I'm going to confess something here before any of you can call me it: I'm a huge music hipster. Nothing makes me enjoy good music more than knowing the vast majority of people out there haven't heard it before. I'd say most people tuned into the early 2000's contemporary R&B scene have heard 1 Thing by Amerie (it did get her 2 Grammy noms back in 2005 after all), and maybe some have heard one of her albums or another. But even for a now-forgotten R&B icon like her, Because I Love It exists as a weird, rare and obscure album - understandable, considering it was never released in the US.
Seriously. Due to mishandled press and general label issues, (with some on the web claiming this was due to Columbia Records, said label, choosing to focus more on Beyonce's career following the breakup of Destiny's Child in 2007) Because I Love It never actually came out in America. To this day you can't listen to the entire album on USA Spotify. Go ahead, see for yourself!
Thanks to my father's job, in 2007 I was in Germany and was able to hear this great album as soon as it came out. Ever since I've considered it one of my favorites and it absolutely baffles me how little attention this album (and Amerie in general) received. Well, no more!
Because I Love It exists in a bit of a different space for Amerie, who before this would often focus on making her songs as digestible and mainstream-y as possible. Here she tries a number of new things, and most of them work. There are a number of heavy ballads and downtempo songs on here that I don't really love, but in all of them it's very clear that Amerie has the range. Her voice is always strong, her lyrics are genuine and often painfully sincere, and the production is always incredible, whether it's going for a minimal, emotional effect ("All Roads") or an energetic dance number ("Take Control").
Because I Love It exists in a bit of a different space for Amerie, who before this would often focus on making her songs as digestible and mainstream-y as possible. Here she tries a number of new things, and most of them work. There are a number of heavy ballads and downtempo songs on here that I don't really love, but in all of them it's very clear that Amerie has the range. Her voice is always strong, her lyrics are genuine and often painfully sincere, and the production is always incredible, whether it's going for a minimal, emotional effect ("All Roads") or an energetic dance number ("Take Control").
Even though this was her first album without the producer that gave her the biggest hits she achieved in her career, Amerie deliberately went for a retro / 80s-influenced sound that gives this album its experimental and unique feel even today. She loves to layer herself and toy with the production when it fits, stripping it down to emphasize herself or making things bigger to give herself a more stadium pop-oriented feel. I called it "weird" earlier, but it's still pretty digestible - we're not talking Bon Iver or 80's Akina Nakamori here. Check it out:
Embedded right here is "Hate 2 Love U", one of the faster and funkier songs on the album. You can hear pretty clearly from the smooth, multi-layered vocal production and the jazzy drums behind the singing how different Amerie was from typical pop fare, though she still subscribes to the typical song structure and genre of songwriting. (It is pop music, after all.) (Also, her sound reminds me of a less cringy Bruno Mars.)
While a lot of albums in a lot of genres can feel like compilations of uptempo and downtempo songs (ESPECIALLY in pop music), with Because I Love It Amerie accomplished a mix of genres, styles, and moods that never feel old, unexplored, or generic. There really is something for everyone on this album, and it's all done exceedingly well.
Right here is my favorite cut from the whole album, "That's What U Are". This joint is dreamy, spacey, just plain sexy. The beat is so incredible I thought it was produced by the Neptunes - which was basically the gold star of early 2000s production. Good Lord this song is smooth as all hell.
The craziest part? After a schedule mishap, this song was picked to be the 3rd single for the album, and a remix was made with Fabolous and Slim Thug. Things fell through, so this never happened, but the song did get made and it's... kinda just floating around the Internet, not even on international Spotify! The Slim Thug feature is super short - though I love how they interpolated a repetition of the chorus' ad libs in his verse - but considering Because I Love It has no other features (save a remix), the inclusion of the two rappers fleshes out the song and gives some welcomed different vibes to the package.
The craziest part? After a schedule mishap, this song was picked to be the 3rd single for the album, and a remix was made with Fabolous and Slim Thug. Things fell through, so this never happened, but the song did get made and it's... kinda just floating around the Internet, not even on international Spotify! The Slim Thug feature is super short - though I love how they interpolated a repetition of the chorus' ad libs in his verse - but considering Because I Love It has no other features (save a remix), the inclusion of the two rappers fleshes out the song and gives some welcomed different vibes to the package.
There's a number of great songs on here where she adopts a similar production or song style - "Crush" and "Crazy Wonderful" don't quite reach the blissful heights of "That's What U R", but they're both sensual and memorable bops in their own right. Oh well. Amerie may never get the mainstream recognition she deserved, but on this blog she'll be known as a legend.
It's actually seriously hard to find this album in a form that resembles "complete". So no one has to go to the trouble I did, I've included two bonus tracks (a remix of "Take Control" featuring YG Entertainment singer Se7en and the above-linked remix of "That's What U Are") in the file linked at the end here. There are two other bonus tracks floating around on international editions, but I didn't like one of them and can't find the other, so you get what you get. Enjoy!
DREAM...
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