When you’re with that special someone in your life, the playlist has to be right. If the vibe isn’t right, you’re almost guaranteed to spend the rest of the night alone. If the music is too slow, they’re going to be bored or dissociate too hard. Too aggressive, and you end up risking scaring your date before you can even put the charm on them. It’s a careful balance to pull off. Thankfully, R&B is the perfect genre to set date night off in the right direction.
Consequently, Noisey has settled on four different songs to play at every turn for the person you want to swoon. A good table setter for the drive to your destination, a secondary song to keep the night alive, a tease into something more intimate, then something hot and steamy if it gets there.
“Looking Up To You” by Michael Wycoff
Leon Ware wrote and produced love songs with such divinity and extravagance. His resume speaks for itself, the core visionary behind Marvin Gaye’s masterpiece of an album, I Want You. Strings swell, bass lines are the thumping heartbeat that glows with the right person. Without Ware, we might miss out on some of the most meticulous musicians of our time, from Solange to D’Angelo to Tyler, The Creator. His compositions musically and lyrically showed that with the right person, they feel like the only person in the universe.
Michael Wycoff’s “Looking Up To You” distills this essence beautifully, a magnificent table setter for an evening of romance. His penmanship revolves around undying devotion, where love with that special someone feels like the only reality that seems right. First impressions had me guessing how it could be. Often thinking that you could be the love I need. I’m looking forward to that sweet reality, I see myself rewarded with the love I need,” Wycoff sings. Setting the date off with “Looking Up to You” is classy and sweet. Making that special someone feel appreciated and desired pushes the date in the right direction.
“Me and You” by Tony! Toni! Toné!
Tony! Toni! Toné! made yearning sound so sweet. On “Me and You,” Raphael Saadiq sings like he’s smitten across the table, teasing and flirting as the woman in his life twirls her hair and grins. Inevitably, he toys with the idea of getting a bit more personal after talking for a while. But his voice is so unbelievably sweet, the flirts never feel too pushy. It’s these kinds of records that break the little touch barrier or soundtrack the walks after dinner, the travel for ice cream afterwards.
“Tonight is Right” by Keith Washington
Keith Washington made intimacy feel elegant. His music never dwelled in mere hookup territory, where calloused one-night stands are encouraged. You save that for the raunchier R&B acts. The Detroit-based soul savant would go the buttoned-up route, where the little things like brushing the hair out of a woman’s face were emphasized. In romance, you can’t just rush these things. With a real intimate date night, this is especially the case.
One of Keith Washington’s sexier songs, “Tonight is Right”, even carefully introduces an evening between the sheets. Written and produced by Babyface, the record sounds like rose petals, satin sheets, and candles lit. The horns and tender 90s R&B chords accentuate Washington’s fiery, passionate voice, encouraging an unforgettable night. Eventually, he builds to a horny explosion of longing on the bridge, but it’s not without him setting the ambiance first. Deep enough into a date, “Tonight is Right” acts as a temperature check. If it leads to more than just a night on the town, records like these build anticipation for the walk back to their doorstep.
“Softest Place on Earth” by Xscape
In the event you’re making it to 3rd and home base, you need the sexiest song possible. “Softest Place on Earth” is the kind of record that makes you want to melt into your partner for the evening. You want to live in their skin, feel every breath, relish every touch. The soft coos from Xscape demonstrate this perfectly. Every harmony is close, whisper in the ear, hairs on the body standing up, and goosebumps arising. “You don’t have to pull the blinds, let the neighbors lose their minds. Baby, you can be the first, inside the softest place on Earth,” LaTocha croons on the hook. Sex has never felt so spiritual.
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