Sheldon Taylor's Souls of Black Notes

Verzuz' greatest moments occur when the spotlight shines on Black music legends of decades past. The recent Bobby Brown- Keith Sweat battle carries on that tradition. From viewer reaction and even without a major hit in years---the legend of both singers still burns brightly.  Brown enjoys a higher profile---thanks to  much-documented trials, tribulations, and hard-fought triumphs compared to Sweat's  flurry of press coverage (see September '92 Ebony Magazine  piece "Can A Mailroom Clerk from The Projects Find Happiness and Stardom in 2 Atlanta Dream Houses?"). The Harlem crooner's  pedigree lies not in a high-profile persona or across-the-board crossover moments, but in a catalog of durable hits standing the test of time.  Usually linked to fellow New Jack Swing arbiter Teddy Riley, Keith Sweat is more than a seminal architect of R&B's future. He's also a throwback to its past. Born in '61 (or '56 if you do the interview math), Sweat mode...

  Picture a festive night without the typical posturing, ice-grilling and high-post profiling. It's New Year's Eve 1990 at Club Spotlite. You're playing the back with your third Long Island Iced Tea. You're kicking it with the waitress so drinks are on the house all night. A couple hours til her shift is up and you both are outta here. Fly girl Uniqua is holding court at the bar, gyrating to the music as her silky bob keeps time with the beat. The heat radiating from her barely-there outfit is twice as hot as the three-man crew rocking the stage tonight. The music is crazy and the lead singer's riffs are transforming the spot into a church revival. You pan the crowd and check Nino Brown getting hype in the middle of the dance floor among the regular folk without a bodyguard in sight. All of a sudden you hear the opening bars of your favorite jam and you rush the floor like a dope fiend at an open drug bazaar....         ...