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A trifling epidemic of boyfriend-stealing (I assume) resulted in these two fierce R&B hits appearing within two years of each other, forever to be grouped together by DJs and bloggers because they bear the same title and the same basic theme (if you stick your nose in other people’s property, there will be a hurting) despite major differences in approach (bubbly keyboard duet vs. smoked-out bass vamp). Musically, I’m going to give the upper hand in the early 21st-century “back up, honey” songwriting stakes to the grown folks trio of Saadiq, Penn, and Muhammad, but earworm-wise, Nivea and Jagged Edge probably take it.
Nivea Feat. Jagged Edge – “Don’t Mess With My Man” [YouTube]
Lucy Pearl – “Don’t Mess With My Man” [YouTube]
Jagged Edge always rubbed me the wrong way. It was like they were dressed up to be hardcore Jodeci but weren’t nearly as sexually driven, releasing sappy ballads that never rivaled even the boy bands of the late 90s. Their harmonies weren’t as rich, either.
But they definitely have the edge against Lucy Pearl. That chorus is hella catchy.
UK duo Booty Luv recently covered Lucy Pearl’s version and made it very dance-y and fun, almost like a Freemasons mix of the original. Worth checking out.
Nivea was the truth! Hood-sexy with a decent voice… Her R. Kelly duet “Laundromat” is another guilty pleasure. Now that her husband The Dream is blowing up the pop charts, she might be due for a comeback.
@dutchtwista: er, soon-to-be ex-husband.
I forgot about that Lucy Pearl record — I kinda wished that project had continued.
@silkyjumbo: Damn…fame’s a bitch. eh eh.
that nivea song is awesome. also awesome is the fact that her single before it was called don’t mess with my radio. and then like two years later she was the #1 unsigned artist on myspace. tragic.