11 Songs Where It Gets Steamy | Playlist

Prepare to get ‘hot and bothered’ with 11 Songs Where it Gets Steamy Ft. Kelly Rowland, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Tinashe & ZAYN among others.

Prepare for your glasses to get fogged (if you wear glasses that is)! This playlist consists of a lot of steam, sure to make you feel ‘some type of way.’ After listening, you’ll surely need to cool off because you’ll be sweating profusely – the temperature will be completely and utterly unbearable! Okay, okay – so I’m exaggerating a little bit. This playlist isn’t really about steam, and perhaps, I’m not giving you enough credit for your self-control.  But, 11 Songs Where It Gets Steamy is indeed steamy because all 11 songs encompass a certain, universal, three-letter word.  Artists appearing on this steam affair include Kelly Rowland, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Tinashe, and ZAYN among others.  Don’t get too hot and bothered!

1. Teyana Taylor, “3Way”

Ft. Ty Dolla $ign

K.T.S.E. • GOOD / Def Jam • 2018 

“Anything for my baby, I’d do some crazy things.” R&B singer and actress Teyana Taylor quietly released a solid debut album in 2014, VII. Her sophomore project, K.T.S.E., is composed of just eight tracks and 22 minutes’ worth of music.  Among those eight tracks is “3Way.” There is no secret what this sex-driven record is about, even incorporating Ty Dolla $ign on the third verse (He has his own song, “3 Wayz”). The song definitely isn’t transcendent, but regarding Taylor’s sex life with hubby Iman Shumpert, well, to each his or her own.

“…So, whatever he want, he can get that / Long as I like, we can hit that, hoes, we don’t love ‘em, no / Soon as she done she leavin’ right out the door… // Three way, I couldn’t wait to have with you / ‘Cause I know it turn you on, so let’s do it, babe.”

2. Tinashe, “Me So Bad”

Ft. Ty Dolla $ign & French Montana

Joyride • RCA • 2018

“You want some me so bad / You want some me so bad / Come get this body now.” From the start, “Me So Bad” features a gimmicky, sexy, sunny, pop-oriented R&B sound. The islands are written all over “Me So Bad.”  The record fits into the Joyride, chocked-full of sexual innuendo.  Simply put, Tinashe encourages sex on the bright, exuberant, and repetitive chorus. Ty Dolla $ign and French Montana play into her intentions.  Ty sneaks in the sexual cliché, “I want it face down, ass up,” while French Montana makes it clear, “she ain’t want no safe sex,” later adding “she a savage.”  Although “Me So Bad” is superficial, it’s definitely infectious, while Tinashe’s upper register melody on the chorus is lovely.

3. ZAYN, “PILLOWTALK”

Mind of Mine • RCA • 2016

“Climb on board / We’ll go slow and high tempo.” Someone’s horny! According to Louis Wise of The Sunday Times, former One Direction member ZAYN said the following regarding his solo number one hit, “PILLOWTALK.”

“I think I’m pretty black and white what it’s about,” he says with a little grin. “Everybody has sex, and it’s something people wanna hear about. It’s part of everybody’s life, a very BIG part of life! And you don’t wanna sweep it under the carpet. It has to be talked about.”

Recapping an earlier statement, life post-boy band requires adjustments. Those adjustments encompass sex.  On “PILLOWTALK,” ZAYN sings about having sex.

“So, we’ll piss off the neighbors / In the place that feels the tears / The place to lose your fears / Yeah, reckless behavior / A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw / In the bed all day, bed all day, bed all day / fucking and fighting on / It’s our paradise and it’s our war zone / It’s our paradise and it’s our war zone.”

4. Rihanna, “Kiss It Better”

Anti • Roc Nation • 2016

“Been waitin’ on that sunshine, boy / I think I need that back / Can’t do it like that / No one else gon’ get it like that…” One of the best songs from Rihanna’s 2016 album Anti is undoubtedly “Kiss It Better.”  Yes, “Work” (featuring Drake) was the main attraction, but this slow jam is simply irresistible.  Taking it a step further, this is one of the best songs of the urban-pop artist’s career.  “Kiss It Better” successfully blends a childhood catchphrase and sexual innuendo.  Double entendre is amplified to the nth degree, causing every lyric to be read into.  No, Rihanna is “not that innocent.”

“What are you willing to do? / Oh, tell me what you’re willing to do / (Kiss it, kiss it, better, baby).”

5. DNCE, “Body Moves”

DNCE • Republic • 2016 

“Come and roll with me, we’ll rock them body moves / Me and you (oh, just a little bit) / Body moves (yeah, just a little bit, ow!).” “Cake by the Ocean” is considered to be the crowning achievement of DNCE, the full-length debut album by the Joe Jonas-led pop collective.  Nonetheless, highlight “Body Moves” has a compelling case. It opens enthusiastically with “ow!” Yeah, it’s corny, but the spirit exhibited is undeniable.  The groove has the dancefloor in mind, with its neo-disco qualities. Overall, “Body Moves” is a well-produced record, filled with soulful cues. In addition to superb production work, innuendo – that sexy body talk – serves as the record’s biggest selling point.

“…Come on home with me, oh baby, let it loose
Me and you (oh, just a little bit)
Body moves (yeah, just a little bit)
I don’t need it, but you know bad I want it
And your touch has got me haunted, but I like it
Come and roll with me, we’ll rock them body moves
Me and you (oh, just a little bit)
Body moves (yeah, just a little bit).”

