It's just outstanding stuff.

9. “I Wanna Sex You Up” by Color Me Badd (1991)

Written and produced by Elliot “Dr. Freeze” Straite, the man who penned “Poison” a year earlier, “I Wanna Sex You Up” is New Jack Swing at its sweetest and, as far as mainstream audiences were concerned, least offensive. The lyrics are cooed gently into your ear, given a soft landing (hehe) with airy background harmonies and a sinuous beat that doesn’t blow your head off.

That may sound like I’m damning the track with faint praise, but inherent cheesiness aside, it became a much-emulated formula for success in R&B for the rest of that decade. Peaking at No. 2 on the Hot 100, “I Wanna Sex You Up” was eventually named the second-biggest single of the year, right behind Bryan Adams’ mushy ballad “Everything I Do (I Do It For You).” Those two songs provide an excellent snapshot of where pop music was at in 1991.

10. “Don’t Walk Away” by Jade (1992)

Let’s close out this list with a nod to some of the women who influenced New Jack Swing. Formed in Chicago in 1991, Jade was a girl group that briefly extended the genre’s popularity beyond the US’s borders. “Don’t Walk Away,” the trio’s most successful single, cracked the Top 10 in the UK and the Netherlands and reached No. 4 on the Hot 100. In some ways, this era of New Jack represented the apex of its global appeal.

Though frequently discussed solely in comparison to contemporaries like TLC and En Vogue, “Don’t Walk Away” expertly balances the genre’s percussive hallmarks with supple sensuousness. It’s not exactly a romp, but it’s definitely not a tender love song. Instead, it exists in a distinctive sonic zone, delivering a midtempo groove that sounded equally at home on pop radio and in nightclubs nationwide.

---

Which of these New Jack Swing songs do you love the most? Sound off in the comments.