Hip-Hop Love Songs

More than 20 years have passed since LL Cool J shared hip-hop’s first soul-bearing ballad: the shuffleboard synths and spare basslines of “I Need Love.” Things haven’t changed one bit in the decades since, either, whether we’re talking about one of Kanye West’s breakthrough singles (the sped-up soul samples of “Slow Jamz”), a beat-backed nod to Tammi Terrell and Marvin Gaye (the GRAMMY®-winning “I’ll Be There For You/You’re All I Need to Get By”), or a flamenco-infused duet between Jay-Z and his future wife, Beyoncé (“03’ Bonnie & Clyde”).

Speaking of striking a balance between the streets and the sheets, we’re about to bump our Next Steps as well.

While A-list singles like Snoop Dogg’s vocoder-driven “Sensual Seduction” and T.I.’s synth-laced “Whatever You Like” have dominated the charts, mainstream MCs aren’t the only ones who write hip-hop love songs. For starters, there’s the dearly missed diary entries of Guru, as heard atop the dusty samples and lean drum loops of two classic Gang Starr singles, “Ex Girl to Next Girl” and “Lovesick.” And then there’s Common’s breakthrough hit “The Light,” a moonlit J Dilla production that may or may not be about Erykah Badu.

Our Deep Cuts keeps the variety-pack vibe going with everyone from Eminem to Eric B. & Rakim.

Eminem has a sensitive side? Not exactly, but the windswept strings, creeping keys, and swiftly slain rhymes of “Crazy In Love” — directed at his ex-wife/regularly scheduled muse, Kim — are as close as hip-hop comes to couples therapy. Meanwhile, Nas lets his guard down in “Getting Married”; A Tribe Called Quest take friendship to another level alongside the cooler-than-thou jazz club chords of “Find a Way”; and the Roots serve up a pair of late-night listens — a loose, live version of “You Got Me” (featuring the song’s cowriter, Jill Scott) and the slow-burning soundscapes of “Silent Treatment.”

Much like a rock star’s never-ending need to write at least one lighter-lifting power ballad per album, nearly every rapper’s responsible for an R&B-schooled jam or three. Seriously now — even 50 Cent stopped talking about his bullet holes long enough to serenade his lady on “21 Questions” (featuring hip-hop’s ultimate smooth operator, Nate Dogg) and “Follow My Lead.” Then there are the undisputed masters of keeping things slow and low, from Ashanti’s favorite costar (the gruff groove-rider Ja Rule) to the soul-seasoned solo albums of Ghostface Killah. And if that’s not enough to make you turn the lights down low, LL Cool J has a hefty stack of tenderized tracks in his back catalog. The Kanye West-like hook of “Around the Way Girl” is our personal favorite, but we’ll let you test out the rest on your own time.