Also, the music video is a sexy sight to behold.

6. Chris Brown, “Back to Sleep”

Royalty • RCA • 2015

“I know you got work pretty early, I’ll be around by 3:30 / Usually you done by one one, so baby when I wake you up.” There is one theme that graces the majority of songs by Chris Brown – sex.  Unsurprisingly, sex is central to “Back to Sleep,” the opener for his 2015 album, Royalty.  The narrative is that Brown has just flew in for a trip, it’s late, and he wants to do it with his bae.  Of course, “do it” isn’t how he refers to what he’s going to do…

“Just let me rock, Fuck you back to sleep girl 
Don’t say a word, no, don’t you talk
Just hold on tight to me girl
Fuck you back to sleep girl, rock you back.”

7. Maroon 5, “Animals”

V • Interscope • 2014

“Baby, I’m preying on you tonight / Hunt you down, eat you alive / Just like animals, animals, like animals-mals…” Hmm, wonder what this one’s about?  “Animals,” a controversial hit single by Maroon 5, drew its fair share of criticism for its music video that “confuses violence and love”, according to Charlotte Alter (Time).  Yes, the music video is sketchy as a four-letter word, involving butchery, sex, stalking, but the lyrics can also be considered sketchy as well.

The song is utterly catchy, but like the video, the lyrics send a potentially ‘animalistic,’ bad message.

“…Maybe you think that you can hide / I can smell your scent from miles / Just like animals, animals, like animals-mals / Baby, I’m…”

8. Usher, “Good Kisser”

Good Kisser – Single • RCA • 2014

“Don’t nobody kiss it like you.” On “Good Kisser,” Usher certainly doesn’t keep it PG – at best, he’s restricted.  The kisses he’s singing about don’t involve a peck on the cheek or even full-on lip action.  No, the kisses he sings about on “Good Kisser” are definitely those deep south kisses, involving a certain body part, sigh.  Usher gets raunchy, but certainly men can relate to the central theme…

“See, I told her, the devil is a lie / Them other girls can’t compete with mine / You do it so good, you fuck my mind / You pull it out, then you open wide / You make me wanna tap out and retire / Your pretty lips leave me so inspired…”

9. Lady Gaga, “Do What U Want”

Ft. R. Kelly

ARTPOP • Interscope • 2013

“Do What U Want” is a truly electrifying single from ARTPOP, the 2013 album by Lady Gaga. Of her dance albums, ARTPOP performed the least successful, lacking the same caliber of hits compared to The Fame (“Poker Face”), The Fame Monster (“Bad Romance”), and Born this Way (“Born this Way”).  It happens.  Back to the song. R. Kelly serves as her duet partner on this sexually-tinged joint, which is controversial given his history, yet effective because the man is ‘in his wheelhouse’ when it comes to sex. While R. Kelly is part of the controversy surrounding the then unreleased music video, director Terry Richardson is equally to blame.  Guess why – sexual assault claims.

Speaking of sex, it is one dimension of this steamy song, but arguably, the bigger picture by Lady Gaga seems to be empowerment and inner beauty.  This is evidenced by the catchy chorus.

“You can’t have my heart and / You won’t use my mind but / Do what you want with my body… / You can’t stop my voice, ‘cause / You don’t own my life but / Do what you want with my body.”

Still, don’t get it twisted – it’s sexual and, it features R. Kelly, known for “Bump ‘n Grind”, “Feelin’ on Yo Booty”, and “Ignition”.

10. Kelly Rowland, “Motivation”

Ft. Lil Wayne

Here I Am • Republic • 2011

“(And when we’re done) I don’t wanna feel my legs / (And when we’re done) I just wanna feel your hands all over me baby.” Two years before them “kisses down low made her arch her back”, Kelly Rowland was totally motivated on the steamy “Motivation.” While Rowland has had her share of hits, “Motivation,” the crowning achievement from her third studio album, Here I Am, was truly a high point in her career.  Sure, it’s purely sexual, but Rowland sings with such passion as she expresses to her man how she wants it to go down. Now that’s steamy!

“Oh lover, don’t you dare slow down / Go longer, you can last more rounds / Push harder, you’re almost there now / So go lover, make momma proud.”

11. Lil Wayne, “Lollipop”

Ft. Static Major

Tha Carter III • Cash Money • 2008

“I said, he’s so sweet, make her wanna lick the wrapper / So I let her lick the rapper.” The oldest song on this playlist remains a gem – it’s ten years old as of publication! Lil Wayne had a tremendous year in 2008 with his awesome LP, Tha Carter III.  The album was jam-packed with hit after hit, led by his no. 1 single, “Lollipop.” Sadly, this was a posthumous release for Kentucky rapper, singer, producer, and songwriter Static Major, who died at age 33, two weeks before the record was released.  But let’s get to the juice.  What makes “Lollipop” so steamy? Well, the sexed-up Lil Wayne isn’t talking about ladies licking candy – duh! This is one of the catchiest rap songs about sex that you’ll ever hear. Static Major is responsible for the timeless hook:

“Shawty want a thug / Bottles in the club / Shawty wanna hump / You know I love to touch ya lovely lady lumps.”

That concludes this edition of SONGS WHERE IT GETS STEAMY!

Photo Credits: Cash Money, Def Jam, GOOD, Interscope, RCA, Republic, Roc Nation