Give It To You

I was digging around in my collection of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis songs and this song popped me upside the head. For those that thought Robin Thicke and Justin Timberlake were the original white R&B crooners allow me to refute that claim with this artist and this catchy tune. The artist is Jordan Knight and the song is Give It To You off his 1999 release Jordan Knight LP. Jordan who was once part of the questionably talented New Kids On The Block had his biggest hit with this song which which was written by Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, Jordan Knight, and Robin Thicke and produced by Jam and Lewis. This song pretty much paved the way for Robin and Justin to be the artists they are today. It showed that white male singers could and would be accepted by Black audiences.

The song is fun. Seemingly inspired by carnival music and arranged in such a way that you would have to imagine it was fun crafting this song. It starts off with that carnival music and then Jordan comes in riding the bassline singing "You say it's been too long / Since you / Had some. You say I turn you on / Like the fire that's burning inside / You think that I'm the one (you see in your dreams) / I know what you mean". Basically it's yet another song about about a guy trying to get some. However, this song is a lot of fun to listen to.

The carnival vibe comes back into the song twice more, once at the bridge and the outro. What surprised me about this was that Jam and Lewis had a hand in creating it but the more I listen to it their influences are all over it, as are Robin Thicke's, especially in the vocal layering department. Either way, you may hate Jordan as a singer and artist and that's your prerogative or you may have forgotten all about this song as I did but maybe unlike you, I'm glad I found it again. Enjoy!