YouTube
Teenage rapper A+ (AKA Andre Lewis) hails from Hempstead, Long Island... Since his mother first entered him for talent shows at the age nine, his career has been on the up, and he became the first act to be signed to Kedar entertainment alongside Chico Debarge and Erykah Badu.We're still in disco-era sample territory here, since the track is based on Walter Murphy's 'A Fifth Of Beethoven', which of course wasn't composed in the twentieth century but it's Murphy who gets the writing credit here. Still, it's estimated that Ludwig Van Beethoven has sold over a million singles in the UK as a songwriter. The chorus is not entirely unlike the Jacksons hit with which it shares its title (Michael Jackson's first ever music video, apparently), though there's no writing credit for Gamble and Huff here. Neither is there one for Lewis himself, suggesting that he's not entirely to blame for the lyric, which is constructed entirely from cliche. In fact, this song is so lacking in any distinctive features that it's hard to remember now why it did so well - especially as it wasn't much of a hit in America, peaking at 50 on the RnB chart. Presumably for this reason, the label pulled the plug and no further singles were issued, making him a true one-hit wonder. Unsurprisingly, there are various references online to Lewis attempting to restart his career as an adult though none has yet really taken hold.
I've tried to resist doing this, but I can't. I give this song a C-.
Available on: Hempstead High [JP-Import]
No comments:
Post a Comment