Keith Sweat, “Right and a Wrong Way” | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

On the 10^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2022), we recollect and reflect on “Right and a Wrong Way” by Keith Sweat.   

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he vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome – we don’t discriminate ‘round here! On the 10^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2022), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Right and a Wrong Way”, performed by 🎙 Keith Sweat.

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Theme & Lyrics ✍ 

“You may be young but you’re ready / (Ready to learn).” Those are timeless lines from the first verse of 🎵 “Right and a Wrong Way”. R&B standout 🎙 Keith Sweat continues, “You’re not a little girl, you’re a woman / (Take my hand) Let me tell you, baby / I’m yours for the takin’.” Ooh-la-la, Keith! “Right and a Wrong Way” ranks among the very best songs of his collection.  Specifically, this superb, sexy adult contemporary R&B joint hails from the 1987 album, 💿 Make it Last Forever.

“So, don’t play no silly games with me, baby

… All I need is your loving here

(Hold me tight, baby, with the joy you can bring).”

“Right and a Wrong Way” is a high-flying, sensual slow jam. It’s a lushly produced, late 80s R&B joint that helps ushers in the New Jack Swing era. The old-school drum programming, the robust bass line, and a heaping dose of electric piano, sigh! Sure, R&B doesn’t sound like “Right and a Wrong Way” these days, but even in 2020s, there’s a timelessness about this record.  Notably, Sweat wrote this gem alongside 🎼✍ Teddy Riley which explains that unique, New Jack Swing vibe.  Refocusing on theme and lyrics, “Right and a Wrong Way” is all about love and its course, sex.  The centerpiece should come as no surprise – that unforgettable chorus!

“There’s a right and wrong way to love somebody

There’s a good and a bad way to love somebody…”

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Final Thoughts 💭

Back in the day, Keith Sweat was the sugar honey iced tea! Even past his prime, Mr. Sweat surely will still make you sweat with his expressive, soulful pipes and respectable, well-rounded R&B songs.  “Right and a Wrong Way” is one of those special, once-in-a-lifetime gems that’s quintessential 80s but also totally right in the 2020s.  I guess you could say Sweat’s intent is to 🎵 “Make it Last Forever” – his music that is!

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🎙 Keith Sweat • 💿 Make it Last Forever • 🏷 Elektra • 🗓 1987
Keith Sweat, “Right and a Wrong Way”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 10 (2022) [📷: Brent Faulkner, cotton bro, Elektra, The Musical Hype]

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