Sweat | 3BOPS

1. Zayn, “Sweat”

💿 Nobody is Listening • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2021

“Oh, drippin’ down your body like gold / Slowly steamin’ up the windows.” Damn, that’s sexy! That’s definitely the intent on 🎵 “Sweat,” a standout from 💿 Nobody is Listening, the third studio album by 🎙 Zayn.  Honestly, “Sweat” is indeed steamy enough to make any and everybody sweat.

What’s cool about this particular record is how it incorporates funky cues from the 80s while also sounding perfectly at home in 2021.  Vocals remain Zayn’s calling card, but he also doesn’t do too shabby in the personality department.  Of course, when sex is involved, personality comes pretty naturally, right?

2. Tinashe, “Cold Sweat”

💿 Aquarius • 🏷 RCA • 📅 2014

“This pressure ain’t for everybody / Weighing so heavy on my body, body.” 🎵 “Cold Sweat” is a lengthy, moody, grinding cut on 💿 Aquarius, the debut album by R&B singer 🎙 Tinashe. Even at its subtlest, “Cold Sweat” has bite and grit.  The sound is a bit nebulous, but the quality – this vibe –bodes well for Tinashe.  By the end, she projects her lovely, somewhat underrated instrument.

“Spine, shivers, eyes, met
Head, in it, heart, set
Cold, on my mind, yeah
Ice, drippin’, cold sweat.”

Also appears on 🔽:

🔗 🎧 12 Songs That Are Truly Cold

3. Prince, “Black Sweat”

💿 3121 • 🏷 NPG / Legacy • 📅 2006

In the 00s, the late, great 🎙 Prince certainly ‘tone things down’ compared to his heyday.  Nonetheless, the ‘more mature’ version still managed to be high effective and quite sexy in numerous instances.  A prime example is 🎵 “Black Sweat,” the crowning achievement from his 2006 album, 💿 3121.  Both “Black Sweat” and 3121 itself were nominated for 🏆 Grammys at the 49^th Annual Grammy Awards, but failed to win.

Regardless, “Black Sweat” finds Prince being both ‘true to self’ and fitting in with the R&B sound of the aughts.  This is a sleekly produced, minimalist record, with the drum groove and synthesizer work standing out.  Above all, the biggest selling point is Purple One’s falsetto, which is ripe to the nth degree.  Throw in ample swagger and a simple but hella catchy chorus and “Black Sweat” easily ranks at the top of Prince’s later work.